MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southwestern Division event on the Arkansas River turned out about as tough as you’d expect a river event to be when summertime temperatures and high-flow conditions collide. In the lead, Joshua Teply wrangled up 14 pounds, 15 ounces to get things rolling, and Walt Stevens is close behind with 14-4.
Tied for third, Bradley Sullivan and Aaron Johnson both bagged 13-4, and Devin Freeman sits fifth with an even 13 pounds. On the co-angler side, Robert Jacuzzi snatched up 13-2 for the lead, and Mark King landed four for 11-14 for second.
1. Fish position key for Teply
While he’s not a super local, Teply has enough experience on the Arkansas River that he was able to buy himself a little extra fishing time on the run down to Kerr.
“I usually fish it when the BFLs are here, so a couple times a year,” the Oklahoma angler said of the fishery. “I’m really not a local, but I sneak down occasionally when I want to get my river rat on. I know a bunch of little cut-throughs, so I conserved gas on the way down and drove 50 and still passed some boats.”
Once he got to where he wanted to fish, Teply had two in the boat in 15 minutes and did well on a tough day.
“It’s tough out there; it wasn’t for practice for me, but it was today,” he said. “I had a really good practice. I had the opportunity for about 17 today, but I tried to boat flip one about 4, and it didn’t make it in the boat – that was my fault.”
Even though he’s fishing around other boats, Teply thinks he has a key nuance figured out.
“I’m not fishing any sneak holes. It’s something I figured out with how the fish are positioned with the wind,” he said. “It’s working out, but they are very specific on where they want to be. I think things will get better – I think today was the bad day.”
If Teply is right, he could be hard to handle the rest of the way.
2. Stevens back on track at the Arkansas River
After an uncharacteristic double zero at Grand Lake, Stevens came into this event with his back against the wall as far as points go. But a win would put him in the Toyota Series Championship, and after Day 1, that is suddenly very much within reach.
“I have one key area, and I had most of my weight by 8:30,” said Stevens, who hails from Louisiana. “I culled probably three times out of that area for a couple ounces. I lost three fish that probably would have helped me a little, but not much. So, I know there are still fish there, at least.”
Stevens sure hopes there are still fish there, as he’s firmly banking on that one area.
“Bites are tough to come by, but I got a couple bites in one area in practice,” he said. “I decided there was a population of fish living there and that I wasn’t going back until Day 1 of the tournament. That’s where I’m doing my damage.”
7 Brew Angler of the Year race is far from over
Coming into the event, Chris Jones held the lead for 7 Brew Angler of the Year by 4 points with 506 to his name. Behind him, Cody Ross was the closest pursuer with 502 points. After Day 1, Ross is sitting in sixth, and Jones is in 12th. So, the pair are still incredibly tight, though Ross now holds the unofficial lead. Notably, Jones boated five keeper bass, and Ross only managed four, but one was a 6-10 behemoth, which earned him some Berkley Big Bass money and could prove to be critical for his season.
Top 10 pros
1. Joshua Teply – 14 – 15 (5)
2. Walt Stevens – 14 – 4 (5)
3. Bradley Sullivan – 13 – 4 (5)
3. Aaron Johnson – 13 – 4 (5)
5. Devin Freeman – 13 – 0 (5)
6. Cody Ross – 12 – 15 (4)
7. Chad Mrazek – 12 – 14 (5)
8. Ed Broaddrick – 12 – 12 (5)
9. Levi Thibodaux – 12 – 7 (5)
10. Bryant Martin – 12 – 4 (5)