Anglers in the Costa FLW Series Central Division tournament presented by Mercury on Lake Dardanelle faced lower temperatures and lower water when they launched for the second day of competition this morning. These factors seemed to have put the fish in a sluggish mood, as most anglers we saw reported that bites were few and far between.
Although the morning air temperature was about 10 degrees lower than on day one, water temperature did not suffer as much. Nevertheless, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releasing some of the volume from recent rains, the lake dropped about 6 inches. This very likely repositioned a lot of fish.
Day-one leader Todd Castledine returned to a small finger off Illinois Bay and diligently worked shoreline wood and vegetation with a mix of pitching baits and moving baits. His areas comprise relatively narrow canals with plenty of central depth, so he feels comfortable that his fish won’t go far.
Castledine’s first fish was a 3 1/2-pounder. He waited about an hour for his next fish. When we left him, Castledine had transitioned from a primarily prespawn pattern to sight-fishing for bedding bass.
The key today might be understanding how the fish reposition in fluctuating water and fishing the appropriate side of key structure.
To catch up on the entire field, tune in to FLW Live at 3 p.m. to watch the weigh-in and see who makes the top-10 cut.