Alabama angler Alex Davis stays consistent through changing conditions to take the lead heading into Showdown Saturday at the Work Sharp NPFL Stop 3.
Day Two is over at the Work Sharp NPFL Stop 3 at Lay Lake, hosted by the City of Clanton, Alabama. What felt like a tougher day ended up being fairly similar to Day One. A lot of anglers stayed consistent, and some moved up the leaderboard heading into Showdown Saturday.
Things at the top also changed, but only slightly. Tied for the lead on Day One, Alabama angler Alex Davis stayed consistent, backing up his Day One weight of 19-5 with 18-5 on Friday to bring his two-day total to 37-10 heading into Showdown Saturday. He holds a slim 1-6 lead over Derek Lehtonen.
Starting the day tied with Davis, the South Carolina angler Lehtonen knew things may get tougher as pressure in his areas increased. Still, he capitalized on the morning bite window and followed up his Day One weight of 19-5 with 16-15 on Day Two. His two-day total of 36-4 keeps him in contention despite slipping to second place.
In third, Patrick Walters left the dock looking to maintain his spot near the top, and his slower Day Two weight of 16-7 did just that. Just shy of two pounds back, Walters’ two-day total of 35-11 gives him a shot tomorrow and earns valuable Work Sharp AOY points with a solid final day.
Several big bass came across the scales on Day Two, but the event’s biggest bass still belongs to Ryan Satterfield with a 7-10 kicker. Satterfield dropped to seventh place after two days with a total weight of 32-9.
Gary Adkins, with 23-15, sits in the final check spot in 40th place going into the final day.
Davis Takes Solo Lead
After practice and Day One of the event, Davis knew the potential to have a good tournament was there, but he did not know he would have the lead going into the final day. Still, it’s fishing and things can change quickly, but he is confident in his “power fishing” pattern, which has produced a total of 37-10 over two days.
“It was slower bite-wise today, but some of that was I had to let up a little,” said Davis. “I caught my fish and had around 17.75 in the first hour or so, but I started catching fish that did not help, and I wanted to save them for tomorrow. The potential for another big bite was there, but burning fish is not good when things are tight like they are now.”
Davis has had plenty of good finishes and close calls, but on final days has often been out of fish. Coming in, the Alabama angler generally has a good idea how things may look. Either you have a shot to win or you just try to catch as many as you can and finish as best as possible. This week, he sees the opportunity.
“I did not know right off today, but I knew I needed to save some fish,” he added. “I fished some things I have been saving and ended up ruling out a bunch of water, but I did find some other places I could get bites. Many of the fish I caught later were 3- to 3.25-pound fish, and those fish go a long way on the final day.”
Weather-wise, Davis is not looking too far ahead. Today was projected to have periods of sun between scattered showers, and the majority of the day was cloudy. Aside from that, catching as many fish as possible and fishing around are the game plan for Showdown Saturday.
“I started today where I caught them yesterday, and it was not happening,” he said. “The second spot, I pulled in and caught my whole bag pretty fast. I expected to catch them in some places and I didn’t, but I did find some areas where they were biting.”
With a long day ahead going out as boat one on the final day, Davis is excited to leave it all on the water. Keeping his eyes on Humminbird MEGA 360, he can fish efficiently while still slowing down enough to catch a few more quality fish.
“I am excited for tomorrow,” he said. “I know where they have been, and I know that if I keep moving around, I am going to catch fish. Ninety percent of my weight has been just finding those sweet spots with MEGA 360. It is just a matter of getting some of the right bites.”
Lehtonen Falls to Second
Despite the tougher day, the Day One co-leader was fine with how things shook out. In fact, “pleasantly surprised” was the phrase he used to describe his morning. Pulling in first thing, he instantly noticed the lack of activity. Still, he managed to make it happen and keep himself in contention with one day remaining.
“I did have some company today; I was hoping to be left alone, but there is nothing I can do,” he said. “I caught the fish on the slack current, and around 10 it started to move and the bite died completely. On the first day, there was bait and gar and all that, and today it was completely different. There was hardly any baitfish or activity.”
Unlike Day One, where he fished another starting spot before eventually landing on his sweet spot, today he ran there first thing. Tomorrow, if the current is moving or not, regardless, he is going to fish his couple of areas and make a decision from there.
“I realized once that current started and my bite died, I probably should have moved around more with the current picking up,” he said. “I fished a small creek and ended up catching some smaller fish. Big thanks to my wife for bringing me a coffee. I was trying to let that main spot rest some, but it didn’t matter.”
Tomorrow, he is the second boat out and welcomes the longer day to figure things out. When the crankbait bite dies, he plans on picking up the Carolina rig again and taking it one cast at a time.
“I am weighing all spotted bass, and I am not a spot guy,” he said. “I am impressed in that regard. I hate fishing grass and this is all rock. It is just going to be another day in paradise. At the end of the day, I am up against some of the best anglers in the country. I am going to give it my all and do what I do. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go home and work. I may bring some coffee with me even.”
Day Two Leaderboard:
Alex Davis 37-10
Derek Lehtonen 36-4
Patrick Walters 35-11
Drew Cook 34-8
Brandon Cobb 34-6
Kristopher Queen 32-10
Ryan Satterfield 32-9
Tim Cales 32-6
Darrell Davis 31-10
Jordan Osborne 31-2
Wesley Gore 31-1
John Cox (FL) 30-11
Richard Cooper 29-15
Jason Burroughs 29-11
Hank Cherry 29-3
Gerald Spohrer 28-1
Buddy Gross 27-9
Harmon Davis 27-8
Jon Canada 27-7
Fred Roumbanis 27-7
Kyle Glasgow 27-6
Josh Butler 27-6
Randall Tharp 26-8
Greg Vinson 25-14
Garrett Smith 25-13
Scott Hamrick 25-10
Jacob Powroznik 25-6
Greg Hackney 25-6
Matt Herren 25-5
Brock Mosley 25-1
Luke Clausen 25-0
Andrew Upshaw 24-15
Paul Browning 24-14
Zack Birge 24-11
Jason Meninger 24-10
Chad Marler 24-8
Nick Brown 24-3
Chad Grigsby 24-1
Chris Baker 23-15
Gary Adkins 23-15
Lavoyd Lemmond 23-13
Corey Casey 23-10
Bill Lowen 23-8
James Niggemeyer 23-4
Wes Logan 23-1
Jared Lintner 22-11
Jason Wilson 22-5
Todd Auten 22-3
David Wootton 22-2
Todd Goade 21-15
Timothy Reams 21-14
Joey Bloom 21-8
Mike Quinlin 21-8
J. Todd Tucker 21-7
Ray Hanselman 21-7
Pete Ponds 21-3
Scott Suggs 21-2
Ron Johnson 21-1
JT Russell 20-14
Gerald Swindle 20-12
Brad Whatley 20-10
Bob Behrle 20-9
Russ Lane 20-6
Barron Adams 20-4
Andy Morgan 20-3
Shane Lineberger 20-3
Dustin Reneau 19-10
Brad Staley 19-6
Stacey James 19-5
Jamie Pierce 19-4
Logan Latuso 18-15
Keith Bardolf 18-12
Bo Collins 18-8
William Fletcher 18-7
Quentin Cappo 18-7
Dustin Williamson 18-2
Dylan Freeze 18-1
Scott Canterbury 18-1
James Watson 17-13
T-Roy Broussard 17-13
Jason Williamson 17-13
Jason Reyes 17-10
Josh Hooks 17-3
Michael Comeau 17-3
Josh Watkins 17-2
Tim Frederick 16-15
David Williams 16-13
Sean Alvarez 16-13
Chip Harrington 16-13
Troy Roder 16-10
Adam Savage 16-10
Hunter Sales 16-8
Cole Harris 16-7
Charlie Apperson 15-12
Timothy Wilson 15-5
Travis Jewell 15-3
John Cox (GA) 14-10
Cliff Crochet 14-5
Joseph Lineberry 14-4
Lendell Martin 13-15
Kevin Rogers 12-2
Matthew McBee 12-2
Darrel Robertson 11-11
Craig Chambers 11-8
Scott Wiley 11-8
Alton Wilhoit 11-7
Bill Day 10-11
Hunter Baughman 10-0
Mitchell Webb 9-5
Rickey Morris 8-13
Christopher Whisenant 8-10
Johnnie Adams 6-2
