Hibdons’ house

Father, son make first top-10 together at Wal-Mart FLW Series event

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – For the first time in the Hibdons’ rich fishing history, father and son have made a final tournament cut together.

Dion Hibdon still leads the FLW Series event with a three-day total of 51 pounds, 15 ounces after bringing in 14-14 Friday. And the elder Hibdon, Guido, qualified in the eighth position with a three-day total of 44-13 after sacking 15-2 today.

“That’s good,” quipped Dion shortly after the top 10 pros were announced. “I’m glad dad made it because, if I should happen to win this thing, I want to know I beat the best son of a gun on this lake, fair and square.

“He’s just an awesome guy,” Dion continued, sharing a moment of reverence for his father. “He has forgotten more than I’ll ever know.”

This week, the Hibdons have tapped Lake of the Ozarks’ deep-water bite.

And how deep is deep?

“We’re both catching most of our fish 20 to 40 feet,” Hibdon said. “We’re targeting ledges – vertical rock faces that drop from 20 to 30, down to 40 or 50 feet.”

Both Hibdons are using 3/4-ounce and 1-ounce jigs to do their damage.

“These fish relate to these deep vertical drops,” Dion said. “The bite is good when the fish are pulled up on top of the ledges in about 20 feet. But when they move out and suspend out in front of the vertical faces over 40 or 50 feet, they’re much harder to catch.

“I’m pretty excited right now,” he added. “I love to fish this way, and I just can’t wait to get out there and do it again tomorrow.”

Things look optimistic for Dion Hibdon, but he does have a major problem: a star-studded field of top-10 anglers, including his own father, is breathing down his neck.

Kennedy closing

Hibdon’s problem starts with Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., who is not going away quietly.

Kennedy has been closing in on the top position all week and checked in 14-9 today to move into second place with a three-day total of 49-9. He now sits about 2 1/2 pounds behind Hibdon.

The Alabama pro is fishing steep vertical bluff banks along the main lake and major creeks with a jig.

“I tried fishing shallow in the backs of creeks a lot in practice, but I just didn’t get any bites in those places,” he said. “And every time I came back out to the mouths of those big creeks and started fishing the big bluffs, I’d get bit.

“I’m trying to fish fast and slow at the same time, and it’s hard. I want to cover water, but I’m also trying to slow down and get the jig down there a little deeper.”

Nixon third

Complicating matters even more for Hibdon is one Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., who is also clawing his way to the top with solid limits weighing in the mid-teens.

Nixon brought 16-6 to the scales today to move into third with a three-day total of 48-4.

Like Hibdon, Nixon is also fishing deep in the 25- to 35-foot range with a jig.

“I’m hunting anything like a little rock point or jut-out that sticks out into about 35 feet of water,” Nixon said. “It’s very precise fishing. Given the depth of water, the strike zone is very small. I can’t fish in the wind, and I’m relegated to the calmer areas.”

Yet Nixon does not want the wind to totally subside.

“One of the toughest days I had in practice, it was dead calm,” he added. “When it gets like that, they move out and suspend off those jut-outs, and they get very hard to catch.”

Lefebre fourth

Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., who has recorded the biggest catch of the tournament, 22-2 on day one, is also lying in wait should Hibdon stumble. The Kellogg’s pro now sits in fourth place with 47 pounds.

With just 10 anglers left, Lefebre finally let down his guard on his technique.

“I’m swimming a jig in the backs of shallow cuts and pockets off the main lake,” he said. “I’m continuing to cover new water, and I’m moving shallower each day.

“But what’s frustrating me now is the number of fish I’m seeing follow and short-strike the jig. Big ones will follow it all the way out to the boat. Several times I’ve left the jig in the water and led the fish around the boat – like they do with musky fishing – and then they’ll suddenly bite it.”

Lefebre says his remedy for tomorrow is to put a trailer hook on the jig.

Morgan fifth

Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., stayed in the hunt today thanks to a last-minute stop at a new location. He now sits in fifth place with a three-day total of 47 pounds.

“I pulled in this one little spot at the end of the day and caught three or four pretty quick,” he said. “I didn’t have time to really feel it out, and it looked like there was a lot more stuff in there to fish. The best part is that it fits my style, and I’m pretty jacked up about getting back in there tomorrow to see if there is more to it.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the FLW Series at Lake of the Ozarks:

6th: Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, with a three-day total of 45-13.

7th: Troy Eakins of Nixa, Mo., with a three-day total of 45-10

8th: Guido Hibdon of Gravois Mills, Mo., with a three-day total of 44-13

9th: Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala., with a three-day total of 44-13

10th: Marty Sisk of Evansville, Ind., with a three-day total of 44-6

The final day of competition resumes tomorrow at 7 a.m. at PB-II on Lake of the Ozarks.