LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - They attacked Lake Maumelle in different ways, but the result was the same for Secret York of Benton, Ky., and Melinda Mize of Ben Lomond, Ark.: Day One weights of 10 pounds, 9 ounces, and the lead in third bass fishing tournament of the 2009 Women's Bassmaster Tour season.
The pros tied for first place said they aren't fishing near each other, nor are they sharing water with other pros on the 8,900-acre reservoir. Mize stuck to one pattern, while York tried everything the lake seemed to offer.
"I'm doing three different things - I'm shallow, I'm deep, I'm in between," York said.
She declined to be specific, but whatever her secret was, it yielded a 4-12 largemouth, one of the day's largest single fish.
Mize said she believes her lure and technique are different than what others in the field are using, but she's sticking with one pattern that repeats perfectly in different spots.
Both leaders said opening day was markedly different from their practice days.
"I changed my lures up quite a bit because we had cloud cover today," York said. "We had sun all week, then today it was 25 degrees cooler on the water than it was yesterday. Even the water temperature is about 8 degrees cooler than it has been."
Mize said Maumelle produced about 25 keepers for her.
"All during practice, I had not caught anything of size - but then again, I'd been shaking them off," she said. "I found my area yesterday, the last day of practice, and hit it today. After 8 o'clock this morning, I went practicing. Then I only culled up one time, and only by a few ounces."
Despite the lake's relatively small size, territory issues didn't seem to come up.
"I thought this lake was going to fish really small today," Mize said. "I didn't have any pressure on my spots all day long."
In third place with 10 pounds, 0 ounces, was Paula Alexander of Lincolnton, Ga., who attributed her success to one pack of worms she bought on impulse because she liked the color. She declined to disclose more details.
She said concentration helped, too, because the bite has been light.
"On this lake, if you're not paying 100 percent attention, you're going to miss the bite. It's so subtle, you think it's grass," she said. York, Mize and Alexander lead the pack that's after the top pro-division prize of $1,000 and a fully rigged boat-and-motor package valued at $55,000. Pros are also fishing for points in the Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year competition. The winner will earn a Toyota Tundra and a berth in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.
The AOY points leader going into the Maumelle event was Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga. She was in 20th place after Day One in Arkansas with 6-13. Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas, who is right behind Martin-Wells in the standings, placed seventh at Maumelle on Thursday. In the co-angler division for the first-place prize package of $500 and a boat rig worth $25,000, Denese Freeman of Lawton, Okla., led Diane Smith of Fayetteville, Ga., by 1 ounce. Freeman, who won in the co-angler division in 2008 on Texas' Lake Lewisville, posted 9-4 to Smith's 9-3. In third place with 8-2 was Brande Branine. The 18-year-old from Haysville, Kan., is competing in her first WBT event.
The tournament will continue Friday and wrap up Saturday. Anglers will launch daily at 5:45 a.m. CT at Jolly Roger's Marina, 11800 Maumelle Harbour Rd. in Roland. The weigh-ins are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT at Academy Sports + Outdoors, 6100 Warden Rd. in Sherwood. All WBT events are free and open to the public.
2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6 Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR. (BOATER) Standings Day 1 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Melinda Mize Ben Lomond, AR 5 10-09 305 Day 1: 5 10-09 1. Secret York Benton, KY 5 10-09 305 Day 1: 5 10-09 3. Paula Alexander Lincolnton, GA 5 10-00 290 Day 1: 5 10-00 4. Debra Petrowski Arlington, TX 5 09-09 285 Day 1: 5 09-09 5. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, OK 5 08-14 280 Day 1: 5 08-14 6. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, TN 5 08-01 276 Day 1: 5 08-01 7. Juanita Robinson Highlands, TX 5 07-14 272 Day 1: 5 07-14 7. Kali Weatherford Athens, TX 5 07-14 272 Day 1: 5 07-14 9. Lori Masters Nashville, TN 5 07-12 264 Day 1: 5 07-12 10. Linda Redford Blue Eye, MO 5 07-11 260 Day 1: 5 07-11 11. Danalee Lofton Little Rock, AR 5 07-08 257 Day 1: 5 07-08 11. Lucy Mize Ben Lomond, AR 5 07-08 257 Day 1: 5 07-08 13. Audrey McQueen Eagar, AZ 5 07-07 251 Day 1: 5 07-07 14. Janet Parker Little Elm, TX 5 07-05 248 Day 1: 5 07-05 15. Patti Campbell Waxahachie, TX 5 07-04 245 Day 1: 5 07-04 16. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, AL 5 07-00 243 Day 1: 5 07-00 17. Meta Burrell Fort Worth, TX 5 06-14 241 Day 1: 5 06-14 17. Tammy Richardson Amity, AR 5 06-14 241 Day 1: 5 06-14 19. Marsha Gipson Bigelow, AR 5 06-13 237 Day 1: 5 06-13 20. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, GA 5 06-13 235 Day 1: 5 06-13 21. Pam Bolton Jonesboro, AR 5 06-09 233 Day 1: 5 06-09 21. Dianna Clark Bumpus Mills, TN 5 06-09 233 Day 1: 5 06-09 23. Sandi Karnes Livingston, TX 5 06-08 229 Day 1: 5 06-08 24. Christiana Bradley Bealeton, VA 5 06-07 227 Day 1: 5 06-07 24. Keri Schieber Cumming, GA 5 06-07 227 Day 1: 5 06-07 26. Kim Stapp Ringgold, GA 4 06-04 223 Day 1: 4 06-04 27. Jennifer Nevans Dayton, TN 4 05-14 221 Day 1: 4 05-14 28. Jan Heavener Sherwood, AR 4 05-13 219 Day 1: 4 05-13 29. Cheryl LaLumandier Saint Charles, MO 5 05-11 217 Day 1: 5 05-11 30. Lila Bass Austin, TX 5 05-09 215 Day 1: 5 05-09 31. Helen Gordon Flower Mound, TX 4 05-09 213 Day 1: 4 05-09 32. Mary Croft Bedford, VA 5 05-08 211 Day 1: 5 05-08 33. Laura Gober Pendergrass, GA 5 05-04 209 Day 1: 5 05-04 34. Cindy Hill Smyrna, TN 5 05-03 207 Day 1: 5 05-03 35. Laura Heflin Topeka, KS 4 05-01 205 Day 1: 4 05-01 36. Lisa Johnson Centre, AL 4 04-15 203 Day 1: 4 04-15 37. Christena Baugh Benton, AR 5 04-12 201 Day 1: 5 04-12 38. Lynda Gessner Foristell, MO 4 04-10 199 Day 1: 4 04-10 39. Kathi Hurst Ripley, MS 4 04-09 197 Day 1: 4 04-09 40. Lisa Craig Chandler, TX 3 04-09 195 Day 1: 3 04-09 41. Judy Wong Many, LA 5 04-08 193 Day 1: 5 04-08 42. Teri Neal Cumming, GA 4 03-13 191 Day 1: 4 03-13 43. Tami Kashiwabara London JAPAN 3 03-03 189 Day 1: 3 03-03 44. Kris McClendon Spicewood, TX 3 03-01 187 Day 1: 3 03-01 45. Kathy Womack Trussville, AL 2 02-10 185 Day 1: 2 02-10 46. Caprice Cherry Bienville, LA 2 02-06 183 Day 1: 2 02-06 47. Susan Gregory Kiln, MS 2 01-12 181 Day 1: 2 01-12 48. BJ Carson Inola, OK 2 01-11 179 Day 1: 2 01-11 49. Mary DiVincenti Clinton, LA 2 01-09 177 Day 1: 2 01-09 50. Kat Ealey Moody, AL 1 01-09 175 Day 1: 1 01-09 51. Cheryl Bowden Plano, TX 3 01-08 173 Day 1: 3 01-08 52. Debbie Kemp Emory, TX 2 01-08 171 Day 1: 2 01-08 53. Robinette Fox Hot Springs, AR 1 01-04 169 Day 1: 1 01-04 54. Robin Babb Livingston, TX 1 00-13 167 Day 1: 1 00-13 55. Bridget Allen Philadelphia, PA 1 00-12 165 Day 1: 1 00-12 56. Michelle Armstrong Denver, NC 1 00-11 163 Day 1: 1 00-11 57. Heather Broom Sylva, NC 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 57. Terri Elkins Red Oak, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 57. Robbie Hartline Foristell, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 57. Debra Hengst San Antonio, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 57. Jo Dee Lake Helena, AL 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 32 225 304-08 ---------------------------------- 32 225 304-08 2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6 Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR. (NON_BOATER) Standings Day 1 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Denese Freeman Lawton, OK 5 09-04 305 Day 1: 5 09-04 2. Diane Smith Fayetteville, GA 5 09-03 295 Day 1: 5 09-03 3. Brande Branine Haysville, KS 5 08-02 0 Day 1: 5 08-02 4. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken, NJ 5 06-07 285 Day 1: 5 06-07 5. Sharon Lawson Red Bank, TN 2 06-07 280 Day 1: 2 06-07 6. Bonnie Ward Snohomish, WA 5 06-05 276 Day 1: 5 06-05 7. Debbie Pegoli Loveland, OH 5 06-04 272 Day 1: 5 06-04 8. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, AR 5 06-02 268 Day 1: 5 06-02 9. Linda Berry Madison, NC 5 05-12 264 Day 1: 5 05-12 10. Gail Wood Russellville, AR 4 05-12 260 Day 1: 4 05-12 11. Jane Brunner Byhalia, MS 4 04-15 257 Day 1: 4 04-15 12. Dawn Dudek Posen, IL 4 04-14 254 Day 1: 4 04-14 13. Lori Steele Tulsa, OK 4 04-13 251 Day 1: 4 04-13 14. Lisa Diehl Pittsburg, PA 5 04-10 248 Day 1: 5 04-10 15. Kim Martin Clayton, IN 3 04-05 245 Day 1: 3 04-05 16. Colleen McKay Worcester, MA 3 04-00 243 Day 1: 3 04-00 17. Barbara Gaskins Suffolk, VA 3 03-15 241 Day 1: 3 03-15 18. Terri Bittner Mckinleyville, CA 4 03-14 239 Day 1: 4 03-14 19. Karol Whitehurst Winnsboro, TX 3 03-13 237 Day 1: 3 03-13 20. Patti James Dayton, TX 3 03-12 235 Day 1: 3 03-12 21. Charlotte Frazier Dallas, TX 3 03-10 233 Day 1: 3 03-10 21. Donna Newberry Van Buren, AR 3 03-10 233 Day 1: 3 03-10 23. Linda Owens Brandon, MS 3 03-09 229 Day 1: 3 03-09 24. Kat Arnold Shreveport, LA 2 03-04 227 Day 1: 2 03-04 24. Bertha Cavakis Amity, AR 2 03-04 227 Day 1: 2 03-04 26. Pam Chism Cabot, AR 1 03-02 223 Day 1: 1 03-02 27. Kelly Wells Grovetown, GA 3 03-01 221 Day 1: 3 03-01 28. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, SC 3 03-00 219 Day 1: 3 03-00 29. Katie Ellis Gulfport, MS 3 02-13 217 Day 1: 3 02-13 30. Michele Gunderman Gastonia, NC 2 02-11 215 Day 1: 2 02-11 31. Lesli Lively Palestine, TX 2 02-10 213 Day 1: 2 02-10 31. Petra Ramsey El Paso, TX 2 02-10 213 Day 1: 2 02-10 33. Melissa Bond Albuquerque, NM 2 02-09 209 Day 1: 2 02-09 33. Nancy Oliver Arnaudville, LA 2 02-09 209 Day 1: 2 02-09 35. Jennifer Rice Grant, AL 2 02-06 205 Day 1: 2 02-06 36. Barbara Ferge Somerville, TN 2 02-04 203 Day 1: 2 02-04 36. Sherry Melton Monterey, TN 2 02-04 203 Day 1: 2 02-04 38. Nancy Dugas Huntsville, AL 2 02-02 199 Day 1: 2 02-02 39. Patty Houston Prattville, AL 2 02-01 197 Day 1: 2 02-01 40. Kim Petrowski Arlington, TX 2 02-00 195 Day 1: 2 02-00 41. Cheryl Buelow Pollock, LA 2 01-15 193 Day 1: 2 01-15 42. Kim Mendoza Garland, TX 2 01-14 191 Day 1: 2 01-14 43. Jodi Galloway Garland, TX 2 01-12 189 Day 1: 2 01-12 43. Katie Hogan Bon Aqua, TN 2 01-12 189 Day 1: 2 01-12 45. Sarah Davis Livingston, LA 1 01-08 185 Day 1: 1 01-08 46. Donna Rutledge Orland Park, IL 1 01-07 183 Day 1: 1 01-07 47. Torrye Vineyard Yantis, TX 1 01-05 181 Day 1: 1 01-05 48. Denice Johnston Hemphill, TX 1 01-02 179 Day 1: 1 01-02 49. Shelley Chenowith Russellville, AR 1 00-15 177 Day 1: 1 00-15 49. Elizabeth Sanders Brandon, MS 1 00-15 177 Day 1: 1 00-15 51. Renee Key Johnston Beaumont, TX 1 00-13 173 Day 1: 1 00-13 51. Linda Walker Beebe, AR 1 00-13 173 Day 1: 1 00-13 53. Jill Matheis Jasper, IN 1 00-12 169 Day 1: 1 00-12 54. Renee Gumbrecht Oakhurst, NJ 1 00-11 167 Day 1: 1 00-11 55. Teri Cindric Hermitage, TN 1 00-09 165 Day 1: 1 00-09 56. Monica Altman Angier, NC 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 56. Tracy Bailey Ennis, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 56. Susan Dameron Chattanooga, TN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 56. Trish Levitt Albuquerque, NM 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 56. Susan Wild St Petersburg, FL 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 56. Kala Wright Spiro, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 9 146 186-03 ---------------------------------- 9 146 186-03