Johnston continues to jam

Allen closes in with 25-4 limit in Stren Texas event on Toledo Bend

HEMPHILL, Texas – Anglers who are currently down on their fishing luck may want to schedule a trip with Toledo Bend guide Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas – not just to catch fish, but to rub shoulders with the man to see if any of his good fortune is contagious.

Indeed, things are going Johnston’s way and they continue to do so. As the current Stren Series Texas Division points leader, Johnston is still leading the third Stren Texas event of the season, taking place on Toledo Bend, after day two.

After bringing in 24 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday, Johnston safeguarded his lead with a 14-pound, 6-ounce catch today for a two-day total of 39 pounds, 3 ounces.

But now it’s not much of a lead, as local legend Harold Allen of Shelbyville, Texas, caught a massive 25-pound, 4-ounce catch today to move within 4 ounces of Johnston.

“I’m happy with what I caught today,” Johnston said. “I fished the same stuff I did yesterday, but never got any big bites like I did yesterday. I was hoping for one or two of those bigger bites to put some distance between myself and some of these great fishermen that are right behind me. Now it’s pretty close.”

Johnston is also happy that he has not had to go to his “off the beaten path” fish that he spent six days of practice finding.

“I have not had to touch them, and there has not been a boat on them the last two days,” Johnston said. “They’re not big fish; I’m not saying I’ve got a place with 20 pounds sitting on it. But they are solid 2- to 3-pounders. Best-case scenario: I could maybe get about 15 pounds off them.”

“Ideally, I’d like to survive on the community holes one more day and then spend all day Saturday on those few saved spots,” he added. “But this is fishing; I might get in there and never get a bite.”

Allen second

Harold Allen of Shelbyville, Texas, landed a humongous bag of Toledo Bend bass today – 25 pounds, 4 ounces – to move into second place with 38 pounds, 15 ounces.

Allen’s limit included the Pro Division Snickers Big Bass of the day, a 9-pound, 9-ounce monster. Overall, quite a difference from yesterday’s catch of 13 pounds, 11 ounces.

“I just didn’t have the timing of my places right yesterday,” Allen said of the difference. “I fished way too fast yesterday and got kind of ahead of schedule with my order of places to fish. These fish bite in certain areas at certain times, and that’s really critical for me. Today, I got a big bite or two that told me to really slow down, and it made a tremendous difference in timing my water correctly. I caught that big one at 1:30 this afternoon.”

Allen did say he is fishing deep structure down to 27 feet.

“With this other tournament tomorrow, I’m going to lose a couple of my better places, and I know that,” he added. “But that’s just the way it is. I’ll just have to keep my head down and stay focused on what I’m doing.”

Martin third

Another Toledo Bend legend, Tommy Martin of Hemphill, Texas, held tight to his third-place spot from yesterday with a solid 15-pound, 5-ounce stringer today for a two-day total of 37 pounds, 12 ounces.

Martin is pinpointing deep structure by jigging a worm.

“I’m trying to stay more vertical with my presentation rather than horizontal, so to speak,” he explained. “It’s a tough way to fish, boat position is everything, and my line stays twisted up, but it’s a different presentation than what a lot of these bass are used to seeing.”

Burgay fourth

Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas, moved up to the fourth spot today with a 15-pound, 5-ounce catch to add to his 19 pounds, 3 ounces from yesterday for a two-day total of 34 pounds, 8 ounces.

Burgay is also fishing deep, but he is using a deep-diving crankbait to do his damage.

“I’m not fishing grass at all,” he said. “I’m fishing deep structure, and when it gets right, I can pull into a place and catch four or five in row off the same piece of cover.”

Cecil fifth

Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, holds the last spot in the top five with a two-day total of 34 pounds, 3 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Stren Series event on Toledo Bend:

6th: Mark Allen of Kemp, Texas, two-day total of 33-15

7th: Shane Gibson of Kilgore, Texas, two-day total of 31-2

8th: Glen Freeman of Converse, La., two-day total of 30-15

9th: Dicky Newberry of Houston, two-day total of 26-8

10th: Jerrel Pringle of Hemphill, Texas, two-day total of 26-8

Martin leads co-anglers

Blake Martin of Hemphill, Texas, apparently has learned a thing or two about fishing from his legendary father, Tommy Martin.

With his father in third place in the Pro Division, the younger Martin now leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 25 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I guess you might say I’ve been hitting some of dad’s `lazier’ spots this week; he throws me a bone every now and then,” Martin said with a chuckle. “I’ve caught everything so far on a Zoom Trick worm. A Texas rig is just hard to beat here, so that’s all I’m throwing. No matter if we’re in 12 feet of water or 27, I’m just fishing that worm.”

Rest of the best

Jacob Brown of Clyde, Texas, is in second place in the Co-angler Division with 25 pounds, 8 ounces.

“I’ve had two really great draws,” Brown acknowledged. “I had Dicky Newberry yesterday and Tim Reneau, and both guys have been around fish. Today I used a 1 1/4-ounce jig to punch through that deeper grass, and it worked.”

Yesterday’s leader, Wesley Schubert of Conroe, Texas, is in third with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 8 ounces.

Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla., is in fourth place with a two-day total of 18 pounds, 10 ounces.

Mack McCoy of Ringgold, La., is in fifth place with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Stren Series event on Toledo Bend:

6th: Larry Cotton of Huffman, Texas, two-day total of 16-5

7th: David Kayda of Crosby, Texas, two-day total of 15-12

8th: Brian Branum of Longview, Texas, two-day total of 15-10

9th: Emmet Barnett of Waldron, Ark., two-day total of 15-7

10th: Bill Guillory of Jasper, Texas, two-day total of 15-6

Big bass

Ray Peace of Arlington, Texas, caught the big bass in the Co-anger Division, weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

Day three of the Stren Series on Toledo Bend begins at 6 a.m. Friday at Frontier Park and Marina located at 360 Frontier Drive in Hemphill, Texas.