UMATILLA, Ore. – The wind picked up. The bite got tougher. Weights were down. And the day-one leader stumbled and came back to the pack. That just about summed up the entire second day of Walmart FLW Series competition on the Columbia River.
As a result, the leaderboard is now as closely contested as any in recent memory with the top 10 pros separated by a grand total of 3 pounds, 11 ounces. Compare that with Wednesday’s round of National Guard Western Division action when day-one leader Ronald Hobbs Jr. of Orting, Wash., had nearly a 4-pound cushion over his next closest rival by the end of weigh-in.
In short, things are really starting to get interesting in the Beaver State.
However, while the tightening of the leaderboard was great for bass-fishing fans, it’s not what Hobbs had in mind when he departed Umatilla Marina this morning.
“I really wish I didn’t stumble that hard today,” said Hobbs, who recorded a two-day weight of 25 pounds, 10 ounces. “I only got five bites all day and was only able to get three of them in the boat.”
To be fair, Hobbs is attempting to execute a fairly high-risk strategy this week. With a 150-mile roundtrip and multiple hours dedicated solely to transit, Hobbs has only given himself approximately two hours to fish each day. And that’s if everything goes right.
“I got held up in the locks today, and that cost me another 30 minutes. So, basically, I only had an hour and a half of fishing today,” said Hobbs, one of the few anglers to locate a nice pod of good-sized prespawn bass. “When you make a run like I’m making, you also never really get a chance to settle in. And that’s tough sometimes. I had some fish that I thought I could catch if I had a little more time today. It just didn’t work out.”
Hobbs, who is throwing a Sniper Snub worm while targeting bass lingering in current breaks, said he’s still confident in both his area and his strategy.
“My area definitely has enough fish to win this tournament,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting those fish in the boat. I know if I can catch five fish the next two days, I could blow this thing out of the water. But that’s the key. I have to get those fish in the boat.”
On the other end of the spectrum was Joseph Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif. While Hobbs was mostly disappointed by being tied for first place, Caporuscio was ecstatic.
“I’m just really stoked right now,” said Caporuscio, who overcame a 4-pound deficit from day one to grab a share of the lead after Thursday’s weigh-in. “I wound up catching my biggest fish on the last cast of the day. No matter what I did today, everything seemed to go my way. I actually lost one fish, backed up the boat and caught it again. It was just a fun day. It was a special day.”
Caporuscio continued to target bass by drop-shotting plastic worms around shallow grass in 3 to 10 feet of water.
“Hopefully I can go back to that same spot and do the same thing tomorrow,” said Caporuscio, who is, amazingly enough, making his first-ever visit to the Columbia River this week. “Man, I can’t get this smile off my face. It’s just special. It really is.”
Mace nets third place
Ron Mace of Kennewick, Wash., is busy doing everything he can to parlay his vast fishing experience on Columbia River into a tournament title. And if today’s results are any indication, he’s right on track – adding a limit weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces for a two-day total of 25 pounds to grab third place overall.
However, like Hobbs, Mace is playing a high-stakes game by running tremendous distances each morning.
“I’m a local guy, so I know this river pretty well,” said Mace. “Basically I'm making a huge run, probably close to 100 miles one way. And I haven’t even been able to get to my good spot yet. I’m running my boat as fast as it will go, but the wind is making it kind of difficult. My good spot is actually 25 to 30 miles farther upriver. But if I can get there, I’ll probably only need about 10 minutes of fishing time to do what I need to do.”
Lippincott snares fourth place
Marc Lippincott of Spokane, Wash., used a two-day catch of 24 pounds, 6 ounces to net a fourth-place finish heading into the third day of competition.
“I had a small limit in about 15 minutes today,” said Lippincott. “So, overall, I had a pretty good day. There were a few good fish that I wasn’t able to get into the boat, or else I would have had a better limit. But the good news is that I know those fish are still out there.”
Lippincott said he landed his stringer throwing a variety of baits including Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits, tubes and drop-shots.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top-five leaderboard was Bobby Barrack of Oakley, Calif., with a two-day catch of 22 pounds, 15 ounces.
Meanwhile Kyle Maughs of Willits, Calif., won the day’s Folgers Big Bass competition in the Pro Division after landing a 2-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth.
Haraguchi maintains co-angler lead
For the second consecutive day, Gary Haraguchi of Brentwood, Calif., held on to the top spot in the Co-angler Division.
“I had another blessed day out on the water,” said Haraguchi, who boasts a two-day catch of 20 pounds, 5 ounces. “It was kind of rough out there, but we had a lot of fun. I just had a great day.”
Haraguchi said he targeted bass in today’s competition by throwing combinations of reaction and finesse baits.
“We fished both shallow and deep water today,” he said. “We did a little bit of everything. We fished some banks and also water up to about 20 feet deep. My goal tomorrow is to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m going to fish hard and hope for the best.”
Best of the rest
Second place belonged to Chad Leblanc of Sutter, Calif., who now boasts a total catch of 18 pounds, 6 ounces.
Taylor Parsons of Sutter Creek, Calif., finished the day in third place with a total catch of 17 pounds, 7 ounces.
“It feels good,” said Parsons of his finish. “Tomorrow I’m just going to go out there, work hard and try to capitalize on the situation.”
John H. Thompson of El Granada, Calif., finished the day in fourth place with a total two-day catch of 17 pounds, 2 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers was Toby Farkas of Woodland, Calif., with a two-day catch weighing in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces.
Meanwhile, Paul Aznarez of Las Vegas walked away with the Folgers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division after netting a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass.
Day three of FLW Series Columbia River competition begins at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time at Umatilla Marina, located at 1710 Quincy in Umatilla, Ore.
