Goines leads top-10 pack heading into finals
Standley jumps from third to first in Co-Angler Division
JASPER, Texas – Heading into the $185,000 EverStart tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Mark Goines decided to follow a very simple philosophy: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. True to his word, Goines found one key spot and stuck with it for three straight days. The result – a first place finish in Friday’s semifinal round of competition and a berth in tomorrow’s all-important finals.
“During practice, I only found one good area to fish. And I told myself I was just going to stay with it,” said Goines, a native of Shady Point, Okla. “And so far, everything has worked out. I’m very happy right now. “
Goines said that although he had some problems early on in the tournament, today’s fishing went extremely well.
“On the first day, quite a few fish broke off my line. It was really tough,” said Goines, who recorded a catch of 14 pounds, 12-ounces to grab the lead heading into the finals. “Yesterday, I just lost a lot of fish. But today, everything was pretty smooth. I caught my limit by 11 a.m. and I was able to cull fish all day.”
Goines said that he has eschewed the shallow water for deeper areas of the reservoir. And so far, the strategy appears to be paying big dividends.
“A lot of the guys are fishing a lot more shallow than I am,” said Goines, who has pitched a tubebait exclusively throughout the tournament. “But I’m fishing a lot deeper. I’m having a lot of luck catching bass suspended in the tree cover and that’s where most of the big fish seem to be.”
Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, used a catch of 14 pounds, 9 ounces to grab second place in the Pro Division. However, while Bird has been fishing shallow for most of the tournament, he said he has a secret weapon for the finals.
“My goal was to first make the cut by sight fishing in shallow water,” said Bird. “But now that I’ve made the cut, I think I’m going back to a hole I’ve been saving for the final day. It’s a deep water hole that’s going to require some heavy cranking. I’m not sure it’s going to work, but if it does, I should have a really nice stringer tomorrow.”
Although Bird believes the tournament is still wide open, he believes that if the conditions are right, he has a good chance of taking home the top prize of $15,000 and a new Ranger boat.
“I’m going to have to work hard for the fish tomorrow, but I should be able to catch about 10 pounds if everything goes well,” said Bird. “The question is whether or not I can catch the big ones.”
In third place after Friday’s competition was Adam Wright of Benton, Ark., with a catch of 13 pounds, 8 ounces. Jeff Stevens of Terre Haute, Ind., claimed fourth place with a catch of 12 pounds, 11 ounces. Jim Eakins of Nixa, Mo., grabbed the fifth spot with a catch of 12 pounds, 9 ounces.
Rounding out the top-10 finalists in the Pro Division were: Shane Allman (sixth) of Sam Rayburn, Texas, with a catch of 12 pounds, 1 ounce; Darrel Robertson (seventh) of Jay, Okla., with a catch of 11 pounds, 9 ounces; Joel Barber (eighth) of Brandon, Miss., with a catch of 10 pounds, 15 ounces; Wesley Strader (ninth) of Spring City, Tenn., with a catch of 10 pounds, 12 ounces; and Mark Jordan (tenth) of Kevil, Ky., with a catch of 10 pounds, 10 ounces.
Standley standing tall
Bo Standley of Silsbee, Texas, fishing in his first EverStart tournament of his career, landed in first place in the Co-angler Division heading into tomorrow’s final with a catch of 11 pounds, 8 ounces. Standley, who has used a Wacky Worm almost exclusively throughout the tournament, said a good pro partner is always a key factor when fishing from the back of the boat.
“I was just hoping I would draw good partners who could put me on fish,” said Standley. “And that’s what happened today as well as the first two days of the tournament. Without good partners, it’s really hard to do well.”
While Standley is happy with his performance to date, he argued that the tournament is still up for grabs.
“There are so many variables when you’re a co-angler,” said Standley. “Like I said before, a lot depends on your partner. I just hope I can go out and catch a limit tomorrow. But there are no guarantees. Really, it’s anybody’s game.”
Kay Barton, the only woman remaining in the tournament, finished in second place in the Co-angler Division with a catch of 10 pounds, 10 ounces. Not surprisingly, the native of Tuskahoma, Okla., said she is extremely happy with the way things have worked out so far.
“It feels great, it really does,” said Barton. “I’ve had three lovely partners and I really like fishing on Sam Rayburn.”
Barton, who is somewhat of a fishing veteran on Sam Rayburn, said she thought she would do well coming into the tournament. However, she never imagined she would do this well.
“I had a lot of confidence coming in because I know the reservoir pretty well,” said Barton, who finally qualified for her first top-10 appearance on the EverStart tournament trail. “But I was just hoping to make the top 30. So naturally, I’m very excited.”
Barton, who has used a watermelon/red fluke bait throughout the tournament, said she doesn’t plan on making too many changes tomorrow.
“This is one of my favorite baits and I’m going to stick with what got me here,” said Barton. “I have a lot of confidence and if my partner can put me on some fish tomorrow, I’ll be very happy.”
Douglas Bailey of Jasper, Texas, finished in the third spot with a catch of 9 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth place was Robert Bogan of Farmington, Ark., with a catch of 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Fifth place belonged to Jack Thomas of Highland Village, Texas, with a catch of 9 pounds, 2 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 finalists were: Lyall Grant (sixth) of Sam Rayburn, Texas, with a catch of 8 pounds, 13 ounces; Brandon Delaney (seventh) of Nacogdoches, Texas, with a catch of 7 pounds, 14 ounces; Justin Hale (eighth) of Nacogdoches, Texas, with a catch of 7 pounds, 6 ounces; Chad Brooks of Houston, Texas, with a catch of 7 pounds; and Chris Darby of Mount Ida, Ark., with a catch of 6 pounds, 2 ounces.
Tomorrow’s competition will commence at 7 a.m. at the public boat ramp located approximately 1 mile west of Twin Dykes Park marina on Hwy 255.
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