Davis delivers some old-school Delta magic

California pro records back-to-back 20-pound stringers to grab commanding lead at FLW Series Western Division event on California Delta

STOCKTON, Calif. – Today Donald Davis made it look easy – almost too easy. After boating a 21-pound, 12-ounce sack in Thursday’s competition, Davis brought his two-day total catch to a whopping 41 pounds, 13 ounces to grab the overall lead at the FLW Series event on the California Delta.

What is even more impressive is the fact that Davis now leads his next closest competitor by nearly 5 pounds, an astonishing feat given the difficult fishing conditions that have plagued the majority of the field this week.

But for Davis, a resident of Discovery Bay, Calif., and longtime veteran angler of the Delta, it was all in a day’s work.

“I’ve been fishing the Delta for 30 years, and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Davis. “Today I was culling 3-pounders, so it worked out. Overall I feel real positive heading into the next two days. And I haven’t even had any of my big fish bite yet.”

That fact alone should make the rest of the pro field feel a bit uneasy. With Davis humming on all cylinders and with a vast knowledge of the California Delta at his disposal, the old-school California pro looks to be in prime position to walk away with the title. But although he made it look easy today, Davis said that it was a long and grueling day on the water.

“Let’s put it this way: I left at 6:30 a.m. and didn’t get my line wet until about 8:10 this morning, so that should tell you where I’m going,” said Davis, who never actually revealed where he was going. “It’s a combination of a lot of miles and tough terrain. The area where I’m fishing, I pretty much have all to myself. I don’t think anyone would be crazy enough to go in there. But it’s an area where you can definitely do something bad to your boat.”

Davis said that he landed most of his catch fishing a “variety of reaction baits” approximately 25 to 30 feet from shore. He also said that he was fishing shallow and targeting grass. But he said the real keys for future success will be a combination of tides and water temperature.

“The water temperature dropped in my area from 79 degrees to 67 degrees,” he said. “And if that water warms up, my fish are just going to explode. The tides are extremely important as well. An outgoing tide really hurts me. But as far as I can tell, the tides are in my favor the next two days.”

As for tomorrow, Davis doesn’t have any major plans to change things up too much. However, he did make one prediction.

“If I do make it to the top five, that camera-boat driver is really going to have something to film on that final day,” said Davis with a laugh.

Tosh rises to runner-up position

By any standard, Stephen Tosh Jr. had a banner day on the water, netting a total catch of 21 pounds to bring his two-day total to 36 pounds, 15 ounces. But although he’s fished well enough to be in first place, he had to settle for second place overall. However, that’s a lot better than the ninth-place position where he started the day.

And that fact wasn’t lost on the native of Modesto, Calif.

“It feels awesome,” said Tosh. “The weather keeps warming up and the tides are higher every morning, and that’s better for me. So, overall, I feel pretty good”

Tosh said that he’s primarily focusing on postspawn females that are hiding out and recovering from the spawn under dense mat cover.

“The fish that have already spawned are moving back to the mats to feed on bluegill,” he said. “That really doesn’t happen anywhere else but on the Delta. They’re recovering females and guarding their fry, and when the bluegills come up to eat the fry, they’re feeding on the bluegills. It’s like the whole chain of life thing. And if you can find those good areas, you can catch them pretty good.”

Tosh said that he’s targeting a 300- to 400-yard stretch of mats, using a custom Bub’s Paycheck Punch Skirt in a watermelon color.

Daniels climbs leaderboard as well

Using a total catch of 36 pounds, 5 ounces, Mark Daniels Jr. of Fairfield, Calif., leapfrogged from seventh to third place overall.

“It feels great, but right now it’s a marathon and not a race,” said Daniels, who argues that there are too many days left in the tournament to get too excited at this point. “We’ll see how I feel after tomorrow.”

Daniels appeared to be one of the rare pros who is targeting spawning largemouth bass almost exclusively.

“I’m doing a little junk-fishing, but I’m mostly using soft plastics around grass and (spawning) beds,” said Daniels. “I’m throwing some reaction baits as well. I’m pretty much staying between 0 and 3 feet of water.”

Like most anglers, Daniels said the tides are extremely important.

“I need low tides in general so I can see the fish,” said Daniels. “So the tides are very important to me.”

Strelic maintains top-five positioning

Jon Strelic of El Cajon, Calif., continued to keep pace with the tournament leaders, turning in a two-day catch of 34 pounds, 1 ounce to finish the day in fourth place overall.

“I caught a lot of bass, but none of the big ones really bit today,” said Strelic, who was in third place after yesterday’s competition. “Maybe they’ll bite tomorrow.”

Strelic said that he “covered a lot of water” and targeted bass with a combination of reaction baits.

“But tides are the biggest issue for me right now,” he said. “I’m really catching them pretty good during high and medium tides.”

Knight falls to fifth place

Day-one leader Leon Knight of Discovery Bay, Calif., had a difficult day on the water to say the least. For starters, he only boated two fish. Secondly, his day-two weight was nearly half the size of the 22-pound stringer he caught on day one. However, a combination of struggles by the rest of the pro field and a nice opening-day cushion allowed Knight to finish as one of the top five pros in the standings.

“It was a lot tougher out there for me today,” said Knight, who now boasts a two-day total of 33 pounds, 15 ounces. “I broke one off today, and that really stung. I think this cold front made the fish a little shy to my baits, and I think I’ve been fishing too fast. I really should have had a limit today. But, overall, I feel pretty good, considering everything that happened.”

However, today’s turn of events signaled to Knight that some changes are in order.

“I know my fish are still there, but I think I’m going to have to change up my baits,” he said. “I think I also have to slow down. Because there is no reason I shouldn’t have 25 pounds tomorrow.”

Au grabs top spot in Co-angler Division

Fishing in the very first FLW tournament of his career, Tai Au of Phoenix now finds himself in the unlikely position of heading into the final day of the California Delta event alone in first place.

Not too bad for a rookie.

“Everything went pretty well today,” said Au, who recorded a two-day total weight of 27 pounds, 12 ounces. “This is my very first tournament, and I didn’t have a good prefish. I also didn’t have a limit until 2 p.m. So I’m pretty happy right now.”

According to Au, if it wasn’t for his brother Vu – who is fishing the California Delta event on the pro side – he never would have entered the tournament in the first place.

“My brother Vu convinced me to come here,” he said. “It’s pretty funny because my brother won the very first FLW tournament he entered last year on Lake Roosevelt.”

Au said that he’s currently doing a lot of junk-fishing, using a combination of swimbaits, Senkos, drop-shots and flipping techniques to land the majority of his catch. He said that he’s also targeting fish hanging out on spawning flats in 4 feet of water or less.

However, whether it is beginner’s luck or just some great fishing blood lines, Au said he’s definitely excited to be in the lead heading into the final day of co-angler competition.

“I just really hope I don’t mess up tomorrow,” he said.

Bruno struggles

Day-one co-angler leader Randy Bruno of Huntington Beach, Calif., had perhaps the most disappointing day on the water out of anyone. After starting the day in first place with a healthy 5-pound-plus lead, Bruno could only manage one fish for 2 pounds, 11 ounces in today’s competition. That dropped him to second place overall with a total catch of 24 pounds.

Kimble maintains third

For the second day in a row, Sean Kimble of San Ramon, Calif., found himself exactly where he started – in third place overall.

“I lost four fish today, and that shouldn’t have happened,” said Kimble, who boasts a two-day catch of 22 pounds, 2 ounces. “But you have to take what the Delta gives you. Overall, though, I feel great.”

Kimble said that he’s targeting “sparse tules” next to grass beds, fishing in anywhere from 0 to 10 feet of water.

As for the finals, Kimble says he has his sights set firmly on the title.

“I really need to win a boat,” said Kimble, remarking on his motivation to take home the first-place prize.

Best of the rest

Meanwhile, Gary Haraguchi of San Jose, Calif., finished the day in fourth place with a total catch of 22 pounds, 2 ounces. Although Haraguchi has the same weight as Kimble, he loses out on the tiebreaker.

Rounding out the top five co-angler competitors in today’s competition was Ryan Mabery of Agoura Hills, Calif. Mabery recorded a two-day total catch of 21 pounds, 6 ounces.

FLW Series action continues at Friday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time at Weber Point Event Center, located at 221 N. Center St. in Stockton, Calif. Free coffee and donuts will be available to the public during takeoff.