Numbers rise, records fall on Lake Amistad
Mauldin leads pros with record-breaking opening-round weight of 53-14
DEL RIO, Texas – A laundry list of records were broken on Lake Amistad Thursday on day two of Stren Series Central Division competition, with the most prominent being the 5,071 pounds, 8 ounces of bass weighed in by pros and co-anglers, which surpasses the previous FLW Outdoors one-day weight record by almost 600 pounds. Also toppling were opening-round weights on both the pro and co-angler sides, and these are FLW Outdoors records we’re talking about – not just the Stren Series.
Last season on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, pro William Davis hauled in 51 pounds of bass to set the bar for opening-round weights in the Stren Series. That record was knocked over by not one but two pros today, as leader David Mauldin of Tomball, Texas, took in 53 pounds, 14 ounces over two days and No. 2 Craig Dowling of Many, La., weighed in 53 pounds, 12 ounces.
The anglers in the back of the boat were not to be denied, either. Co-angler leader Ed Gold of Broken Arrow, Okla., wrote his name in the FLW Outdoors history books with his record-breaking opening-round catch of 48 pounds, 13 ounces.
Overall, the statistics paint a vivid picture of how well Lake Amistad is fishing this week, as spectators were treated to one more day of bags so full that anglers had to lift them with both hands. Pro Ricky Scott of Van Buren, Ark., caught the day’s heaviest limit at 34 pounds, 4 ounces, and pro Russell Cecil caught the day’s heaviest bass, an 11-pounder. Two hundred and sixty-seven five-bass limits were brought to the scales.
However, as impressive as the numbers are, the ironic thing is that they very well may not last for long. Next week, the Stren Series will visit California’s Clear Lake, where anglers last season caught stringers in excess of 45 pounds despite having a four-fish limit. This year, they can catch five, so don’t look for all of these new records to stand for long.
Mauldin takes over the top
Regardless of how long the records stand, this week’s tournament at Lake Amistad has redefined the term “slugfest,” and leading them all is Mauldin, a Texas pro who had heretofore never visited the massive western Texas reservoir.
Mauldin reports that in the early morning hours, he began to fear that he would not be able to back up his day-one catch of 26-13 because his fish simply were not biting.
“My early fish that I was counting on did not bite,” he said. “I was about shook up. I stayed with them for an hour, and then I went to my deep fish, and they weren’t biting.”
At that point, Mauldin found himself with nowhere else to go, so he stuck with his deep-water fish, and they eventually rewarded him for his patience to the tune of 27 pounds, 1 ounce. That, combined with his day-one catch, put him at 53 pounds, 14 ounces and into the record books.
“Finally they started biting,” he said. “I caught 18 pounds between 11 and 12 o’clock. Then I just went practicing and caught some 5- and 6-pounders.”
Competitors behind Mauldin should fear the guy even though he’s an Amistad rookie. He thinks he figured out a little something that will help him in tomorrow’s competition.
“The fish started moving up really shallow in the warmer weather,” he said. “I’ll know where to catch them tomorrow.”
Dowling, too, breaks record but settles for second
Craig Dowling’s 22-pound, 11-ounce day-two catch along with his day-one haul of 31-1 gave him a two-day weight of 53 pounds, 12 ounces, enough to topple Davis’ previous record from Sam Rayburn but not enough to take the tournament lead.
Like Mauldin’s, Dowling’s final-round chances also look good as he caught his day-two fish on brand-new spots.
“Today, since they cut to zero (Friday), I went to a bunch of new spots,” he said. “I lost a couple of big fish that would have given me over 30 pounds today. Tomorrow I’ve got a lot of spots I’ve been saving, and I’m going to go check on them.”
Dowling, a Stren Series rookie, says he’s been fishing deep water with Yamamoto baits to land his bass.
“It’s a very specific pattern,” he said. “As long as I can find the right type of structure, I can land big fish.”
Case in third
Not far behind the leaders in third place is Robert Case of Point, Texas, with a two-day total of 48 pounds, 14 ounces. He caught 22-2 on day one and slightly improved upon that on day two with 26 pounds, 12 ounces.
Case, who is also fishing his first career Stren Series event, says a slight difference in scenery led to his lofty standing on day two.
“(Conditions) didn’t change much; they just bit a little later than they did yesterday,” he said. “The fish I caught yesterday were within sight of the ramp. Today I ran about 20 miles.”
For Case, the secret has been in the trees this week, fishing in 12 to 15 feet of water.
“I think they’re responding to reaction baits bouncing off those trees,” he said. “I’m going to do the same thing tomorrow and see if I can pattern them.”
Slopak falls to fourth
Yesterday’s No. 2, Chris Slopak of Prairie Grove, Ark., caught 20 pounds, 10 ounces today to end the opening round with 48 pounds, 3 ounces, good for fourth. While Slopak still managed to weigh in a good sack, he says it was tough out there for him today, with a lot of extra company in his fishing hole.
“I went to my primary area and had some new visitors doing the exact same thing I was,” he said. “I caught 13 1/2 pounds there and started prefishing.”
Also adding to Slopak’s woes is some serious bait misfortune – he lost his primary lure today and had no backups. He planned to spend the evening trying to hunt down another one.
“I’ve only got one good area left,” Slopak said. “It’s looking pretty slim for me. I’m going to struggle.”
Combs takes fifth
Rising to fifth place is Temple, Texas, pro Keith Combs, who brought in 17-5 yesterday but busted a 30-pound, 3-ounce sack today to put his two-day total at 47 pounds, 8 ounces.
“I got on one spot, and every fish in there was big,” Combs said. “It’s a ridge, and I fished the tip of it yesterday, but today it was just loaded. Yesterday, nothing seemed to go well for me, and I don’t feel really good about it, but that one spot keeps producing big fish.”
Best of the rest
The field was cut to the top 20 in each division for Friday’s competition. The top 10 based on tomorrow’s results will continue competition Saturday.
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day two on Lake Amistad:
6th: Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, 10 bass, 47-6
7th: Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas, 10 bass, 47-3
8th: Chad Griffin of Cresson, Texas, 10 bass, 47-0
9th: Ricky Scott of Van Buren, Ark., 10 bass, 46-8
10th: Larry Rea of Stigler, Okla., 10 bass, 46-8
Gold shines atop co-angler leaderboard
Co-angler leader Ed Gold ended opening day in second with 26 pounds, 8 ounces and caught another 22 pounds, 5 ounces today to land in the record books with 48 pounds, 13 ounces. No co-angler has ever caught more weight in two days in any FLW Outdoors tournament.
Success for Gold meant a pattern that worked with his day-two partner, something he was unsure of at the close of day one.
“My pattern held,” he said. “It’s still going great.”
Gold would not disclose yet what exactly that pattern is, but he’s grateful for the chance to give it another try tomorrow in the semifinal round.
“As a co-angler, whoever you draw goes to a different place,” he said. “It just so happened that my pattern worked in a different place. Thank the good Lord it all worked out.”
Diffee, Achee, Theesfield also break 40-pound mark
The top four co-anglers all had two-day weighs exceeding 40 pounds, and behind Gold in second is Hot Springs, Ark., angler Mark Diffee, part of a duo that caught more than 63 pounds of bass today. His day-two partner was Ricky Scott, who hauled in the 34-pound, 4-ounce stringer. Diffee’s own limit weighed 29-9, and he brought in the heaviest co-angler bass of the day, a 9-pound, 5-ouncer.
“I culled 5-pound fish from 10 o’clock until this afternoon,” Diffee said. “There were big fish everywhere.”
Yesterday’s leader Tim Achee of Hemphill struggled a bit on day two, falling from 30-10 to 12-14, but his combined weight of 43-8 was still enough to land him in third.
Behind them in fourth is Odessa angler Rodney Theesfield with 42 pounds, 4 ounces. Jim Behnken of Floresville took the fifth position with a two-day weight of 39 pounds, 6 ounces.
Best of the rest
The top 20 co-anglers will also compete tomorrow, with the top 10 based on tomorrow’s results advancing to Saturday’s final round.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers after day two on Lake Amistad:
6th: Delores Robles of Del Rio, 10 bass, 39 pounds
7th: Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., 10 bass, 36-11
8th: Tom Medlock of Licking, Mo., 10 bass, 35-10
9th: Jeff Snyder of Royse City, 10 bass, 34-11
10th: Eddy O’Mary of Schertz, 10 bass, 34-10
Tomorrow’s takeoff begins at 7:30 a.m. Central time from Lake Amistad Marina, located on Highway 90 West in Del Rio. The semifinal-round weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Wal-Mart store located on Veterans Boulevard in Del Rio.