Uribe Leads Packed Delta Top 10
Bridgford pro has 1-ounce cushion in his quest for back-to-back wins
Joe Uribe Jr. has been here before – and not too long ago. The Surprise, Ariz., pro, who fishes for the Bridgford pro-team, won the 2015Rayovac FLW Series Western Division opener on Lake Havasu back in early February.
In that event, Uribe carried a lead of more than 5 pounds into the final day of competition, which is where the difference lies today. He once again has the two-day lead in a Western Division event, this one presented by Ranger Boats on the California Delta, but it’s by only a slim 1-ounce margin over David Valdivia, who weighed in a 10-pound bass today en route to putting together a 26-03 limit that jumped him up the leaderboard from 48th to second. The entire top 10 is sandwiched together with just 1 pound, 10 ounces separating first from 10th.
Uribe also made a big move today. He weighed in 16-15 on day one, which put him in 30th place. Today, he weighed 24-01 for a two-day total of 41 pounds even. The difference was all about timing and capitalizing on perfect conditions.
“The weather cooperated,” Uribe says, “and I ran the tides better and caught a few good ones. We stayed productive all day and made the right adjustments. I ran way down south.
“Yesterday [day one], the wind messed up the topwater bite,” he adds. “I actually wanted it slick [like it was today]. We’ll have better incoming water in the morning tomorrow, so I’ll go run topwater until it changes, then run around and flip. I’ve got one section where I’m fishing some shallow hyacinths where I think they’re still on beds.”
Uribe started his day tossing topwaters around fry-guarders while the tide was high. He’s got a “sweet spot” that holds some quality bass willing to eat on the surface. However, he caught his 8-pound, 11-ounce kicker by flipping later in the day.
“Once the tide dropped out, then I hit some duck ponds and started flipping,” he says. “At 1:30 I caught that big one. My sister [Rachel] actually had that fish come up and try to eat a topwater in practice, but she missed it. I went back today and caught that same fish flipping.”
The key to Uribe’s flipping bite is to run the tides and stay on the outgoing cycle. Tomorrow, the high switch will be later in the morning, so he’ll have to adjust his timing a little bit if he wants to maintain his pace.
Uribe and the rest of the top 10 takes off at sunrise tomorrow morning around 5:45 a.m. PT. The final-day weigh-in begins at 2:30 p.m. at Russo’s Marina on Bethel Island.
Top 10 Pros
1. Joe Uribe Jr. – Surprise, Ariz. – 41-00 (10)
2. David Valdivia – Norwalk, Calif. – 40-15 (10)
3. Chris Parks – Eugene, Ore. – 40-10 (10)
4. Ken Mah – Elk Grove, Calif. – 40-06 (10)
5. Stephen Tosh Jr. – Turlock, Calif. – 39-13 (10)
6. Austin Bonjour – Atascadero, Calif. – 39-09 (10)
7. Phillip Dutra – Antioch, Calif. – 39-08 (10)
8. Gary Dobyns – Live Oak, Calif. – 39-07 (10)
9. Nick Nourot – Benicia, Calif. – 39-07 (10)
10. Wade Curtiss – Meadow Vista, Calif. – 39-06 (10)
Farage’s Lead Shrinks, Still Atop Co-angler Division
Jack Farage didn’t match his jaw-dropping 26-pound limit from day one, but his 11-11 bag today was plenty enough to maintain the co-angler lead on the California Delta. Farage currently has a tournament total of 37-11 and a 4-4 lead over Utah co-angler Paul Reutlinger.
“I changed it up today,” Farage says. “Today was all about finesse. I tried the crankbait [that he used on day one] first thing this morning, and the size of the fish I was catching changed. They were all small. I stayed with it a couple of hours and shouldn’t have. I went to finesse, and that was the difference.”
Tomorrow’s competition will present anglers with potentially challenging conditions, says Farage. It’s the second day after a front, and winds are supposed to blow from the north.
“The second day after a front is normally a tougher day,” he says. “I’ll try the crankbait first in the morning and see if I can catch one up shallow. Then I’ll be prepared to go with finesse again.”
Co-angler Top 10
1. Jack Farage – Discovery Bay, Calif. – 37-11 (10)
2. Paul Reutlinger – West Jordan, Utah – 33-07 (10)
3. Randy Bruno – Huntington Beach, Calif. – 31-05 (8)
4. Eric Hawkins – Sacramento, Calif. – 31-02 (10)
5. Todd Kline – San Clemente, Calif. – 30-10 (10)
6. Rafael Ortiz – Roseville, Calif. – 30-07 (10)
7. Jordan Pinasco – Galt, Calif. – 30-01 (10)
8. John Rossetti – Stockton, Calif. – 28-05 (10)
9. Daniel Leue – Colusa, Calif. – 28-01 (10)
10. Tom Nokes – Riverton, Utah – 26-13 (10)