Everyone knew consistency would be critical during the tough seasonal transition, and Keith Poche embodied that principle as he took over the Day-2 lead of the Bassmaster Central Open at the Red River in Bossier City, La. with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 6 ounces.
Poche caught 13-03 on Day 1 and duplicated that catch perfectly during Friday’s second round to take a 14-ounce lead over Bassmaster Elite Series pro Greg Hackney. Not surprisingly, Poche said his day was a template of the first round.
“The same exact thing that happened yesterday, happened today,” Poche said. “I went back into my spot and it happened pretty fast; I was able to catch a good, solid limit of about 11 to 12 pounds by about 9:30.”
Poche is staying within 10 minutes of takeoff and traversing a small ditch that leads into a hidden pool with about 6 to 7 feet of water. Sparse shoreline vegetation and scattered wood make it the ideal backwater fishery.
“There’s a lot of bait in this area and I’m seeing a lot of fish busting – I think it’s crappie,” Poche said. “There’s a lot of activity; there’s gar, there’s fish popping everywhere.
“I’ve caught fish from 8 inches to 3 pounds in there. I was just lucky to find this hole and I was able to get it going.”
Poche located his backwater gem during pre-practice – initially through drone recon, then a mix of wading and boating. His spot remains connected to the river, but the depth makes it inaccessible to heavier fiberglass boats.
Poche is able to reach this inner sanctum because he runs an 18-foot aluminum boat with a 90-horsepower outboard. He’s able to run into the area, but he has to push pole his way out.
He caught his bass by flipping a 3-inch Berkley Havoc Pit Boss with a 3/8-ounce weight and a 4/0 Berkley Fusion 19 hook. Short pitches to scattered structure delivered his weight.
“The water’s hot, so I feel like that small profile bait is really working,” Poche said. “The water’s off color a little bit; it’s not really muddy, so that green pumpkin color looks really natural.”
Furthering the consistency theme, Poche again got a solid limit by late morning and left his fish. He spent the rest of his day flipping main-river cover. As he did on Day 1, Poche made a late-day upgrade.
“After I came out of my spot, I spent the rest of the day fishing new water,” he said. “I just went fishing and caught my biggest fish. That gave me that extra pound to pound and a quarter upgrade.”
After two days of managing his fish, Poche said he’s looking forward to exploiting the backwater spot.
“I’m trying to preserve my spot, but I had to catch what I could catch to get what I needed (to reach Championship Saturday),” Poche said. “I don’t know what’s in there; I don’t know what would happen if I fished it for eight hours, but we’re going to see tomorrow. Hopefully, it’s going to be enough and we can get it done.
“Today, I lost a couple of good ones, so that gives me confidence that there’s more in there.”
Hailing from Gonzales, La., Hackney is second with 25-08. After placing fifth on Day 1 with 11-14, Hackney added 13-10 – the tournament’s heaviest catch – and secured his final-round berth.
Continuing with the strategy he followed in the first round, Hackney focused on hard cover where current stimulated feeding. Locating attractive areas was fairly straightforward, Hackney said, but timing the current impacts was far less exact.
“It’s hard to time that deal because you just don’t know, it could be boats locking through and (the water influx) creates current,” Hackney said. “There’s no rhyme or reason; I don’t have a timing deal. You just have to fish around and wait for that to happen.”
Hackney said he caught his bass on several strips of bank in a 500-yard area. Flipping and cranking were his top tactics.
David Gaston of Sylacauga, Ala., is in third place with 23-15. Returning to the same shallow backwaters he fished on Day 1, he rotated between a swim jig, flipping and frogging.
“Yesterday, flipping produced bigger bites, but today, the frog produced bigger bites,” Gaston said. “I think it was just the right time at the right place. There were other guys in that area with me and they didn’t catch them, but I did.”
Gaston focused on lily pads and found the bass preferred a slower frog cadence.
The remaining Top 10 anglers will take off Saturday at 7 a.m. CT from Red River South Marina. The final weigh-in will be held at the marina at 3 p.m.
Here are the totals for the 10 anglers who advanced to the final day:
1. Keith Poche: 26-06
2. Greg Hackney: 25-08
3. David Gaston: 23-15
4. Jimmy Washam: 20-01
5. Joey Nania: 19-12
6. Dane Thibodeaux: 19-03
7. Kenta Kimura: 18-09
8. Terry Peacock: 18-03
9. Randy Sullivan: 18-00
10. Kyle Norsetter: 18-00
