Wright takes flight

Carolina crankbait legend pulls into 8-ounce lead going into final day

BRACEY, Va. – Say the name David Wright in other parts of the country, and most folks might assume you are talking about star third baseman for the New York Mets. But say the name David Wright in the bass-tournament communities in the hills of the Carolinas, and everyone knows you mean the crankbait legend from Lexington, N.C.

Today Wright showed why he has made a name for himself in bass fishing when he brought in his third consecutive five-bass limit of the week to take a slim 8-ounce lead in the Stren Series Northern Division event on Lake Gaston.

After bagging 12 pounds, 14 ounces Friday, Wright now leads with a three-day total of 41 pounds, 2 ounces.

As for Wright’s technique, there is not a whole lot on which to elaborate. He takes a Zoom “cranking plug” and runs it into stumps, through brush piles, over rocks and across ledges to dredge up his catch from depths of 10 to 12 feet.

“I culled four today, but I lost three or four good ones, too,” he said. “They just pulled off, and I don’t really know why.”

Wright visits between 15 to 18 different spots per day, spending as much as 30 minutes apiece on them.

“It depends,” he said of his time spent on each place. “If I pull up there and hit the cover on the first cast or two and don’t get a bite, I move on. But sometimes it takes me a few minutes to get lined up right, find the cover and hit it several times. If I really think there should be a fish there, I’ll keep smacking it with a crankbait until either the fish or I give up.”

When asked if he is fishing anything else on his deep spots, Wright smiled and said, “Yeah, every now and then I’ll pick another crankbait in a different color just to keep them honest.”

Defoe `dunks’ for second

After checking in 15 pounds, 7 ounces on day one and 14 pounds, 10 ounces on day two to take the day-two lead, Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn., weighed in 10 pounds, 9 ounces today to hold firm in second place.

Defoe began the morning with a cool dunk under the water to catch his first fish.

“I pitched a Senko in a beaver hut, got bit, set the hook, and the fish got me hung up in the sticks,” Defoe recalled. “I used my net to pull up a bunch of limbs; I could see the fish, but I couldn’t get the net around him. So I had my co-angler hold me by my feet, and I went under the water and grabbed it. The whole ordeal probably took five minutes or more, but the fish was a 2-pounder and I never culled it, so it was worth getting wet for.”

Defoe is still relying on a topwater and Senko to catch his fish, but caught some fish on a jig today as well.

Baumgardner digs in for third

Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., also refused to relinquish his spot among the top five today.

He checked in 13 pounds, 14 ounces to grab third place with a three-day total of 39 pounds, 5 ounces.

The Snickers pro caught a topwater fish this morning on a buzzbait and then went to the ChatterBait the rest of the day.

“I’m taking the ChatterBait and skipping it as far as possible back under docks,” he said. “The biggest one I caught today, that 4-10, came from way up under a dock in less than a foot of water.”

Baksay bounces into fourth

Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn., weighed in one of the heaviest limits of the tournament – 17 pounds, 1 ounce – to rocket into the top five with a three-day total of 36 pounds, 6 ounces.

The Yamaha pro must have thought he was in a dream today when a large school of big bass came up feeding around his boat.

“They stayed up for about 40 minutes, and it was nearly a fish every cast,” he said. “They were just gorging on bait and fat as footballs. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun.

Vatalaro fifth

Gain pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, has battled his way into the top five this week with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 8 ounces.

Vatalaro is fishing creek channels adjacent to grass for his catch.

“Most of the grass flats are 2 to 4 feet deep, but they’ve got 10- to 12-foot channels running through them,” Vatalaro said. “I’m concentrating on the points and corners of the flats that stick out into those channels.

“There is a lot of fishing pressure in the area, so I’ve scaled way back to 6-pound-test Gamma line on a spinning rod,” he continued. “I’m throwing a mojo rig made with a tiny 1/16-ounce weight and a Trick Worm.”

Big bass

Wesley Cashwell of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., caught the big bass in the Pro Division on day three that weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Stren Series Northern Division event on Lake Gaston after day three:

6th: Dustin Wilks of Rocky Mount, N.C., three-day total of 34-15

7th: Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., three-day total of 33-1

8th: Joe Balog of Harrison Township, Ohio, three-day total of 32-11

9th: Kip Carter of Loganville, Ga., three-day total of 32-9

10th: Richard Jenkins of Callaway, Md., three-day total of 31-7

Crowder continues to lead co-anglers

In the Co-angler Division, Kermit Crowder of Matoaca, Va., caught four bass for 7 pounds, 13 ounces to hold on to his day-two lead.

Crowder’s three-day total comes to 30 pounds, 2 ounces, which gives him nearly a 5-pound lead going into the final day.

Sherwood second

Jason Sherwood of Damascus, Md., caught three big bass today weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces to move into second place with a three-day total of 25 pounds, 3 ounces.

“I caught them skipping a green-pumpkin Senko up under docks,” Sherwood said. “My partner and I figured out that the best docks had a nice drop from 4 to 6 feet underneath them, and that’s where the biggest fish were sitting.”

Rest of the best

James Richardson Sr. of Harrison, Ohio, is in third place with a three-day total of 25 pounds, 2 ounces.

Gary Guilliams of Troutville, Va., is in fourth place with a three-day total of 24 pounds, 1 ounce.

Paul Mueller of Southbury, Conn., is in fifth place with a three-day total of 22 pounds, 10 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Stren Series Northern Division event on Lake Gaston after day three:

6th: Glenn Stephenson of Willow Springs, N.C., three-day total of 21-4

7th: Jerry Hayden of Charlotte, N.C., three-day total of 20-0

8th: Renee Hensley of Edwardsburg, Mich., three-day total of 19-7

9th: Edward Piwonski of Granby, Conn., three-day total of 19-3

10th: Lynn Baciuska of Afton, N.Y., three-day total of 19-1

Big bass

David Slonaker of Howard, Ohio, caught the big bass in the Co-angler Division on day three that weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces.

Day four of the Stren Series event on Lake Gaston begins Thursday morning at 7 at Americamps, located at 9 Lakeside Lane in Bracey, Va.