Haynes holds on to lead at Pickwick

Wilson Lake versus Pickwick Lake at Stren Series event

FLORENCE, Ala. – The local pros showed up again on day two of the Stren Series event on Pickwick Lake.

With conditions very much the same as day one – with a tad less wind – well-known “Shoals” locals were able to get out in open water on TVA lakes Pickwick and Wilson and mine the ledges for green- and bronzebacks.

Now nine of the top 10 spots in the Pro Division are owned by anglers from the three states surrounding Pickwick Lake: Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

Interestingly, though, a shootout of sorts is developing between pros locking up to Wilson and pros running far to the west on Pickwick.

The top five are evenly split between Wilson and Pickwick anglers.

Local pro Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn., retained his day-one lead with a 16-pound, 15-ounce bag of bass today that gave him a two-day total of 36 pounds, 8 ounces.

Haynes stayed on Pickwick again, but seemed disappointed in his catch.

“The conditions were right out there today to catch a really big bag, and I don’t feel like I capitalized on it very well,” Haynes said. “I made some bad decisions early in the day and had to play catch-up the rest of the day.”

Haynes’ goal was to build a solid lead going into Saturday because he knows the lack of current could make catches fall off on the final day. Now he has just a 1-pound, 3-ounce lead.

“The numbers of fish are still there, but the quality is going down – and that has to do with the fishing pressure,” he said. “There are four or five boats working the same little area down there. Everyone is being respectful, but it takes its toll on the better quality fish after a while.”

Haynes did reveal that he is using a Carolina rig and a grub to catch his fish.

If his better fish do not cooperate tomorrow, Haynes said he is contemplating a run to Bay Springs Lake in Mississippi.

“I found a couple of good groups of fish down there in practice, but it’s a long run – that’s a lot of fishing time lost,” he added.

Rigsby second

Ryan Rigsby of Hixson, Tenn., held on to his second-place position today with a 16-pound catch, which gave him a two-day total of 35 pounds, 5 ounces.

Rigsby is fishing in Wilson and has found a honeyhole that he has all to himself.

“When I first pulled up there this morning, I caught them every cast,” he said. “And once I got to the point where I was just culling by ounces, I pulled off the spot. I have to give a great deal of credit to my co-angler, Paul Wilcoxson, today. He would not make a cast on my best spot. I urged him to fish, but he told me he was not going to do it to me. Instead, he just stood there with the net and netted everything I caught.”

Rigsby’s best spot is in 13 feet of water, but he says it has nothing on it to hold the fish.

“I can’t figure out why in the world these fish are there,” he said. “There is no cover down there – no rock, stumps or mussel beds. I found it in practice when I was idling around with my electronics. I went over it, and my Lowrance lit up with fish. But there’s nothing hard to hold the fish; it’s just a subtle, flat point.”

McGuire third

Curt McGuire of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., also held true to his day-one position – third – with a 17-pound, 15-ounce catch on day two for a two-day total of 35 pounds, 1 ounce.

McGuire’s limit today was anchored by a 5-pound largemouth which took Snickers Big Bass honors in the Pro Division.

McGuire is getting the best of both worlds: Wilson and Pickwick. He’s starting the day up on Wilson to get his limit, then he locks down into Pickwick for bigger fish, which he has found to be more isolated.

“There are plenty of schools of fish on Wilson, but the problem for me is they’re all the same size, and the best I can do is 12 or 13 pounds,” he said. “I’ve found the better quality fish to be more loners – not with the schools. That big one I caught today came from a big stump out on the river channel down in Pickwick – he was out there all by himself.”

Davis fourth

William Davis of nearby Russellville, Ala., moved up to the fourth-place spot today with day two’s biggest limit – 18 pounds, 4 ounces – for a two-day total of 33 pounds even.

“I only had a couple of fish at noon, and I went to a little backup deal and they were on it,” he said. “It’s completely different water than I fished yesterday, and some of it is a good bit shallower. I caught some of my better fish from about 4 feet of water today.”

Rasberry fifth

Todd Rasberry of Florence, Ala., rounds out the top five with a two-day total of 32 pounds, 11 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Stren Series Southeast event on Pickwick Lake after day two:

6th: Jason Lambert of Savannah, Tenn., two-day total of 30-4

7th: Jonathan Newton of Rogersville, Ala., two-day total of 29-13

8th: Shawn Perrigo of Rienzi, Miss., two-day total of 29-4

9th: Michael Murphy of Gilbert, S.C., two-day total of 28-8

10th: Bob Garrison of Baldwyn, Miss., two-day total of 28-4

Hamblin leads co-anglers

Greg Hamblin of New Albany, Miss., leads the Co-angler Division of the Stren Series event after day two with 28 pounds, 6 ounces.

Hamblin caught the biggest limit of the co-anglers on day two – 16 pounds, 12 ounces – thanks in large part to a 6-7 largemouth which took Big Bass honors in the Co-angler Division. That big bass was his first bite of the day.

“I’ve been catching my fish on a big rip spoon – it’s a big saltwater spoon – and a spinnerbait,” Hamblin said.

High five co-anglers

Mike Morris of White, Ga., still sits in the second position with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 1 ounce.

Daniel Costley of Memphis, Tenn., also held on to his third-place position from day one with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 12 ounces.

Aaron Fahnestock of Enterprise, Ala., currently the 2008 Co-angler of the Year in Stren Series Southeast Division points, is in fourth place with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 2 ounces.

Joel Ross of Brandon, Miss., rounds out the top five in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 22 pounds, 14 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Stren Series event on Pickwick Lake after day two:

6th: Scotty Gasaway of Dennis, Miss., two-day total of 22-11

7th: Doug Back of Jackson, Miss., two-day total of 22-11

8th: Perry Kennedy of Florence, Ala., two-day total of 22-10

9th: Bradley Gooch of Florence, Ala., two-day total of 22-8

10th: Garan Mason of Heflin, Ala., two-day total of 22-4

Day three of the Stren Series Southeast event on Pickwick Lake will begin Friday at 6:30 a.m. from McFarland Park in Florence.