RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division event on Lake Dardanelle has emphatically lived up to the billing as one to watch. Day 1 was good despite the recent rains. With five different pros weighing more than 20 pounds, Day 2 was even better.
Drake Hemby slid up from second place to take the lead, weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce on Day 2 for a 40-13 total. He swapped places with Day 1 leader Walker Woodall, who weighed 17 pounds for a 40-0 total. Behind them, Wayne Dixon, Evan Sutton, Charles Williams and Jackson Roumbanis all sacked up more than 20 pounds and are threatening – they’ll need the leaders to falter, but they’re certainly in striking range.
On the co-angler side, Randy Allen is building a nearly insurmountable lead with a total of 32-9 to his credit. In second place and nearly 6 pounds back, Alan Bernicky is in the hunt with 26-13. Though Allen is well ahead, there probably isn’t a more dangerous co-angler than Bernicky.
Hemby is junking it up to perfection
Sometimes having a lot of things working is bad. But this week, Hemby has turned a bad practice into a nice hodgepodge of successful strategies.
“It feels really good. I wasn’t expecting to have caught them as good as I have,” he said. “I had a pretty tough practice. I was kind of expecting about 12 pounds a day, and I was going to be pretty happy.
“I’ve been running around, fishing a bunch of new water, and I’ve been running into them every day,” he added. “I caught them different places today than I did yesterday, so I really have no idea if I can catch a bass tomorrow. But we’re gonna run around and see if we can get lucky again.”
A Carson-Newman University graduate, Hemby is now the lead mechanic for a nearby boat rental facility and working on his MBA. In college, he fished Dardnelle every year, so he has plenty to go on, and so far he’s weighed half his fish with forward-facing sonar and half without.
“I’m pretty much fishing places with deep-water access, and if they have current hitting them, that’s better,” Hemby said. “And any kind of brush or hard spot is good. And the shallow stuff I’m fishing, I’m trying to find the cleanest water with some hydrilla and some milfoil.”
Having finished 35th in the Central Division on the season, Hemby really shouldn’t even be in this event. But he’s on the hunt for a berth in the Toyota Series Championship. That call might lead to a big win.
“Wild Card points were the big reason I’m here,” he said. “Looking at the rest of the schedule, the Northern stuff, I felt a little more at home and comfortable here. I’ve had a couple of good finishes in college here and never was able to close one out. Hopefully this is the one.”
Top 10 pros
1. Drake Hemby – 40 – 13 (10)
2. Walker Woodall – 40 – 0 (10)
3. Wayne Dixon – 37 – 1 (10)
4. Evan Sutton – 36 – 13 (10)
5. Charles Williams – 36 – 8 (10)
6. Jackson Roumbanis – 35 – 6 (10)
7. Drew Porto – 34 – 6 (10)
8. Jarred Thompson – 34 – 0 (10)
9. Brian Funkhouser – 34 – 0 (10)
10. Shawn Kowal – 32 – 7 (10)