Baciuska bursts into co-angler lead

Solid limit complements his big day-one fish

PITTSBURGH – On day one, he got the quality; day two saw the quantity. Add it all together and Lyn Baciuska Jr. finds himself leading the Co-angler Division at the Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol.

In the opening round, Baciuska caught just one fish, but it was a dandy – 3 pounds and 3 ounces of sassy Steeltown smallmouth. Entering day two in eighth place, the Afton, N.Y., angler shifted gears and bagged a limit. But not just any limit – his 7-3 catch was the day’s second-heaviest co-angler effort.

Steady rain at the launch decreased to light showers that lasted all morning and eventually cleared by midday. The drainage raised the water at varying levels in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers – Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio. Nevertheless, Baciuska enjoyed a very productive day in which he caught seven keepers along with several shorts.

“I had a great day; I fished with (30th-place pro) Terry Bolton, and right off the bat we started catching fish.”

Fishing upriver in the Allegheny, Baciuska fished white-colored soft plastics.

“I was targeting wood as we went down the bank. I also caught a couple off of barges and barge walls. If I saw a rock, I’d throw there too.”

The water where Baciuska fished was actually a little less murky than where he fished on day one. This, he said, was intrinsic to his success.

“I think the water there cleared up overnight, and that helped my bite,” Baciuska said. “I think the different pools have different clarities depending on the flow coming into them.”

Baciuska said his bites came between about 3 inches and 6 feet. Intentionally working supershallow proved effective for him.

“I was trying to get my bait tight to the bank, because when the water rises, the fish move up with it. I was throwing it right onto the bank and twitching it right into the water.”

Goldston gives up one spot for second

Tommie Goldston sacked `em up big on day one and led the field with 7 pounds, 10 ounces, but day two saw him slip to second with a single 1-pound keeper that raised him to 8-10.

Goldston caught his lone keeper on a 6-inch green-pumpkin/red-flake hand-poured worm, rigged wacky style with a nose weight.

“It was really tough today,” Goldston said. “I had two smaller bites on a Reaction Innovations worm, and that was it. I only had three bites today.”

Noting that the week’s rain had muddied the water where he fished and increased the river current, Goldston said the key for him on days one and two was to slow his retrieve and patiently work each spot.

Huge jump puts Fabiszak in third

He place 47th on day one with a single fish weighing just 15 ounces, but South Bend, Ind., angler Ron Fabiszak put the pedal to the metal on day two and raced up the leaderboard to third place with the day’s heaviest co-angler stringer – a limit catch weighing 7-5. His two-day total was 8-4.

Fishing in the Allegheny River, Fabiszak caught his fish on a shad-colored crankbait and a green-pumpkin worm rigged wacky style with a nail in the head.

Schultz stays at fourth

Looking at his stats, Greg Schultz of Wayzata, Minn., combined a day-one performance of four fish weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces with three fish weighing 3 pounds, 6 ounces on day two for a 7-10 total that kept him in fourth place.

Today, Shultz stuck with the same baits and presentation he fished a day earlier. He threw a 4 1/2-inch Venom swimbait, but he switched to a shad color today because the water he fished was a little cleaner than what he faced on day one.

Bradley slips to fifth

After placing second on day one, Teddy Bradley of Mishawaka, Ind., slipped to fifth on day two. He added a pound and 13 ounces to his day one score of 5-5 for a total of 7 pounds, 2 ounces.

Bradley’s lone keeper ate a black-olive Berkley Gulp leech on a drop-shot.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers after day two of the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup:

6th: David Lauer of South Bend, Ind., 6-13

7th: Kevin Hawk of Ramona, Calif., 6-9

8th: Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky., 5-13

8th: Michi Oba of Tokyo, 5-11

10th: Blaine Bucy of Wellburg, W.Va., 5-10

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. Eastern time from Steelers Quay, located at Art Rooney Drive across from the South Plaza of Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.