Davis surges into Stren Series lead

Alabama pro takes over top spot with 11-ounce margin

FLORENCE, Ala. – While many of the pros who started day three in the top 10 of the Stren Series event on Pickwick Lake stayed in the top 10 today, there was quite a bit of shuffling around among the leaders.

Local anglers continued to dominate on Wilson and Pickwick’s deepwater ledges amid warm, balmy conditions.

William Davis of Russellville, Ala., surged to the lead today with the tournament’s heaviest limit so far – 20 pounds, 5 ounces. Davis also weighed in the heaviest limit on day two.

He now has a three-day total of 53 pounds, 5 ounces, but he can not rest on his laurels as a whole crew of Shoals area experts are salivating over his slim lead.

Just 11 ounces separates Davis from second place and 2 pounds, 3 ounces separates the top 4 positions.

Given his impressive limits over the last two days, Davis clearly has something figured out on Pickwick Lake.

“I’m fishing old river ledges on Pickwick and it’s all about timing,” Davis said. “I started on one spot this morning and didn’t get any bites. I came back about 10 o’clock – still no bites. I checked it one more time at 1 o’ clock and it was on fire. So it’s all about pulling up on one of those places when the dinner bell is ringing.

“I’m pretty excited about fishing tomorrow because there will be a lot fewer boats out there and that should open up quite a bit of water to fish.”

Davis would not say exactly what baits he is using, but did mention that he is using a variety of lures.

“I’ve got a deck full of rods and I’m just alternating between them,” he added.

Rigsby second

For the third day in a row, Ryan Rigsby of Hixson, Tenn., has ended the day in second place. His 17-pound, 5-ounce catch today gave him a three-day total of 52 pounds, 10 ounces.

Rigsby has been fishing up on Wilson all week and he stuck with it today.

“My best spot is still producing,” Rigsby said. “I only fish it for about an hour each day, catch 10 to 15 keepers off it, then I leave. I’m trying to conserve what’s there, but tomorrow I’m going to fish it all day.”

Rigsby is still puzzled by what’s holding the large school of fish in place.

“I explored it a little more with my electronics today and it’s basically a subtle point on a flat,” he described. “It’s 13 feet on top and it drops to about 17 feet on one side, but there’s really nothing solid down there, it’s just slick and flat.”

Rigsby is still hesitant to give up his key lure at this point. Both Jonathan Newton and Curt McGuire are fishing Wilson as well and they will be joining him on the upper lake again tomorrow.

“I think it’s really the spot more than anything,” he added. “I’ve caught some fish on jigs and crankbaits, but I do have a lot of confidence in this one particular lure, especially for the better fish, and I’ll share it tomorrow when this thing is over.”

Rasberry third

Local pro Todd Rasberry of Florence, Ala., is hanging tight in the top 10 in fourth place with a three-day total of 51 pounds, 10 ounces.

He checked in his best weight of the week today – 18 pounds, 15 ounces – off of Pickwick.

Rasberry mentioned that his best baits have been a Carolina rig, a jig, a Texas rig and a crankbait.

Haynes fourth

The tournament leader from days one and two – Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn., – slipped to fourth today with a catch weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces for a three-day total of 51 pounds, 2 ounces.

“I fished really well today,” Haynes said. “I don’t have any excuses or regrets. I got off to a good start early and then just couldn’t upgrade.”

“The smaller fish on top of the ledges are biting well, but it’s those bigger ones that sit out deeper that I’m counting on and I just could not get them to fire up today. It’s like everything was inactive – the baitfish, the stripers – I couldn’t provoke any activity out of those deeper schools.”

Haynes is looking forward to fishing on Saturday.

“If they shut that current off tomorrow like they’re prone to do on the weekends, this lake can become a completely different place,” he added. “But the good news is that’s when I fish it the most – on the weekends, when there’s not as much current – so hopefully that will play into my hands.”

Murphy fifth

Michael Murphy of Gilbert, S.C., brought in his biggest limit of the week today – 19 pounds, 4 ounces – to take over the fifth place spot with a three-day total of 47 pounds, 12 ounces.

The South Carolina native is the only outsider amid a top-10 crowd of local pros from Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

His huge bag of bass happened thanks in large part to a bait change he made during the day.

“All week I’ve been snapping a jig and a big worm over shell beds like everyone else,” Murphy explained. “Today that just was not working. I could still see fish on my graph, but they wouldn’t bite. So I pulled out an Ima Flit jerkbait, which is a deep jerkbait that suspends at 8 to 9 feet, and a Tabu Tackle Tiny Tim, which is a swimbait made for a dropshot rig. As soon as I made the bait change, the fish totally responded and I started catching them.

“I even revisited some of the places I thought had dried up on me and I started blasting them, so I’m pretty excited about getting back out there tomorrow.”

Big bass

Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., caught the big bass in the Pro Division on day three weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top-10 pros in the Stren Series event on Pickwick Lake after day three:

6th: Curt McGuire of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., three-day total of 47-7

7th: Bob Garrison of Baldwyn, Miss., three-day total of 42-7

8th: Jonathan Newton of Rogersville, Ala., three-day total of 41-14

9th: Jason Lambert of Savannah, Tenn., three-day total of 41-3

10th: Brandon Perkins of Counce, Tenn., three-day total of 40-7

Fahnestock leads co-anglers in every way

Aaron Fahnestock of Enterprise, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division of the Stren Series event at Pickwick Lake with a three-day total of 37 pounds, 2 ounces.

But that is not all he leads. Fahnestock is also the current points leader in the Co-angler of the Year race in the Southeastern Division.

Yet, his leading ways do not end there…Fahnestock was also the 2007 Co-angler of the Year in the Southeastern Division. With his 2008 points crown, he would be the first co-angler to win a divisional points title in back-to-back seasons.

As for his fishing on Pickwick this week, Fahnestock has stuck with a shakey head worm: a ¼-ounce head rigged with a junebug Trick Worm.

Today he brought in his best stringer of the week – 14 pounds even – to qualify in the first spot for tomorrow’s final round.

He now has the potential the win the Pickwick event and the points title all in the same day.

Doug Back of Jackson, Miss., is in second place with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 5 ounces.

Perry Kennedy of Florence, Ala., is in third place with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 3 ounces.

Greg Hamblin of New Albany, Miss., is in fourth place with a three-day total of 33 pounds, 1 ounce.

Daniel Costley of Memphis, Tenn., rounds out the top 5 co-anglers with a three-day total of 31 pounds, 15 ounces.

Big bass

Ty Hester of Russellville, Ala., caught the big bass in the Co-angler Division on day three: a 5-pound smallmouth.

Rest of the best

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

6th: Scotty Gasaway of Dennis, Miss., three-day total of 31-2

7th: Ty Solis of Albany, Ga., three-day total of 30-13

8th: Kenneth Owens of Wise Va., three-day total of 30-11

9th: Larry Breckenridge of Dothan, Ala., three-day total of 30-10

10th: Shayne Anderson of Iuka, Miss., three-day total of 30-2

Day four of the Stren Series Southeastern on Pickwick Lake will begin Saturday at 6:30 a.m. from McFarland Park in Florence.