Johnson Leads with 21-15 After Day 1 on Grand Lake
GROVE, Okla. – Jeremy Johnson and Dawayne Heffelman teamed up to lead both sides of the competition on Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. event on Grand Lake – and they did it all before noon. Johnson sacked 21 pounds, 15 ounces to take the lead on the pro side, while Heffelman hoisted 17 pounds, 14 ounces to top the Strike King co-angler leaderboard. That’s 39-13 total, for those of you scoring at home.
While they may have made it look easy on Day 1, both will have their work cut out for them the rest of the week, as the top of the field had no problem carrying their own weight. On the pro side, Jeff Reynolds put up 21-8 for second, Nicky Parsons weighed 20-6 for third and four other anglers caught 19 pounds or more to lead things off. Four co-anglers had bags of 15 pounds or better, including Steven Bale and Steve Gregg, who weighed 16-4 and 16-2, respectively.
Almost eclipsing the 40-pound mark is an impressive feat for any boat, but to do it all before the lunch hour is even more incredible.
“It hit early,” Johnson said. “My second fish of the day was a good one, and then I had a couple more to round out the limit. It seemed like after I started culling I didn’t cull with anything smaller than a 4-pounder.”
Fishing mid-lake in 6 to 12 feet of water, Johnson and Heffelman targeted transition fish around key structure. Not covering much of the lake, the two estimated they only burned a couple gallons of fuel. After hitting a few spots, they pulled up to the buffet line.
“I caught a 4-pounder, he caught a 4, and we went to the other side of the dock and I caught another 4,” Johnson said. “It was fast and furious.”
Looking to round out his limit, Johnson credits his co-angler with the assist.
“I needed one more good fish,” he said. “We went over and hit one more spot, pulled up, and – thunk – caught one over a cable. Dawayne was an awesome net guy, he was netting like crazy. He netted it for me and I set the rod down and said ‘let’s just go pre-fishing.’”
By 11 a.m. the pair both had respectable limits, and even joked about taking a lunch break.
“I don’t know if we are quite to the Timmy Horton level where we go to the dock and order a pizza,” Johnson said. “But maybe if we have those same bags on Championship Saturday we can call some in.”
With changing weather patterns and fish strung out across different stages of the spawn, both anglers will have to keep plugging if they want to earn delivery.
“The wind didn’t get quite as high as I thought it would today,” Johnson said. “Which allowed me to get to some spots that weren’t blown out. I’m worried that the wind may blow too hard tomorrow, and I won’t be able to get in there.”
Heffelman will not only be at the mercy of the wind the next two days, but also in the hands of new boaters, who may have a completely different game plan.
“What I try to do from the back of the boat is let them lead the way and fall in behind,” he said. “I’ll try something different at first, but if they’re throwing something and catching them pretty regular, I just pick up what they’re throwing and roll with it. If my pro puts me on fish, I know I can catch ‘em.”
Time will tell if these two will eat championship pizza or a slice of humble pie, but there’s no doubt both anglers have earned some respect in the line at weigh-in.
“It was a good day,” Heffelman said. “We had good weather, it was a good start. We were on fish.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Jeremy Johnson – 21 – 15 (5)
2. Jeff Reynolds – 21 – 08 (5)
3. Nicky Parsons – 20 – 06 (5)
4. Curt Warren – 19 – 14 (5)
5. Wesley Rogers – 19 – 13 (5)
6. Kyle Schutta – 19 – 13 (5)
7. Cade Alsbury – 19 – 10 (5)
8. Jake Hurst – 18 – 14 (5)
9. Michael Harlin – 18 – 13 (5)
10. Orlean Smith – 18 – 08 (5)