Top 5 Patterns – Day 1 at the All-American on Lake Hamilton
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The rain dampened what was otherwise a productive Day 1 of the 39th Annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American on Lake Hamilton. A mixture of offshore and shallow patterns showed up in the top five, with strategies expected to change on Friday as the sunshine and warm temperatures return.
2. Ryan Powroznik – 12-14 (5)
Virginia angler Ryan Powroznik is in second place after filling his limit with 12-14. Powroznik said that he spent the majority of his day offshore.
“I caught my fish offshore fishing brush piles,” Powroznik confirmed. “I found a couple of spots off the bank, but not that much. I spent four days here two weeks ago practicing and idling around, so I have a good idea of the area I’m fishing. I had a couple of key bites today that put me in a good position.”
Powroznik said his practice days were good, but the changing weather influenced the way he was fishing.
“The weather changed things up, so I had to change up my presentation,” Powroznik said. “I’m trying to only stay in one section of the lake and not spread myself out too thin, even though it’s not a very big lake. I caught about 25 total fish today.”
Powroznik knew he was around the right fish to be inside the Top 10 before the day even began. On a lake like Hamilton this time of the year, it pays to be around 2- and 3-pounders when everyone else is catching 1-pounders.
“I figured I’d be around at least 13 to 14 pounds today,” Powroznik said. “I was just below that and that’s alright. I’m pleased with what I have so far, just have to go improve on it tomorrow.”
3. Sean Wieda – 12-8 (5)
Sean Wieda came into the All-American via the Mountain Division in Kentucky. His 12-8 came from a variety of spots, leading him to believe that he’ll have to continue to be mobile on Friday to stay in contention.
“I had eight or nine keepers today, so it was a solid day,” Wieda said. “The thing that’s challenging on this lake is that it’s hard to get one pattern in practice. I caught some shallow and my last one I caught out deep in 20 feet of water. I’m going to have to stay nimble tomorrow and keep moving.”
Wieda is hoping that Friday’s forecasted sunshine will help him both out deep and up shallow.
“I don’t feel confident doing just one thing,” Wieda said. “The sun should be back tomorrow, and that’s better for my deep and shallow fish. I wasn’t really throwing topwater, so I need the sun to get the fish positioned better. I feel like if I’m constantly moving through different techniques that I’ll find five to put in the livewell.”
Wieda admittedly feels more comfortable fishing stained water, but the cloud cover forced Weida to switch up his strategy on Thursday.
“Because of the cloud cover, I fished a lot clearer water today than I normally would,” Wieda said. “When the sun comes back out tomorrow, I expect I’m going to go back to more stained water. I have one technique I think I can catch some fish on up shallow around cover. I’m worried about fishing brush piles out deep because I’m not super experienced with that, but that may be something I have to do.”
4. Hunter Eubanks – 11-14 (5)
Connor Cunningham may be in the lead, but Hunter Eubanks seems like the most confident angler in the field of 49 right now. He’s sitting in fourth place after catching a bag worth 11-14 and just 1-1 ahead of 10th place. Eubanks felt good about what he found in practice, but with Thursday’s change in weather, it came with a change in location. Good news for him, it paid off in a big way.
“I haven’t been anywhere I’ve practiced this week,” Eubanks said with a smile. “I know where some fish are up shallow, and I know no one else is going to be doing what I’m doing. I had co-anglers tell me during practice that no one was doing what I was doing, so that makes me feel good.”
As he begins to gameplan for Friday, Eubanks is exuding confidence that what he found during practice, if it holds up, can get him to Saturday and maybe even give him a solid shot at taking home the title.
“If the ones bite up shallow that I know are there, I could have about 15 pounds tomorrow, I think,” Eubanks said. “I’ve saved some and I know that no one else has been in that area because I was watching it.”
5. Brian Bean – 11-13 (5)
Fishing your home lake can be a blessing and a curse. For Hot Springs native Brian Bean, that held true. A fifth-place finish on Day 1 and 5-11 out of the lead is nothing to shake your head about, but Bean says he expects more.
“I’m kind of disappointed because I lost a 3- and a 4-pounder today in brush piles,” Bean said dejectedly. “I’m fishing offshore because I’m not a big fan of bank fishing. I think the weather played a big factor into why some of the guys fishing shallow did so well.”
Bean was able to cull a few times and even though he missed out on those bigger fish that he lost to the brush piles, he still has confidence that what he’s doing is working.
“I threw a 12-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Worm going for big bites out deep,” Bean said. “I’m going to keep doing that all day tomorrow and hopefully it works out with the sun coming out and the temperature going up. If you can find the right school out here, you’re going to be good. That’s my goal.”