Krekovich captures Lanier lead

Illinois co-angler surges ahead in Forrest Wood Cup

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Fishing from the back of the boat is always a lesson in adjustment, as co-anglers must adapt to whatever their pro decides to do. Well, Matt Krekovich displayed his adaptive abilities today, as he overtook the lead on day two of the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier.

After placing second on day one with 11 pounds, 9 ounces, the Granite City, Ill. competitor sacked up four fish that weighed 7-5 today and moved to the top of the field with a two-day total of 18-14 and 4-pound, 1-ounce lead. Krekovich fished deep on day one, but spent day two on the bank.

“I had to make some major adjustments today; I was literally in five to seven feet of water all day and yesterday was 30-45,” he said. “The dropshot didn’t work as well today, but I was able to pull off a couple with shaky heads. I caught one on a topwater bait and I caught my smallest fish on a dropshot.

“I had the fifth one stuck, but I lost about a 3-pounder on a Zara Spook. You’d always like to have those, but that’s fishing.”

Krekovich fished a Spook that was custom painted by local business Extreme Lure Creations. His shaky head carried a green pumpkin/green flake trick worm and hid dropshot bait was a Roboworm in morning dawn.

“It was a much tougher bite today, but I’m just happy to be where I’m at,” Krekovich said. “We’ll just see what happens tomorrow.

Slow day drops Hensley to second

After leading day one, FLW Tour Co-Angler of the Year title, Nick Hensley experienced a dismal day in which he caught just two keepers for 2-11 and slipped back to second place with 14-13.

Hensley caught his fish on a dropshot with a 6-inch Roboworm in baby bluegill. A letdown early in his day sent him into a psychological tailspin.

“I had a 3-pounder come off right at the net and it messed with my head all day,” he said. “It was early on – in the first two hours of the day. It just came up and spit the hook out. Normally, that doesn’t happen.”

Smith makes big move to third

Josh Smith, of Hamilton, Ohio, made the biggest comeback of the top-20 finalists. He entered day two in 31st place after weighing just 2 pounds, 2 ounces on day one, but jumped 28 spots to third with a bag that weighed 10-6 and pushed his total to 12-8.

“I fished hard all day long yesterday but things just didn’t go my way,” Smith said. “I actually broke off a real good one at the end of the day. That had me down but it made me tighten up today and I just fished as hard as I could.”

Smith used a dropshot with a Roboworm, but opted to not disclose his favorite color. He caught only three keepers on day two, but they were all big fish.

“I didn’t get a lot of fish, but I just got the right bites,” he said. “I’ll let the bait go down and then I’ll rip it up really fast, or reel it up and drop it really quick. I tried to do things that would trigger a bite.”

Johnson improves to fourth

Jason Johnson, of Dawsonville, Ga. also made a large improvement on day two – his from 23rd to fourth. He caught 4-2 on day one, added 8-4 on day two and ended with a total weight of 12-6.

Paired with Texas pro Gary Yamamoto, Johnson fished deep over standing timber. Dragging a dropshot through the cover was most productive for him. Johnson used a Roborworm in a custom color called holographic dawn – essentially a morning dawn with holographic flakes and a baby bluegill bottom.

Hicks holds out hope, takes fifth

A tough start did not dissuade Lula, Ga. co-angler Rob Hicks, who caught two fish for 4 pounds, 6 ounces and moved up two notches to fifth with 12-3. He caught his day-two fish on a 1/8-ounce Strike King shaky head and a Strike King finesse worm.

“I didn’t have anything at 1 o’clock,” Hicks said. “(My pro) Clark Wendlant told just to buckle down and drag that worm behind the boat. He was fishing really shallow so I didn’t have a lot to fish. My (day-one baits) weren’t working, so I just fished that worm slowly.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the Forrest Wood Cup were:

6th: Bryan New, of Belmont, N.C., 12-1

7th: Richard Peek, of Centre, Ala., 11-12

8th: Timothy Dearing, of Loudon, Tenn., 11-9

9th: Mike Devere, of Berea, Ky., 11-6

10th: Cory Leonard, of Castalia, N.C., 11-3

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. Eastern time from Laurel Park located at 3100 Old Cleveland Highway in Gainesville, Ga.