ZAPATA, Texas — It was predicted that Falcon Lake would be feast or famine for anglers competing in the Walmart FLW Series East-West Fish-Off.
For most co-anglers, at least, that’s how it’s shaping up.
Among the field of 59 anglers 27 caught heavier bags on Friday than they did on Thursday. The top 10 got four new members. Ron Fabiszak still leads with 40 pounds, 9 ounces and the South Bend, Ind. native increased his lead over second place from a day one margin of 2 pounds, 12 ounces to a day two margin of 3 pounds, 11 ounces. That despite weighing just three fish on Friday and seven of a possible 10 for the tournament.
Fabiszak is feasting, no question.
But the big bag of the day belonged to Mark White of Tucson, Ariz., who jumped from 48th place to 12th place with five fish weighing 24 pounds, 3 ounces. Ten anglers caught nothing. None could have been more frustrated than Robert Wood of Jupiter, Fla., who was in second place on day one but got skunked on day two and fell to 18th.
If you weren’t catching fish than Falcon wasn’t a pleasant place to be Friday. The day started cold and wet and ended cold and dry. Anglers rubbed their hands on stage. Some wore stocking caps and snowmobile bibs. Many said that staying focused on fishing was tough. Saturday should be warmer, according to the weather forecast.
Fabiszak didn’t appear cold at the weigh-in, nor did he appear nervous. Perhaps he should be. He’s in first place despite not having weighed a limit so far. How many guys win a three-day tournament without at least one limit? Fabiszak is catching the right fish, for sure, but can he hang on at Falcon?
“I hope so,” said the South Bend, Ind. angler. “It would be nice to have that money to pay for the trip home. It’s a long drive.”
Fabiszak used the same spinnerbait Friday that he fished with Thursday, but said he didn’t get as many bites and lost a big fish in a tree. “It was just one of those days,” he concluded.
Iloski takes over second
One of those days is what Mike Iloski needs to finish first. He took over second place with a five fish limit weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces and has a two-day total of 36 pounds, 13 ounces.
The Escondido, Calif. angler said he switched from plastics to reaction baits on Friday. Last year he won a tournament on the Delta and finished fourth overall in points in the Western Division. This year he was third.
“This place is unbelievable,” Iloski said of Falcon. “What’s most incredible is that at this time of year we’re seeing sacks like these. I just fished the Delta and we were happy to get 9 pounds.”
Sniffen moves up to third
Greg Sniffen improved from fourth place to third place Friday with four fish weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces. He did it with a spinnerbait and now has a cumulative weight of 36 pounds, 4 ounces.
“It was cold today and the fishing was tough,” said the Saratoga, Calif. angler. “I got 12 bites yesterday and six bites today .”
Sniffen has good reason to be hopeful on Saturday. He’s paired with pro Greg Hackney, who set a new FLW one-day record with five bass weighing 39 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I just hope I can catch half of what he caught today,” Sniffen said.
Matsushita in fourth
Masayuki Matsushita of Aichi, Japan jumped into fourth place with a five fish limit weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces, the third biggest catch among all co-anglers. He said he caught his fish on a Japanese bait named Deps. Added to his day one weight of 12 pounds, 9 ounces, Matsushita now has 33 pounds for the tournament.
Crawford makes big leap into fifth
Troy Crawford made the biggest one-day jump of the tournament so far, going from 30th place on Thursday to fifth place on Friday. He was helped by an 8 pound, 5 ounce bass, one of the biggest weighed by any co-angler, that brought his five-fish bag for the day to 32 pounds, 2 ounces.
“It feels good,” Crawford said of his meteoric rise in the standings, “but we’re on Falcon Lake, where anything can happen.”
Crawford didn’t lose faith in the presentation he started with Thursday. He went back to Texas rigging plastics. “There’s a lot of brush in the lake and this is the best way to get through it,” he said.
Saturday wraps it up
Day three of the Walmart FLW Series East-West Fish-Off begins at 7 a.m. at the Zapata County Public Boat Ramp. Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. in the adjacent county park.