Weights fall dramatically on Sam Rayburn
Leader brings in only 14 pounds after the sun starts to shine in southeast Texas
JASPER, Texas – The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
After two days of record-setting fishing at the EverStart Series Central Division event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, weights fell off dramatically on day three for the top 10 pros and co-anglers who advanced to the two-day final round.
The leading pro weight, 14-11, would have only been good enough for 42nd after day one, and William Davis, who caught a record-setting 51 pounds over two days, mustered only four bass for 6 pounds, 10 ounces Friday.
Most, if not all, anglers named the weather as the primary culprit for Friday’s measly weights, and it seems that Rayburn bass like it best when it’s cold and just plain nasty outside. The sun came out Friday after two days of dreary rain and thunderstorms.
Justiceburg, Texas, pro Jerry Green leads the pro contingent into day two with one of three of the day’s five-bass limits. His stringer weighed 14 pounds, 11 ounces and leads second-place pro David Curtis by 1 pound, 6 ounces heading into the final day.
Green’s lead is due in large part to the saving graces of No. 10 pro Ed Dunnaway, who was kind enough to haul in Green and his co-angler partner, Keith Newsom, after Green’s boat broke down at 2:30, just a half-hour before check-in.
“We’re really fortunate,” Green said. “Ed had pulled into a little cove and we were able to wave him down, and he brought us in.
“It’s been grueling out there for sure. All I can do is go out there tomorrow and do the best I can. That’s what I did today.”
Green said he was catching his bass on a Rat-L-Trap and a spinner bait, although several pros remarked that their spinner bait bite tapered off a bit in the sunny weather. He’s fishing shallow water and reported that his fish aren’t turning on until later in the day.
“(The weather) caused me to slow down a little bit,” he said. “I’m going to try something a little different first thing in the morning.”
Weather disappoints Curtis
David Curtis continued his Sam Rayburn hot streak and put himself in prime position to take his first EverStart Series title by finishing second on day two with 13 pounds, 5 ounces.
Curtis’ Friday haul was tough to come by, however, as the weather frustrated his fishing as it did the rest of the field. He had landed only one fish by 1 o’clock and turned to his co-angler partner, local Robert Lebert, to direct him to another fishing hole.
“He said, `I know one spot we might try,'” Curtis said. “I said, `I know this spot too,’ but I’d never fished it. He said, `There’s never anybody on this spot.’ It paid off for us. I’m just stunned and in awe. It was looking bad at 1 o’clock this afternoon.”
Curtis originally attempted to fish the spot that handed him the day-one lead, only to find that most of it had been muddied up.
“I didn’t feel right about it,” he said. “That (other) spot saved us. It filled my limit. (The weather) killed me.”
Lasyone moves up to third
Louisiana pro Kevin Lasyone angled his way into the No. 3 spot Friday with a four-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 12 ounces, exactly 10 pounds lighter than his day-two catch.
“I’m fishing shallow and catching them late,” Lasyone said. “I borrowed (co-angler Jeary Wheeler’s) Senko and caught two or three on it.”
Lasyone blamed the weather for shutting the bite down but also blamed a decision he made that he thinks he can rectify tomorrow.
“I made a bad call today,” he said. “We got to a few fish too late. I’ll get there earlier tomorrow.”
Best of the rest
Darrel Robertson kept himself in the hunt, finishing fourth on day three with a three-bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces. In fifth is Davis with a four-bass catch weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Zack Bull of Memphis with 6 pounds, 2 ounces (sixth); James Fredieu of St. Martinville, La., with 6-0 (seventh); Travis Loyd of Vienna, Ill., with 5-1 (eighth); Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark., with 5-1 (ninth); and Ed Dunnaway of Flowood, Miss., with 1-14 (10th).
Locals lead co-angler standings
Ernie Hillebrandt of Sam Rayburn vaulted from fifth to first on day three with a four-bass catch weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. Hot on his tail, though, is another Sam Rayburn local, Robert Lebert, with 10 pounds, 8 ounces. Lebert also caught one of the day’s three limits.
“The weather definitely slowed the bite down,” Hillebrandt said. “I was able to adjust. I think it helped today that I’m a local.”
Hillebrandt caught his bass today flipping and with a Wacky Worm.
Co-angler lineup
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Randy Coffman of Corydon, Ind., with 7-8 (third); Danny Easley of Clay, Ky., with one big bass weighing 5-1 (fourth); opening-round leader Gilbert Herald of Pittsburg, Texas, with 3-15 (fifth); Billy Yelverton of Baton Rouge, La., with 3-1 (sixth); Keith Newsom of Memphis with 3-1 (seventh); Bill Rogers of Jasper with 2-10 (eighth); Gene Purdy of Bentonville, Ark., with 1-11 (ninth); and Jeary Wheeler of Batesville, Ark., in 10th place with zero bass on day three.
The final takeoff will commence at 7 a.m. from the Umphrey Family Pavilion, located on RR 255 in Jasper. Winners will be crowned at tomorrow’s weigh-in, which begins at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 800 W. Gibson in Jasper. Winners are determined by heaviest two-day catch weight.