Kreiger Maintains Pickwick Lead With 19-15 Sack

By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

Koby Kreiger’s main pattern provided a solid foundation, but a strategic relocation proved essential to maintaining his lead at the Pickwick Lake Bassmaster Elite Series in Alabama.

Adding a five-bass limit of 19-15 to his day-1 catch of 25-12 – the event’s biggest bag – the pro from Alva, Fla., has 45-11 at the event's midway point. He holds an 11-ounce edge over 2nd-place Bill Lowen.

Kreiger started his day in the Wilson Dam tailrace, where he targeted the down-current side of a wooded rock island. With the dam releasing an hourly average of 178,170 cubic feet per second, bass were leveraging the intense feeding opportunities.

Heavy rainfall from Wednesday’s massive storm system brought extreme current and flood conditions, which required B.A.S.S. officials to postpone the tournament’s scheduled start from Thursday to Saturday.

“The fish just hunker down behind that (structure) and anything that falls over those rocks, they eat it,” Kreiger said. “It was a grind today. I caught one big smallmouth pretty early this morning and I was lucky to catch three to go with it. Then I struggled for a while.

“I made a move and went down my limit bank and caught a 4-pounder and another one about 3 1/2.”

Kreiger’s second area was a riprap bank near the takeoff site at McFarland Park. He spent about an hour in that spot.

Returning to the tailrace in the afternoon, Kreiger found that the bite had completely shut down. He attributes the decline to increased turbidity.

“The upper end of the lake is getting dirty and I think that’s part of the problem,” Kreiger said. “They didn’t bite after this morning. When I returned (to the tailrace), I never got another bite. It was nowhere near like it was yesterday.

“It has to be because the water got dirty. I mean, the fish are there; they’re not going to go anywhere. Smallmouth are sight feeders, so that has to play a role in it. But I also caught some big largemouth up there yesterday and they didn’t bite either, so I don’t know.”

Kreiger caught his fish on a deep-diving crankbait, a 1-ounce spinnerbait with tandem willow-leaf blades and a balsa Wee Bait in the silver shad color.

Despite day 2's downturn, Kreiger said he’ll definitely fish the Wilson tailrace tomorrow.

“There’s no question, if I’m going to win, I’m going to win up there,” he said. “I’m going to go up there and spend a couple of hours up there and see what happens.”

Hailing from Brookville, Ind., Lowen is in 2nd place with an even 45 pounds. Gaining a spot from day 1, Lowen bolstered Saturday’s limit of 21-03 with 23-13 – the day’s heaviest bag.

“Yesterday I didn’t get a lot of bites and today I didn’t get a lot of bites, but I got the right ones,” Lowen said.

Spending his day near the Natchez Trace Bridge, Lowen fished main-river current breaks. Noting that this area is a major offshore community hole when conditions are stable, Lowen strategically pushed shallow and flipped wood with his signature series 3/8-ounce Lure Parts Online jig with a chunk trailer.

“The reason I go with a 3/8 is so it sweeps through the cover instead of getting stuck,” Lowen said. “When it sweeps through there, it looks more natural than if you’re fighting to get it through.”

In the day’s later hours, Lowen fished docks inside a pocket in the same general area. He caught several on his jig, with one making it into his limit.

“My theory is that those fish are getting pushed to the sides,” Lowen said. “I had a really good area out on that flat before (the heavy current) came and I assumed that those fish slid up to the docks.”

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., is in 3rd place with 41-02. Mirroring his day-1 strategy, Martin started the day fishing the slower current areas right outside of McFarland Park.

He added 22-13 to the 18-05 he caught on Saturday.

“I caught a 6 1/2-pounder right outside the takeoff, then I caught some more fish down the (riprap bank bordering McFarland) and ended up with a limit of 15 pounds or so without starting my motor and then I just went fishing,” Martin said. “I didn’t catch as many today, the grade was better. I caught a lot of 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-pound fish.”

After leaving the McFarland area, Martin fished his way down lake, nearly to the Tennessee state line. He targeted current breaks, points and shallow cover and caught his fish on a ChatterBait, swimbait and a balsa crankbait.

Hank Cherry of Lincolnton, N.C., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 7-11.

Monday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. CT at McFarland Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3 p.m.

Day 2 Standings

1. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 10, 45-11 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 25-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15

2. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 10, 45-00 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-03 -- Day 2: 5, 23-13

3. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 10, 41-02 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 22-13

4. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 10, 41-01 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 21-08

5. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 10, 40-03 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 23-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00

6. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 10, 39-07 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05

7. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 39-04 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-09

8. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 10, 38-05 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-09

9. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 10, 38-03 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03

10. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 38-01 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09

11. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 10, 37-11 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15

12. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 10, 36-12 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 5, 23-08

13. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 36-08 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 19-11

14. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 10, 35-09 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15

15. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 10, 35-04 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08

16. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 10, 35-00 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14

17. Joshua Stracner -- Vandiver, AL -- 10, 34-13 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00

18. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 10, 34-13 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13

19. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 10, 34-12 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 21-10

20. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 10, 34-01 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11

21. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 33-13 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00

22. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 10, 33-12 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03

23. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 33-08 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13

24. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 9, 33-05 -- 77
Day 1: 4, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-13

25. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 9, 33-03 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 4, 14-07

26. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 10, 32-14 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02

27. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 10, 32-05 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 18-14

28. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 9, 32-01 -- 73
Day 1: 4, 12-03 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14

29. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 31-15 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14

30. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 31-14 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00

31. Kyle Monti -- Okeechobee, FL -- 10, 31-06 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08

32. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 10, 31-05 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14

33. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 10, 31-04 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15

34. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 10, 31-02 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09

35. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 10, 31-01 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02

36. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 30-07 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09

37. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 9, 30-05 -- 64
Day 1: 4, 11-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03

38. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 9, 29-14 -- 63
Day 1: 4, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08

39. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10, 29-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15

40. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 10, 29-12 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11

41. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 8, 29-11 -- 60
Day 1: 3, 08-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13

42. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 10, 27-07 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03

43. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 9, 27-00 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 14-07 -- Day 2: 4, 12-09

44. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 10, 26-10 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01

45. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 26-05 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13

46. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 9, 26-03 -- 55
Day 1: 4, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10

47. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 9, 26-00 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 4, 08-06

48. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 8, 25-13 -- 53
Day 1: 3, 08-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13

49. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 8, 25-05 -- 52
Day 1: 4, 10-04 -- Day 2: 4, 15-01

50. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 9, 25-04 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 4, 10-14

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.

51. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 6, 25-03 -- 50 -- $2,500
Day 1: 1, 03-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-02

52. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 9, 25-02 -- 49 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 4, 09-03

53. Randy Pierson -- Oakdale, CA -- 8, 24-13 -- 48 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 07-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07

54. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 10, 24-10 -- 47 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 10-14

55. Harvey Horne -- Bella Vista, AR -- 9, 23-07 -- 46 -- $2,500
Day 1: 4, 09-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05

56. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 9, 23-00 -- 45 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 4, 09-04

57. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 6, 22-15 -- 44 -- $2,500
Day 1: 1, 02-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04

58. Rob Digh -- Denver, NC -- 8, 22-14 -- 43 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 08-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08

59. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 7, 22-12 -- 42 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 2, 06-04

60. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 6, 22-03 -- 41 -- $3,500
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 1, 02-02

61. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 8, 21-14 -- 40 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 07-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-00

62. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 8, 21-13 -- 39 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 3, 07-13

63. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 8, 21-10 -- 38 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 3, 10-01

64. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 8, 20-14 -- 37 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 3, 07-09

65. Quentin Cappo -- Prairieville, LA -- 9, 20-13 -- 36 -- $2,500
Day 1: 4, 08-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15

66. Garrett Paquette -- Canton, MI -- 7, 20-08 -- 35 -- $2,500
Day 1: 4, 11-00 -- Day 2: 3, 09-08

67. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 6, 20-00 -- 34 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 12-15 -- Day 2: 3, 07-01

68. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 7, 19-15 -- 33 -- $2,500
Day 1: 2, 05-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08

69. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 7, 19-12 -- 32 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 08-03 -- Day 2: 4, 11-09

70. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 7, 19-10 -- 31 -- $2,500
Day 1: 2, 04-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07

71. Derek Hudnall -- Denham Springs, LA -- 6, 19-05 -- 30 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 11-06 -- Day 2: 3, 07-15

72. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 6, 19-01 -- 29 -- $2,500
Day 1: 2, 05-12 -- Day 2: 4, 13-05

73. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 6, 18-15 -- 28 -- $2,500
Day 1: 2, 07-01 -- Day 2: 4, 11-14

74. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 7, 18-14 -- 27 -- $2,500
Day 1: 2, 03-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01

75. Cody Hollen -- Beaverton, OR -- 7, 18-01 -- 26 -- $2,500
Day 1: 2, 03-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02

76. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 7, 17-14 -- 25
Day 1: 2, 04-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06

77. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 5, 17-13 -- 24
Day 1: 1, 02-06 -- Day 2: 4, 15-07

78. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 5, 17-12 -- 23
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12

79. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 6, 16-14 -- 22
Day 1: 1, 03-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05

80. Darold Gleason -- Many, LA -- 5, 16-13 -- 21
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13

81. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 6, 16-12 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 1, 02-07

82. Rick Morris -- Lake Gaston, VA -- 5, 16-05 -- 19
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05

83. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 6, 16-00 -- 18
Day 1: 4, 10-12 -- Day 2: 2, 05-04

84. Destin DeMarion -- Grove City, PA -- 5, 15-14 -- 17
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14

85. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 5, 15-14 -- 16
Day 1: 1, 05-00 -- Day 2: 4, 10-14

86. Jay Yelas -- Lincoln City, OR -- 6, 14-08 -- 15
Day 1: 4, 09-11 -- Day 2: 2, 04-13

87. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 4, 14-03 -- 14
Day 1: 1, 04-06 -- Day 2: 3, 09-13

88. Dale Hightower -- Mannford, OK -- 5, 11-04 -- 13
Day 1: 3, 07-11 -- Day 2: 2, 03-09

89. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin Ontario CANADA -- 4, 10-09 -- 12
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 4, 10-09

90. Gary Clouse -- Winchester, TN -- 4, 10-00 -- 11
Day 1: 2, 04-11 -- Day 2: 2, 05-05

91. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 4, 09-12 -- 10
Day 1: 4, 09-12 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

92. Bill Weidler -- Helena, AL -- 3, 09-11 -- 9
Day 1: 1, 02-05 -- Day 2: 2, 07-06

93. Chris Groh -- Spring Grove, IL -- 3, 07-13 -- 8
Day 1: 1, 03-06 -- Day 2: 2, 04-07

94. Tyler Carriere -- Youngsville, LA -- 2, 07-08 -- 7
Day 1: 1, 05-08 -- Day 2: 1, 02-00

95. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 3, 07-07 -- 6
Day 1: 2, 04-10 -- Day 2: 1, 02-13

96. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 3, 07-03 -- 5
Day 1: 1, 02-00 -- Day 2: 2, 05-03

97. Mike Huff -- Corbin, KY -- 3, 06-13 -- 4
Day 1: 2, 04-07 -- Day 2: 1, 02-06

98. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 3, 06-00 -- 3
Day 1: 2, 05-14 -- Day 2: 1, 00-02

99. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 2, 04-07 -- 2
Day 1: 1, 02-01 -- Day 2: 1, 02-06

100. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00