At first Grand Lake was calm and then it got rough. What started as a fairly calm morning turned into a blustery northwest gale by afternoon, forcing anglers to make adjustments in the second event of the Costa FLW Series in the Southwest Division.  The event is being presented by Evinrude and hosted by the City of Grove.

Things are tight atop the leaderboard with first and second place separated by only one ounce. Day one leader Nick Aber of Piedmont, Okla., brought 21 pounds, 4 ounces to set the early pace. His bag was anchored by a 6-pound, 10-ounce brute. Just behind him, Drew Barnes of Bella Vista, Okla., weighed 21-3.

Aber says he fishes Grand about 25 days a year, but today he fished a lot of new water he has never fished before.

“The fish are trying to move up and spawn and I’m trying to keep my bait up there in areas where they should be,” Aber said. “I have to hit about 20 places before I catch a good one.”

In all, Aber caught 8 keepers on the day. He says there are plenty of small bucks up on the bank making beds, but it’s the staging females sitting out just a little deeper that he is targeting.

“The small bucks are up there in a foot and half of water just waiting on the females, but the females are not quite there just yet,” he says. “They are about 50 yards out behind the bucks, staging up and that’s kind of the pattern I’m running – little places a female might sit, waiting for things to warm up.”

“The key for me is to cover a lot of water,” he adds. “I’m not grinding in one area. I have to hit dozens and dozens of those little transition spots and every now and then I’ll catch a good one. With these cooler nights coming I don’t think they’re going to go to spawning just yet so I’m going to stick with my game plan tomorrow.”

Complete results

 

Myers leads co-anglers

In the co-angler Division, Robert Meyers of Broken Arrow, Okla., has taken the early lead with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces.