MONROE, La. (Nov. 2, 2012) – Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., took the lead Friday at the EverStart Championship on the Ouachita River. Kreiger brought a five-bass limit to the scale on Friday that weighed 9-2 giving him a two-day total of 21-7, and a 1-pound, 14-ounce lead over second place James Stricklin Jr. of Texarkana, Texas.
“Any lead is a good lead,” said Kreiger who said that Thursday’s 12-5 sack was the most he has caught since hitting the river on Sunday for practice. “Going into the tournament I knew the fishing was going to be tough and that if I could consistently catch about 10 pounds per day I would have a chance of making the cut. I am actually doing a little better than I expected, during practice I didn’t even come close to 10 pounds so I’m pretty happy with what I have caught so far.”
Kreiger said that he is starting the day in the backwaters targeting shallow wood, moving out to the main river about mid-day seeking moving water and then back to the oxbows to finish off the day. He is using a variety of homemade crankbaits baits and said that there is not any one that is working any better than any other.
“The biggest challenge is staying mentally strong,” Kreiger went on to say. ”The key is to make it to fish on Sunday and I hope I can do that.”
Top 20 pros that will fish Saturday on the Ouachita River are:
1st: Koby Kreiger, Okeechobee, Fla., 10 bass, 21-7
2nd: James Stricklin Jr., Texarkana, Texas, nine bass, 19-9
3rd: Larry Jones, Acworth, Ga., 10 bass, 17-12
4th: Lance Williams, Billings, Mont., 10 bass, 17-10
5th: Robbie Dodson, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 17-8
6th: George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., eight bass, 17-6
7th: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 17-0
8th: Bill Chapman, Salt Rock, W. Va., 10 bass, 16-12
9th: Casey Martin, New Market, Ala., 10 bass, 16-10
10th: Adrian Smiley, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 16-7
11th: Joseph Kremer, Osteen, Fla., 10 bass, 16-3
12th: Currey Holley, Pulaski, Tenn., eight bass, 16-1
13th: Jim Tutt, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 15-14
14th: Brandon Medlock, Lake Placid, Fla., six bass, 15-11
15th: Lamonte Loyd, Gilmer, Texas, 10 bass, 15-11
16th: Clayton Batts, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 15-11
17th: Derek Hicks, Rocky Face, Ga., 10 bass, 15-10
18th: Shane Melton, Greentown, Ind., 10 bass, 15-10
19th: Zach King, Clarksville, Ark., nine bass, 15-7
20th: Kent Ware, Wadmalaw Island, S.C., 10 bass, 15-6
Paul Ferguson of Whitehouse, Texas, caught Friday’s big bass weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces on the pro side to win $250.
Tony Spinks of Springfield, Mo., leads the co-angler division with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces, followed by Audie Brantley of North Augusta, S.C., in second place with 10 bass weighing 14-0.
Top 20 co-anglers are:
1st: Tony Spinks, Springfield, Mo., nine bass, 14-9
2nd: Audie Brantley, North Augusta, S.C., 10 bass, 14-0
3rd: Daniel Leue, Colusa, Calif., 10 bass, 14-0
4th: Chad McClendon, North Richland Hills, Texas, 10 bass, 12-7
5th: Tony Prince, Pulaski, Tenn., nine bass, 12-5
6th: Ronald Robbs, Ironton, Mo., 10 bass, 12-5
7th: Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., nine bass, 12-3
8th: Vince Denina, Willis, Texas, six bass, 12-1
9th: Alan Hults, Gautier, Miss., nine bass, 11-11
10th: Joe Ventrello, Orlando, Fla., 10 bass, 11-6
11th: Kevin Carter, Spring, Texas, 10 bass, 11-6
12th: Ben Dziwulski, Woodbine, Md., 10 bass, 11-3
13th: Phil Risnes, Hartford, S.D., eight bass, 10-12
14th: Gary Reimers, Taylor, Texas, seven bass, 10-8
15th: Jason Mohr, Eagle Neb., six bass, 10-0
16th: Brad Aldridge, Starkville, Miss., nine bass, 10-0
17th: Calvin Hemphill, Rison, Ark., eight bass, 9-13
18th: Jon Paulovich, Bryant Ark., seven bass, 9-10
19th: Mike Hardin Sr., Robertsdale, Ala., nine bass, 9-10
20th: Nick Cupps, Decatur, Ala., eight bass, 9-7
Denina caught Friday’s big bass weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces on the co-angler side to win $165.
Anglers will take off from Forsythe Park located at 2401 Sycamore St. in Monroe, La., at 7:30 each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 2701 Louisville Ave. in Monroe beginning at 4 p.m.