Anglers competing in the PAA All Star Series event at Lake Ray Hubbard were treated to a calmer day than has been the norm recently in the Garland, Texas area. Some took advantage of that and others didn't – as expected, weights varied dramatically throughout the 48-angler field.
Todd Auten sacked 22.96 pounds to grab the early lead. After a mediocre practice, he found the fish he exploited during the early hours of
competition today.
He leads 2nd-place Brian Snowden (22.01) by nearly a pound. Snowden had a strong practice and is working two different patterns.
Texans Matt Reed and Dave Mansue are tied for 3rd with 21.25. Reed's doing the same thing in the same places as Snowden and improved his sack by 4 pounds during the final 15 minutes of the day.
Dave Lefebre rounds out the Top 5 with 19.71.
Here's a look at the rest of the current Top 12:
6. Ott DeFoe: 18.61
7. Justin Rackley: 18.38
8. Jason Christie: 18.25
9. Terry Butcher: 18.18
10. Stephen Johnston: 17.76
11. Takahiro Omori: 17.01
12. Stacey King: 16.89
At less than 23,000 acres when full (which it's decidedly not right now), Ray Hubbard fishes small to begin with. And with the majority of the fish congregated in just a few locales, that problem is exacerbated.
Very few of the anglers who caught strong bags today had anything to themselves. Conditions could become even more crowded tomorrow if the wind reasserts itself to the level that it blew during practice – there will be areas that are completely unfishable.
The day-2 forecast calls for a sustained south wind of 22 mph, which likely means there will be gusts of over 30. The air temperature is expected to top out at 89 degrees.
Brian Snowden fished one pattern this morning and another this afternoon.
The field will be cut to the Top 12 after tomorrow's weigh-in, with the winner determined Saturday by highest cumulative weight.
Auten Connected with Quality
> Day 1: 5, 22.96
Auten said he had one practice day during which he caught several 4-plus-pounders, and today was similar to that.
"The other days I caught a couple of good ones, but the rest of them were smaller," he said. "Today I caught three of them and lost one, and I went back and caught two that I think I lost earlier. They were from the same area, at least."
He also said he came upon a new pattern today that started working at about 11:00. He ended up catching 10 keepers, with the biggest a 5 1/2-pounder.
"The wind started out from the north, but it was already coming back around from the south by the end of the day. It could mess everything up tomorrow, but I think I can still catch a few.
"It just might be harder to get those bigger bites."
2nd: Snowden Double-Dipping
> Day 1: 5, 22.01
Snowden also went through about 10 keepers, and a 6 1/2-pounder topped his bag.
"I've got one thing I'm doing in the morning, and then a totally different thing in the afternoon," he said. "The afternoon deal seems to be better for the bigger fish.
"Tomorrow I might just go for the bigger ones, but I haven't decided yet."
Dave Mansue had no expectations of catching a 21 1/4-pound bag.
He's fishing the mid-section of the lake and hopes to see some sun tomorrow (it was overcast all day today).
"The bite seems to be the worst when it's cloudy."
3rd: Reed Kept it Rolling
> Day 1: 5, 21.25
Reed was able to parlay a productive practice into an excellent first day. The lake is located just 2 1/2 hours from his home in Madisonville, but this is his initial visit.
"Practice was phenomenal," he said. "You never know what that's going to turn into on tournament day, but it was good. I only got one big one and I'd actually been catching more than that, but I don't have any complaints."
He said he caught at least 25 keepers, including a 6 1/2-pounder.
"Me and (Snowden) are doing the same thing and it's the kind of deal where you think you can eventually catch them good if you keep running the pattern. It's a matter of just trying to go through enough fish to get a good bite.
"It's kind of a neat place. It was a fun day and I just gradually culled up all day."
His biggest concern about the return of the strong winds is that it will pack the field into even fewer locations.
"It will group us up, whether we want it to or not. This is not a big lake and there isn't much to it."
3rd: Mansue Exceeded Expectations
> Day 1: 5, 21.25
Mansue said his status near the top of the leaderboard is "a complete surprise."
"I didn't have a good practice and I didn't know what to anticipate today," he said. "I went to a bank where I'd caught one keeper in practice and there happened to be nobody on it yet. After about five casts, I had a 5-pounder.
Matt Reed had a great day 1 following a practice he termed "phenomenal."
"The light bulb went on then. I put a limit in the box in about an hour and 15 minutes and lost a couple of really good ones as well – a couple of 4 1/2-pounders. Then I got lucky this afternoon with 15 minutes to go and caught a 6-pounder that culled out a 2.
"When your hand was shaking four or five times when you were putting fish in the livewell, you know it's been a good day."
He had another fish in his bag that went nearly 6 pounds. He threw a variety of baits and they all produced at one time or another.
"I stayed in that one place for a good bit this morning and then I moved around to a couple of areas where I'd gotten bites in practice to see if I could get bit again and whether they'd be worth fishing tomorrow. I think tomorrow I'm just going to hang out where I caught them today.
"I think it's an area that would be better with a little wind on it, but of course I want to keep that in moderation. There are some other banks nearby, though, that I think have some quality fish as well."
44th: Weird Day for Vinson
> Day 1: 3, 4.25
Greg Vinson, who came in off a Top-12 performance at the Toledo Bend Bassmaster Elite Series, had a rough day.
"It was real weird," he said. "I had some decent bites this morning. The situation was perfect for a swimjig, which is something I love to do. I got seven or eight fish of decent quality to roll on the jig, but they just weren't getting it.
"I went back and tried to flip those same areas, but it just wasn't happening. I'll go back there again tomorrow and see if I can execute a little better and figure out what I need to do to get those fish in the boat."
Notable
> Day 1 stats – 48 anglers, 33 limits, 5 fours, 3 threes, 4 twos, 2 ones, 1 zero.
Day 1 Standings
1. Todd Auten -- 5, 22.96
2. Brian Snowden -- 5, 22.01
3. Matt Reed -- 5, 21.25
4. David Mansue -- 5, 21.25
5. Dave Lefebre -- 5, 19.71
6. Ott Defoe -- 5, 18.61
7. Justin Rackley -- 5, 18.38
8. Jason Christie -- 5, 18.25
9. Terry Butcher -- 5, 18.18
10. Stephen Johnston -- 5, 17.76
11. Takahiro Omori -- 5, 17.01
12. Stacey King -- 5, 16.89
13. Edwin Evers -- 5, 16.74
14. Charlie Hartley -- 5, 16.63
15. Sean Hoernke -- 5, 16.18
16. Lance Vick -- 5, 15.98
17. Gary Clouse -- 5, 15.51
18. Jami Fralick -- 5, 15.44
19. Aaron Martens -- 5, 15.42
20. Mike McClelland -- 5, 14.52
21. Chris Daves -- 5, 14.35
22. Shaw Grigsby -- 5, 13.78
23. Patrick Pierce -- 5, 13.75
24. Tommy Biffle -- 5, 13.06
25. Dave Wolak -- 5, 12.80
26. Harold Allen -- 5, 12.76
27. Craig Dowling -- 5, 12.49
28. Woo Daves -- 5, 11.73
29. Harley Brigman -- 2, 11.33
30. Jason Reyes -- 5, 10.74
31. John Crews,Jr -- 5, 10.33
32. Ronnie Wagner -- 5, 10.06
33. Chris Brasher -- 5, 9.93
34. Russ Clark -- 4, 9.81
35. Brian Travis -- 4, 9.67
36. Duke Jenkel -- 3, 9.41
37. Bradley Hallman -- 3, 9.02
38. Tommy Martin -- 4, 8.88
39. Chad Morgenthaler -- 4, 8.69
40. David Hendrick -- 4, 8.51
41. Gary Klein -- 4, 6.47
42. Rob Burns -- 2, 6.30
43. Fred Roumbanis -- 2, 4.34
44. Greg Vinson -- 3, 4.25
45. Shinichi Fukae -- 2, 3.01
46. Kevin Hawk -- 1, 2.13
47. Guy Eaker -- 1, 1.89
48. JT Palmore -- 0, 0.00
Big Fish
Day 1: Harley Brigman -- 8.34
