Prough takes command at Seminole
Clouds and rain improve bite on day two
BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – In most multiple-day tournaments, overall weights usually drop-off as the tournament progresses. Rarely is the case where day two of a tournament sees more overall weight than day one.
The American Fishing Series event on Lake Seminole this week, is proving to be the exception to that standard. Thanks to some heavy clouds, a light breeze and occasional rain on day two, the bass bite was on fire today.
In fact, in both the Pro and Co-angler Divisions, more total pounds of bass were weighed in today when compared to yesterday.
Yesterday, many anglers reported that their morning bite took a nose dive after the sun got up. Today, many said the cloudy, breezy weather extended their bite.
Chad Prough of Chipley, Fla., was one of the pros who saw his bite improve today. After sacking up 18-10 on day one, Prough followed that up with 19-7 today and now leads the Seminole event with a two-day total of 38-1.
“I completely changed up with the weather today,” Prough said. “Yesterday was bright, sunny and still – a perfect Carolina rigging day on this lake and that’s what I did to catch my fish. But when the clouds and rain moved in today, I hit the banks and started running and gunning different places. Those rain clouds really turned the fish on.”
In all, Prough estimates he fished about 10 different places today and caught 15 keepers on the day. Understandably, he is keeping his key bait close to the vest until tomorrow.
“The fish are moving back out and I know where several of these post-spawn feeding places are,” he explained. “I’m trying to stay near sand – places where they have been spawning. But today was not really a spawning type bite – it was more of a post-spawn, now-it’s-time-to-eat type bite.”
Bass second
Donny Bass of Ft. Myers, Fla., is second place with a two-day total of 38-0, trailing the leader by an ounce.
Bass is working a total post-spawn pattern featuring clumps of hydrilla up on flats.
“My boat is out in about 10 feet and I’m casting up onto flats in 3 or 4 feet of water,” Bass said. “I’m working a rattle trap and a Bagley’s Big B through the hydrilla clumps. I missed some fish today – they were hitting kind of funny, knocking slack in the line, but not getting the bait all the way.”
Bass noted that he feels his areas still have a lot of potential, adding that his co-angler caught 18 pounds from his boat today.
Mock third
Local Lake Seminole pro David Mock of Tallahassee, Fla., jumped into the third place spot today with a whopping 23-12 catch to give him a two-day total of 37-6.
Mock’s pattern is exclusively post-spawn as well. He’s fishing 12- to 14-feet of water in two primary areas.
“I’m fishing at the base of where three feeder creeks come together,” Mock said. “These fish have been spawning up in these creeks and now they’re coming back out to this one place that has hydrilla all around it. I feel like it’s replenishing every night because when I start there each morning, there seems to be new fish.”
Jordan fourth
Frank Jordan, Jr., of Bainbridge, Ga., is in fourth place with a two-day total of 36-14.
Jordan is fishing the shad spawn in grass with a spinnerbait and buzzbait, trying to stay in time with certain places where the shad are up spawning and post-spawn bass are wolfing the shad down like potato chips.
“Yesterday I caught them on a buzzbait pretty well,” Jordan said. “And with the clouds and rain this morning, I just knew they were going to murder that buzzbait, but they would hardly touch it and I had to catch them on a spinnerbait.”
“I’m pretty excited about tomorrow,” he added. “I’ve got a couple places I have not been to yet and I’m hoping that saving them for the final day is going to pay off.”
Brock fifth
Rounding out the top five in the Pro Division is Mason Brock of Marianna, Fla., with a two-day total of 34-14.
Rest of the best
6th: Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark., two-day total of 34-5
7th: Ty Solis of Bainbridge, Ga., two-day total of 34-1
8th: Chris Weber of Ft. Myers Beach, Fla., two-day total of 34-0
9th: Kevin Snider of Elizabethtown, Ky., two-day total of 33-11
10th: John Bitter of Maitland, Fla., two-day total of 31-14.
Carter leads co-anglers
Local angler Allen Carter of Bainbridge, Ga., added 14-15 to his day-one catch of 13-9 to take the lead in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 28-8.
All of Carter’s success this week has come on a wacky-rigged Trick Worm.
“I’ve been using the wacky rig out here on Seminole for the last couple of years and it works real well, especially this time of year,” Carter said. “I’m using light line, just casting it out there, letting it flutter down and twitching it every now and then.”
Carrie Bronson of Polk City, Fla., is in second place among the co-anglers with a two-day total of 28-3.
Bronson’s success has come on finesse techniques, fishing slow in 6 to 12 feet of water around grass.
“This is my first top-10 in the American Fishing Series,” Bronson said. “I’ve been working towards this for a long time so I’m pretty excited about fishing tomorrow.”
Jamie Bladow of Houston, Ala., jumped into the third place spot with the biggest limit weighed in on the co-angler side – 18-11 – for a two-day total of 23-15.
Ernie Hillebrandt is in fourth place in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 23-11.
Mark Svendsen of Doraville, Ga., rounds out the top five with a two-day total of 22-15.
Rest of the best
6th: Lee Nunnally of Monroe, Ga., two-day total of 22-5
7th: Mitch Reynolds of Petal, Miss., two-day total of 20-12
8th: Howard Poitevint of Bainbridge, Ga., two-day total of 20-11
9th: Steve Harwood of Weaverville, N.C., two-day total of 19-12
10th: George Kapiton of Inverness, Fla., two-day total of 19-10
The day three takeoff of the AFS on Lake Seminole will begin at 6:30 a.m. Saturday from the Bainbridge Boat Basin.