Top 5 Patterns from Sam Rayburn Day 2
Flipping and pitching still dominant, though weights dropped for most
Two limits of more than 20 pounds have pushed Del Rio, Texas, pro Ray Hanselman atop the leaderboard at the Rayovac FLW Series Texas Division tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Mercury. Hanselman is flipping and pitching plastics to flooded brush and trees, with careful consideration to the spots that allow him the best targeting efficiency.
The lake level remains at a 15-year high, so anglers are chasing scattered bass in areas the fish rarely see. Overcast skies dominated the day, and isolated showers popped up throughout competition.
Overall, productivity was lower than that of day one, with fewer fish and limits caught, and overall weights down.
Here are the details of the rest of the top five.
2nd Place – Denny Brauer – 38 pounds, 8 ounces
It’s inconceivable that an angler would actually wish for lower productivity, but the pro from Del Rio, Texas, might have caught a slight break today. Denny Brauer’s 15-pound, 10-ounce limit was a big drop from the 22-14 he caught on day one. However, it was enough to keep him in second place.
More importantly, a slower day required less exertion – and less pressure on the left shoulder he injured while setting the hook on his first fish on Thursday. Brauer fished most of that first day with one arm and was noticeably in severe discomfort at the weigh-in.
Some physician-prescribed pain management following the day-one weigh-in enabled Brauer to continue fishing today.
“I think part of the reason my shoulder did better today was because I didn’t get very many bites,” Brauer says. “When you jerk is when it really brings you to your knees. I only caught eight fish today. That probably was a blessing in some ways.”
Brauer returned to the area he fished on day one, but the north wind had trashed the water. He went looking, caught a couple of keepers along the way and eventually settled in a protected area that delivered what he needed.
“I had a little 10-minute flurry where I caught a 4 1/2-pounder, a 6 1/2 and a 2 1/2,” Brauer says. “That really saved my day. That was like 9:30 to 10:15. At 10:30, I had what I weighed.”
3rd Place – T.J. Goodwyn – 37 pounds
T.J. Goodwyn of Center, Texas, also slipped in productivity on day two, but like Brauer, his big day-one weight of 21 pounds, 11 ounces buoyed his efforts. Adding 15-5 on day two gave Goodwyn a two-day total of 37-0.
“I was flipping, and I was having a hard time getting them in the boat. I lost two 4-pounders,” Goodwyn says. “I just kept fishing because I was getting a lot of bites, and I figured I’d run into a few more. I switched over to reaction baits around noon, and I caught two keepers right away and a third in the last hour of the day.”
Fishing brush and grass in 3 to 7 feet, Goodwyn weighed a pair of fish that he caught flipping and three that ate reaction baits. The latter, he says, were easier to boat because he hooked them in the open, away from the thick stuff.
4th Place – Ricky Guy – 36 pounds, 11 ounces
Sitting just 5 ounces behind Goodwyn is Ricky Guy, who caught a limit of 13 pounds, 14 ounces on day two. This was a big drop from his 22-13 on Thursday, and Guy says it was all about quantity without the quality.
“I was getting 2 1/2-pounders pretty consistently, just no big bites today,” Guy says. “I was around other anglers who caught an 8- and 9-pounder, so there are still some good fish there. Hopefully I can get a few key bites tomorrow.”
Guy is flipping the heaviest, densest cover he can find. The spots with the tangled vines and blown-in weed mats are what he favors. Brush on the tips of points seems to be most productive.
5th Place – Kris Wilson – 36 pounds, 10 ounces
Bucking the dominant trend of flipping and pitching flooded cover, Kris Wilson has employed the old ball-and-chain for two days. Today, the pro from Montgomery, Texas, added 16 pounds, 3 ounces to the 20-7 he weighed on day one for a total of 36-10.
“I haven’t weighed in a single flipping fish,” he notes. “I’ve been throwing a Carolina rig outside the bushes for postspawn fish coming out. They’re dropping the lake, so I felt like I’d have fish coming to me.”
Wilson has been fishing his Carolina-rigged Big Bite Baits lizard in about 10 to 13 feet.
Top 10 Pros
1: Ray Hanselman – Del Rio, Texas – 43-14 (10)
2: Denny Brauer – Del Rio, Texas – 38-08 (10)
3: Tj Goodwyn – Center, Texas – 37-00 (10)
4: Ricky Guy – Humble, Texas – 36-11 (10)
5: Kris Wilson – Montgomery, Texas – 36-10 (10)
6: Jim Tutt – Longview, Texas – 35-00 (10)
7: Joe Don Setina – Pittsburg, Texas – 34-06 (9)
8: James Stricklin Jr. – Hot Springs, Ark. – 32-06 (10)
9: Tommy Dickerson – Orange, Texas – 31-03 (10)
10: Randy Sitz – Prosper, Texas – 30-11 (10)
Tomorrow's final-day action begins with takeoff at 7 a.m. The top 10 pros and co-anglers will face off, with the winner in each division determined by three-day cumulative weight. Weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. CT at the Walmart in Jasper, Texas. Tune in for FLW Live video from weigh-in at FLWFishing.com.