Fredieu finagles five Texoma toads
Saint Martinville, La., native sacks 17-12 to lead Stren Series Central Division event on Lake Texoma
DENISON, Texas – Stren Series Central Division competitors began day one on Lake Texoma with hardly any expectations. The prefishing leading up to the event had been disappointing for most of the field and the temperature at takeoff hadn’t even reached 50 degrees. However, thick cloud cover and a steady wind lead to a remarkable catch. Leading the field was Saint Martinville, La., pro James Fredieu; who hit the mother load with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces.
Seventy-five limits were brought to the scale by the pros alone; however none were bigger than Fredieu’s. Amazingly, this is Fredieu’s first time fishing Lake Texoma and his fresh approach may be playing a factor in his impressive performance.
“I caught them early on a crankbait then switched to a Zoom finesse worm when the wind died down,” said Frediue. “I had my limit by about 9:30 this morning.”
The six-year FLW Outdoors veteran said he was throwing his baits up along deep-water points. His staggering limit weighed 2 pounds more than his closest competitor and was anchored by a 4-pound, 11-ounce kicker. He said his primary spot holds mostly largemouths with a few smallmouths sprinkled in.
“When the sun comes out the smallmouth bite really dies. The largemouths are a lot more predictable.”
His goal tomorrow is to catch two or three fish early in the day to secure a spot in the top-20 cutoff and then begin looking for new water.
“With the weight I had today, all I need to do is bring in about 7 pounds. I want to save those fish for day three. But on this lake you could easily zero tomorrow.”
Folse finds them in brush
Louisiana pro Darryl Folse ended the day in the No. 2 position with a limit of five bass weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces. Fishing in 8 to 20 feet of water, Folse feels the key to his success is his choice of bait.
“I’ve got a bait that I’m throwing that’s really paying off for me,” Folse said. While choosing to keep the exact bait a secret, Folse did allow that he is flipping plastics in brush.
“This place fishes a lot like a lake back home. I feel really comfortable fishing here.”
Tomorrow he plans to fish new water.
“I’ve got about eight spots and I went to two of them today. My goal tomorrow is to get a limit of fish.”
Mcalester poised in third
Spencer Mcalester of Denison, Texas, brought in five fish weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces today to land in the No. 3 spot.
“I had a good day; I had all of them in the boat at 9 a.m.,” Mcalester said.
Mcalester is one pro to keep an eye on as the tournament matures. Despite missing several fish, he is just over 2 pounds out of the lead.
Mcalester focused on postspawn fish that were scattered in brush. He used a variety of jigs, spinnerbaits and a fluke in 10 to 20 feet of water to entice his strikes.
“It’s probably the area more than anything. If I could just get a few tomorrow to make the cut, then I could start over.”
Caldwell fourth
Larry Caldwell of Saint Peters, Mo., brought in 14 pounds, 7 ounces on day one to take the fourth position among the pros.
Fishing shallow-water rocks with plastics, Caldwell said his key to success was fishing slower than most people.
“The wind helped a lot today,” Caldwell explained. “Tomorrow I’ll go back and catch what I can catch. I’ve got three areas that I haven’t fished yet.”
Guidry fifth
Pro Jeremy Guidry caught a five-bass limit on day one that weighed 14 pounds, 1 ounce. The Opelousas, La., native will begin day two tomorrow in the fifth slot.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 pros on Lake Texoma after day one:
6th: Ronnie Wagner of Conroe, Texas, five bass, 13-15
7th: Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas, five bass, 13-11
8th: Ronnie Hopkins Jr. of Mounds, Okla., five bass, 13-10
8th: David Moore of Cambridge City, Ind., five bass, 13-10
10th: Alan Bond of Vidor, Texas, five bass, 13-7
Rogers reels in nearly 17 pounds to lead co-anglers
Co-angler Bill Rogers got off to a roaring start in the Co-angler Division with a five-bass limit that weighed 16 pounds, 12 ounces.
“I had a limit by 10 a.m.; I caught the three big smallmouth within the first 30 minutes,” said Rogers, who has 15 top-10 finishes in his FLW Outdoors career.
His limit was anchored by a 5-pound, 6-ounce smallmouth, which tied for the Snicker’s Big Bass award with Cedar Park, Texas resident David Stewart. Both co-anglers earned $112.50, splitting the $225 award.
Rogers said the key to his success was slowing down his presentation.
“I was throwing a green-pumpkin finesse worm rigged on a small jighead on rock piles in about 10 feet of water.”
With his closest competitor more than 4 pounds behind, the Jasper, Texas, native plans to enjoy day two. “I’ve learned a lot from these pros; tomorrow I’m just going to take it easy.”
Behind Rogers is Euless, Texas, co-angler K. D. Moore, who brought in four bass that weighed 12 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I just got lucky to catch good, quality fish,” Moore said. “I only had six or seven bites all day and I caught four fish on three different baits.”
In third is Rick Parker of Kaufman, Texas, who brought in a limit weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces.
“We caught some fish up in a creek on crankbaits and Carolina rigs,” said Parker. “We caught them heavy in the morning in between 10 to 12 feet of water.”
Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas finished day one in fourth place with 11 pounds, 9 ounces. Two hefty smallmouths anchored Kimura’s Lake Texoma limit.
Ardmore, Okla., native Terry Alsup finished fifth among the co-anglers after day one with 10 pounds, 14 ounces.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers after day one on Lake Texoma:
6th: Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., five bass, 10-12
6th: Billy Yelverton of Baton Rouge, La., five bass, 10-12
8th: Eugene B. Moore III of Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-11
9th: Lee Anderson of Conway, Ark., five bass, 10-10
10th: Tim Webb of Olpe, Kan., five bass, 10-9
Day two of Central Division competition at Lake Texoma begins at 7 a.m. Central time Thursday from Highpoint Marina in Pottsboro. Following tomorrow’s action, both fields will be cut to the top 20 anglers apiece based on two-day total weight.