Baksay builds ‘loony’ lead at Lanier

Connecticut pro ahead by 5 pounds

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Terry Baksay of Monroe, Conn., compiled a nice 5-pound cushion between himself and the rest of the pack at the Wal-Mart FLW Series event at Lake Lanier Thursday. His two-day total now stands at 33 pounds, 14 ounces.

Normally weight margins are of little consequence in FLW events due to the zeroing of weights after the cut, but considering that the new FLW Series determines a winner by cumulative weight after four days, Baksay has some breathing room.

As he did Wednesday, Baksay bagged a 6-pound largemouth to anchor his five-bass limit today.

“She was the first fish of the day,” Baksay said. “I caught two more, and things got real slow for about an hour. The fish were biting, but they weren’t getting the bait good, and I was missing them.”

Then a lucky loon changed Baksay’s fortune.

“Suddenly a loon appeared in the area and started chasing bait, and that seemed to set off an unbelievable feeding frenzy. Every time this loon came up, it had a mouthful of shad. My partner and I would cast all around the loon, and we caught fish on almost every cast.”

When the loon left, the action came to a screeching halt.

“It got slow for a while, then the loon came back, and it happened all over again,” Baksay added. “It was crazy. I really need that loon to show up for me the next two days.”

Kenney on solid pattern for second

Several of the top 10 anglers are relying on key areas for their fish. But J.T. Kenney of Daytona Beach, Fla., is running a true pattern. He added 15 pounds, 11 ounces to his total today for a two-day total of 28 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I haven’t fished the same place twice in two days,” Kenney said. “I don’t want to say exactly what I’m doing because it’s pretty easy to figure out and duplicate. I’m literally riding around, fishing new water just by how it looks. I probably made 10 stops today and caught 11 or 12 fish.”

Kenney did say he was on the lower end of the lake and had not seen many boats in the area. He also noted he is catching all spotted bass.

No big bite for Peek

After sacking nearly 18 pounds yesterday, Tim Peek of Sharpsburg, Ga., brought in 10 pounds, 15 ounces today for a two-day total of 28 pounds, 13 ounces to hold in the third-place position.

“The fish are still there,” Peek said. “I had a limit by 8:15; I probably caught 20 bass. I fished clean and didn’t lose anything; I just didn’t get any big bites like I did yesterday.

“I hate to sit in there and keep catching them. But you can’t stop with 10 pounds, coast into the cut and count on the zero weight going into the finals. I have to catch as much as I can. I expanded the area a little bit more today, so I’ll have a little more room to fish the next couple of days.”

Farley falls to fourth

Local angler Tim Farley of Lula, Ga., who led the event on day one, slipped a little off the pace today and caught 8 pounds, 13 ounces for a two-day total of 28 pounds, 6 ounces.

“I had the camera-boat jinx today,” Farley joked. “The camera boat was on me, and I couldn’t get hooked up. I had a lot of bites, but they were not eating the bait like they did yesterday. These are the only five bass I caught.”

Farley said he plans to pull out all the stops Friday and fish his home-lake milk run, including some places he had been saving for the last day.

Elliot fifth

Steady Chris Elliot of Beaufort, N.C., has hammered his way onto the last rung of the top five with two consistent limits weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces and 14 pounds even for a two-day total of 28 pounds, 5 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Wal-Mart FLW Series at Lake Lanier:

6th: Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., with a two-day total of 28-3

7th: Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, 27-13

8th: Curt Lytle of Zuni, Va., 27-12

9th: Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., 27-8

10th: Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, 27-5

Hester continues to lead co-anglers

Talk about consistent: Ty Hester of Russellville, Ala., weighed in 13 pounds 5 ounces yesterday and 13 pounds, 4 ounces today for a two-day total of 26-9 to maintain his lead in the Co-angler Division.

“I figured a little something out in practice,” Hester said. “I’m keeping my eye on the depth finder in the back, and when we get in the right kind of area at just the right depth, I switch to another bait and it works. I’ve done it two days in a row now. I just hope my partner tomorrow goes to the same kind of water.”

Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark., had the biggest co-angler stringer of the tournament today, weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces, to move into second place with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 4 ounces.

Koone fished with pro Tom Monsoor of LaCrosse, Wis.

“We dragged jigs deep, Lake Erie-style,” Koone said. “I caught seven keepers, and they all just happened to be big.”

Monte Atkins of Greenville, Va., is in third with a two-day total of 21 even. He reported catching his fish on drop-shot rigs today.

Red-hot Ken Keirsey of Owasso, Okla., who won the Co-angler Division of the last Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Pickwick Lake, is in fourth with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 7 ounces.

Sean Stepp of Stafford, Va., is in fifth with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 3 ounces.

John Parker of Gaffney, S.C., now leads the big-bass contest in the Co-angler Division with a spotted bass weighing 5-1.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Wal-Mart FLW Series at Lake Lanier:

6th: Wayne Hauser of Winston Salem, N.C., with a two-day total 20-1

7th: Joe Padgett of Cumming, Ga., 19-6

8th: Mike Boyles of Highlandville, Mo., 19-5

9th: Arch Cornett of Huntsville, Ala., 18-14

10th: Frank Divis, Sr., of Fayetteville, Ark., 18-1

Day-three action begins at 7 a.m. Eastern at Little Hall park on Lake Lanier.