Touey Pops 21-10 to Lead on Day 1 at Havasu
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – The first day of competition in the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division event on Lake Havasu went about to script, with tough sledding for some and some real individual highlights. On the plus side of things, Patrick Touey hammered out 21 pounds, 10 ounces for a strong Day 1 lead. The only pro to break the 20-pound barrier, Touey is leaning on experience from a previous MLF event and is off to a great start.
“It was fun! All of practice I was pushing a certain bite and it wasn’t going. The water finally warmed up and I checked the same areas I’d been checking all of practice yesterday and they were there,” Touey said.
The Santa Maria, California pro spent Day 1 spot hopping around Havasu chasing big prespawn bites.
“It’s all staging stuff, they’re just sitting down in the channel. Shade is huge. I’m getting bit all day, but after 11 it’s kind of hit or miss. There is a window between 9 and 11 where it’s pretty, I would say, ‘magical.’ You’re not really calling your shots after 11. Before 11, I could almost tell you where I was going to get bit. But I did make one big cull at the end of the day, like a 5-pounder, that was just going down the bank. I just got lucky on that one.”
While he isn’t a Havasu local, Touey is more than familiar with the body of water. His typical derby prep of Google Earth and watching the weather has been enhanced this week thanks to previous experience on the lake.
“I had a game plan from the MLF event two years ago. I found this pattern on Day 2 and I came in with a good bag, but ended up not making the cut. And what I found two years ago is basically what I’m doing,” said Touey. “They’re all in schools. When you hit one there’s more there. It’s multiple areas, I have like twelve cuts and I just milk run them. Today, I think I hit each of them four times.”
Touey’s big bag didn’t come without a few setbacks, as a trio of missed giants to start his morning almost derailed him early.
“I could have had a bigger bag. I could have had almost 30 pounds. I dumped three that were right at 6 before I even a fish. So, I was pretty spun out at that point, and then it came back together.”
While Touey was hesitant to divulge too much regarding his tactics, he did admit to it being a “go big or go home” kind of bite.
“All I can say is I’m going big. I’m not fishing for limits, I’m not fishing for little ones. When I get bit it’s a good one.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Patrick Touey – 21 – 10 (5)
2. Russ Barger – 19 – 03 (5)
3. Klayton Belden – 18 – 08 (5)
4. Kyle Grover – 18 – 06 (5)
5. Cody Spetz – 18 – 03 (5)
6. David Valdivia – 17 – 15 (5)
7. Justin Hicks – 17 – 14 (5)
8. Tai Au – 17 – 09 (5)
9. Mike Williams – 17 – 07 (5)
10. Nate Caldwell – 17 – 05 (5)
Cutler Leads Tight Strike King Co-angler Race
Day 1 of competition was tough on the field of 94 Strike King co-anglers. Only a pair of co-angler limits made their way across the stage, and Joshua Cutler of Hollister, California had the bigger of the two at 11-13, edging out J.D. Blackamore by a mere 4 ounces.
“We were fishing shallow all day, just around tules and rocks. I was flipping little finesse baits and they were smacking it,” said Cutler regarding his Day 1 stringer, mentioning that the action was relatively consistent for him and pro Trace Myers.
“There was a bit of a lull in the middle of the day, but we were still getting bites. They were just fewer and far between. This morning they were biting pretty good, so we caught most of our fish in the morning, and then we kind of struggled.”
The Havasu rookie came in with little prior knowledge, having not been able to get practice time in. Cutler is opting to keep it loose from the back deck this week, having limited expectations going into the opening day of competition.
“I just went with the flow. I didn’t come out early to practice, I live in central California and came out here knowing I just have got to figure it out,” said Cutler. “Luckily, my pro, he’s been putting in a lot of work down here. He knew where the fish were, I’m really grateful for that.”
Top 10 Strike King Co-anglers
1. Joshua Cutler – 11 – 13 (5)
2. J.D. Blackamore – 11 – 09 (5)
3. Ken Hromada – 10 – 10 (4)
4. Colby Huntze – 10 – 03 (3)
5. Tim Domingues – 10 – 01 (4)
6. Zack Eggleston – 9 – 11 (3)
7. Ray Kawabata – 9 – 02 (4)
8. Paul Buccola – 8 – 06 (2)
9. Skyler Koury – 8 – 02 (3)
10. Scott Davis – 7 – 10 (4)