You can't fight Mother Nature, so you might as well make the best of what she gives you.
Oklahoma FLW Tour pro Jason Christie took over the lead today at the PAA All-Star Series event at Lake Ray Hubbard in Texas as he boxed 25.33 pounds to give him a 2-day total of 43.58. He took advantage of the ferocious wind, which blew so hard that it created an artificial current in the area he was fishing and positioned the bass in placers where they were easier to catch.
He'll carry a lead of about 3 1/4 pounds over 2nd-place Matt Reed into the final day. Reed caught 19.01 to bring his total to 40.26.
Another 2 pounds back in 3rd place is Ott DeFoe, whose 19 1/2-pound bag gave him a 38.10 aggregate. Brian Snowden dropped two places to 4th with a 15.71-pound sack for a 37.73 total.
Day-1 leader Todd Auten weighed just 13.39 today and fell four slots to 5th with a 36.35 total.
Here are the totals for the other anglers who'll be back on the water tomorrow.
6. Dave Mansue: 35.54
7. Stephen Johnston: 34.36
8. Aaron Martens: 31.51
9. Dave Lefebre: 31.22
10. Dave Wolak: 31.05
11. Woo Daves: 30.87
12. Harold Allen: 30.66
A south wind that gusted to 35 mph ravaged 22,000-acre Ray Hubbard today and left many in the field thankful that the impoundment isn't bigger. It's expected to lighten up a bit tomorrow, but it'll likely be a big factor again.
Christie's massive sack notwithstanding, weights were down overall. The No. 12 slot had nearly 17 pounds after the opening day, but it took an average of less than 15 1/2 to make the cut.
Tomorrow's forecast for the Garland area calls for isolated thunderstorms, a high temperature of 90 degrees and a south wind to 22 mph.
Matt Reed had most of his 19 pounds before 10:00.
The winner will be determined tomorrow by highest 3-day weight.
Christie Capitalized
> Day 2: 5, 25.33 (10, 43.58)
Christie, a shallow-water specialist, is fishing his strength and had a great day as the moving water put plenty of big largemouths in places where he could pick them off.
"I was just fortunate to get some good bites," he said. "Yesterday I only caught five fish all day and three of them were big ones. Today I caught a lot more fish, and I was able to catch quite a few big ones."
In addition to the 8-plus brute, his bag also contained two fish in the 5-pound class. He didn't lose any that would've helped him.
The big one bit at about 9:00. "She put up a good fight, but she came straight to the net. I don't get a chance to catch one that big very often and it was a lot of fun."
He's sharing an area with two other anglers who made the cut.
"You've got company everywhere you go on this lake. It's going to be anybody's game tomorrow – there are so many big fish here and all it takes is one bite.
"I'm going to stick with the same gameplan because it's the only one I have and I feel like I'm going to have to catch over 20 pounds to have a chance to win."
2nd: Reed Connected Quickly
> Day 2: 5, 19.01 (10, 40.26)
Reed caught a solid limit in the early hours and was able to improve it a few times over the course of the day. He continued to fish pretty much in tandem with Snowden, but he caught a much larger sack than the Missourian today.
Ott DeFoe's best area was protected from the wind.
"We were on different ends of the same areas, but they're big areas," he said. "What we're doing is basically identical."
He went through more than 20 keepers and his bag was highlighted by a 6-pounder.
"I've got two things going on – a deal where I catch them early and another that starts at about 9:00. What I'm doing is a pattern and once I leave my starting deal, I don't have one particular place where I want to be. I don't have a ton areas, but I've got seven or eight.
"The wind blew so hard today that it could dirty up some pretty big chunks of water for tomorrow," he continued. "I don't know what the effect will be – it could take some places out of play, or (the mud) could be gone."
3rd: DeFoe was Protected
> Day 2: 5, 19.49 (10, 38.10)
DeFoe said the configuration of his primary locale, which he's sharing with fellow Top-12 qualifiers Lefebre and Allen, mitigated the effects of the wind.
"It's a small, narrow area and it doesn't get bothered too bad," he said. "You struggle a little bit with boat positioning, but a Power-Pole keeps it from getting too rough."
He caught 10 keepers today and his best was a little short of 6 pounds.
"I'm basically doing two things and they're mixed together some, but it's mostly a morning/afternoon deal. I've got one other area that I haven't been too yet and I may give that a try tomorrow for a little while."
4th: Fewer Bites for Snowden
> Day 2: 5, 15.71 (10, 37.73)
Snowden didn't get as many bites as he did on day 1 and the quality wasn't as good.
Brian Snowden's bites were fewer and small than on day 1.
"It was a much slower day and the wind hurt me considerably," he said. "I had a limit by 9:30, but then I cranked for a long time without a bite and then I finally culled twice later in the day."
He caught eight keepers total, including a 5-pounder, and didn't lose any that would've helped him.
"I'll stick with what I'm doing, but I might change the baits up a little bit. I might try a swimbait to see if I can get a big one off some rocks, but other than that I don't know what to do differently."
5th: Wind Hindered Auten
> Day 2: 5, 13.39 (10, 36.35)
Auten's bag was 9 1/2 pounds lighter than the one he weighed the previous day.
"Yesterday I couldn't do anything wrong, but I never got a good bite all day today," he said. "The wind was just killer and that was the difference. It was out of the east yesterday and that was perfect for where I was fishing, I guess (today's south wind) moved those fish and the little white bass took over – I caught the snot out of them.
"I managed three or four (largemouths) off that place, but they weren't of the same size."
His best fish today was a 3 1/4-pounder.
"I might start tomorrow where I started the first day – I got one big one there early, but today that place was getting hammered. I went over later in the day and I was like the fourth boat in line to get in there."
Day 2 Standings
1. Jason Christie -- 10, 43.58
2. Matt Reed -- 10, 40.26
3. Ott Defoe -- 10, 38.10
4. Brian Snowden -- 10, 37.73
5. Todd Auten -- 10, 36.35
6. David Mansue -- 10, 35.54
7. Stephen Johnston -- 10, 34.36
8. Aaron Martens -- 10, 31.51
9. Dave Lefebre -- 10, 31.22
10. Dave Wolak -- 10, 31.05
11. Woo Daves -- 10, 30.87
12. Harold Allen -- 10, 30.66
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.
13. Charlie Hartley -- 10, 30.56
14. Terry Butcher -- 10, 30.42
15. Edwin Evers -- 10, 29.44
16. Lance Vick -- 10, 28.85
17. Shaw Grigsby -- 10, 27.89
18. Gary Clouse -- 10, 27.81
19. Justin Rackley -- 8, 27.49
20. Takahiro Omori -- 10, -- 27.40
21. Mike Mcclelland -- 10, 27.09
22. Stacey King -- 10, 26.93
23. David R. Hendrick -- 9, 26.33
24. Chris S. Brasher -- 10, 25.94
25. Sean Hoernke -- 8, 25.86
26. Bradley Hallman -- 8, 24.39
27. Tommy Biffle -- 10, 24.35
28. Patrick Pierce -- 10, 24.34
29. Chris Daves -- 9, 23.83
30. Jason Reyes -- 10, 23.61
31. Fred Roumbanis -- 7, 22.42
32. John Crews Jr. -- 10, 21.21
33. Duke Jenkel -- 8, 20.57
34. Rob J. Burns -- 7, 20.42
35. Harley Brigman -- 4, 19.18
36. Brian W. Travis -- 8, 18.13
37. Kevin Hawk -- 6, 17.98
38. Gary Klein -- 9, 16.80
39. Ronnie Wagner -- 8, 16.62
40. Guy H. Eaker Sr. -- 6, 15.96
41. Chad Morgenthaler -- 7, 15.64
42. Jami Fralick -- 5, 15.44
43. Greg Vinson -- 7, 15.01
44. Russ Clark -- 5, 12.60
45. Craig M. Dowling -- 5, 12.49
46. Tommy Martin -- 4, 8.88
47. Shinichi Fukae -- 4, 7.51
48. JT Palmore -- 2, 5.87
Big Fish
Day 2: Jason Christie -- 8.37
Day 1: Harley Brigman -- 8.34
