Fralick cranks up a limit to keep Toledo Bend lead

Despite slow day Killingsworth remains atop co-angler field

MANY, La. – He didn’t have the quality he found on day one, but South Dakota pro Jamie Fralick was happy with the quantity that kept him in the top spot at the Stren Texas Division tournament on Toledo Bend Lake.

After catching a 17-pound, 6-ounce first day bag that held just three fish – two of which were in the 8-pound range – Fralick secured a solid limit weighing 11-14 and retained his top spot with 29-4.

“Today was a lot of fun,” Fralick said. “I caught a lot of fish. I just never got the big bites. I started on the same road bed that I started on yesterday and I had three there in the first 45 minutes.”

Fralick fished a Fat Free Shad crankbait over the road bed in 12 feet of water and took a couple of breaks to fish other spots with docks and points. Recalling the arm-jerking thumps of his two day one beasts, Fralick yearned for another shot at a two-hander.

“I kept thinking that one 8-pound bite would be huge,” he said. “I did have one good one on this morning that just got off and I never got to see it.”

Wrestling with the day’s windy conditions proved to be Fralick’s biggest challenge. “The spot I had, I could still fish it, but if I ever got off the trolling motor, the boat was out of position. That made it a little tougher.

“Today, I had to hold farther up the road and cast back to get the distance. If I held where I was holding yesterday, I could only throw half as far and I just never got bit. The whole key is to make that long cast, get it down there and just grind that crankbait through the bottom.”

Fralick is fishing his crankbait on a 7 1/2-foot rod with a reel carrying 12-pound fluorocarbon. The fluoro withstands the bottom debris, imparts sharper movement on the bait and provides optimal sensitivity.

Reneau remains in second

Tim Reneau of Del Rio, Texas also slipped back on his productivity, but pairing his 11-pound limit with the 16-13 he weighed on day one gave him a total of 27-15 that kept him in the second-place spot. Same as yesterday, Reneau is flipping a 1-ounce jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer in 12-14 feet of water.

“I was kind of limited by the wind, so I had to focus on my areas that were out of the wind,” he said. “I pulled up on one of my areas that was in the wind and there was grass floating everywhere – there wasn’t anything left (on the bottom).”

Reneau said he tried to execute an approach that was not counterproductive. “When I could, I would go with the wind so I didn’t have to hit the trolling motor and spook the fish. If the waves are too big, you don’t want them slapping the bottom of the boat. That will hinder your flipping bite.”

After a cloudy morning yielded to sunny skies, Reneau stayed pretty busy. “I caught about twice as many fish as I did yesterday. They seemed to bite a little better when the sun came out. The sun puts them on the thicker spots and gangs them up.”

Jeane makes big jump into third

Evans, La. pro George Jeane Jr. placed 29th on day one with a small limit weighing 8-14, but as Stren Tournament Director often says, “He got mad at `em today.” Whether it was anger or enthusiasm, Jeane must have had something going on today because he blasted up the standings 26 spots to finish third with the day’s heaviest catch – a 17-pound, 1-ounce effort.

Working brush piles in 22 feet of water, Jeane caught his fish on a chartreuse/blue crankbait and a Texas-rigged 10-inch Berkley Power Worm (red bug). “I was switching off during the day. When the wind would get a little harder, I’d go with the worm with a heavier weight.”

Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas placed fourth with 15-12 and Bert Thompson of Benton, La. was fifth with 25-7.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 pro leaders at the Stren Series Toledo Bend event:

6th: Kevin Lasyone of Dry Prong, La., 24-13

7th: Patrick Fuller of Tyler, Texas, 24-2

8th: Robert Collett of Zapata, Texas, 23-1

9th: Roger D. Harp of Huntsville, Ark., 23-0

10th: Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala., 22-4

Larry Vick won the Big Bass award for a 6-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.

Killingsworth holds on to co-angler lead

No one would accuse Brett Killingsworth of sand bagging today, but the Rowlett, Texas co-angler clearly benefitted from his huge day-one limit of 17 pounds, 4 ounces. Today, he managed just one fish of a pound and one ounce, but his combined total of 18-5 was enough to keep him atop his division.

Killingsworth caught his lone fish on a Texas-rigged worm over a hump in 16 feet. The rest of the day was pure frustration. “That north wind came in and we struggled all day long. We ran 30 miles up north to some fish I was on in practice, but the wind was blowing so hard, we couldn’t fish them. We wanted to fish creek channels with grass in them, but we just got blown out.”

Timothy Achee of Hemphill, Texas finished second with 17-14, while Will Welch of San Angelo, Texas took third with 17-3. Myong Yu of Port Arthur placed fourth with 15-15 and David Underwood of Waco, Texas was fifth at 15-10.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the Stren Series Toledo Bend event:

6th: Don R. Dickenson of Pineville, La., 14-0

7th: Rick Parker of Kaufman, Texas, 13-13

8th: Steve Hope of Ovilla, Texas, 13-1

9th: Robbie Dubois of Lubbock, Texas, 12-15

10th: Tommy Hagler of Abilene, Texas, 12-10

Hagler’s 8-8 took Big Bass honors.

Day three of Stren Series action on Toledo Bend continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7:00 a.m. (CT) at Cypress Bend Park, located at 3462 Cypress Bend Drive, Many La.