Scott Wiley fished the same water on each of the first 2 days of last week's Sam Rayburn Reservoir FLW Tour. His results, though, were dramatically different.
Wiley, a second-year pro from Alabama, was buried in 157th place after the first day, when he weighed a two-fish bag for 3-12. A day later, he'd moved up 110 places in the standings and earned a $10,000 check following a 20-10 stringer.
"I like to throw a Spro Bronzeye Frog," he said. "The fish that first day were blowing up on it and knocking it up in the air, but they wouldn't take it. The next day I caught probably 35 keepers along that same stretch.
"I guess the difference was the cold front (that moved into the Lufkin, Texas area prior to day 1). I don't know how else to explain it."
He found his key stretch of grass during the late afternoon on one of the practice days. It had a ditch running through the middle that was perhaps 4 feet deep, whereas the depth on the sides was only about 1 1/2 feet.
He had it all to himself for both days.
"Those were post-spawn fish," he said. "The ditch led into a big spawning flat and the fish were sitting on the edge of it feeding on shad. The more the sun shined, the better they seemed to bite – they bit better as the day went on. The first day the sun didn't shine at all, and that probably hurt me."
He's cashed a check in all three events this year and currently sits at No. 33 on the points list.
"My goal is to make the Forrest Wood Cup, and so far I'm headed in the right direction with three more (tournaments) to go."
The Sunline Strong Performer, which focuses on the angler who makes the most significant single-day move in the standings at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great people at Sunline.
