AUSTIN, Texas — A new day brought a new body of water and new names to the leaderboard of the 2012 Hobie Fishing World Championship presented by Daiwa.
Henna Honkanen of Finland bested all anglers, moving into second place with a three-fish bag of bass measuring 55.75 inches. Her two-day total of 102.50 inches is just behind Brendan Bayard’s top total of 104.75.
She was asked if there were any similarities between Texas and fishing in her homeland.
“I was told that these bass were like our perch or maybe a walleye, but fishing here reminds me of fishing for asp,” she said.
A query on Google found this fish resembling a large red horse minnow. Henna went on to say she had used gear provided by sponsors Gene Larew and SPRO to catch her fish.
“I didn’t know how to approach these lakes or how to approach bass,” she said after the venue moved from Lake Bastrop to Fayette Lake today. “I really had to depend on my gear and it really pulled through for me. I’ve also used the Lowrance a lot. It’s easy to use and has helped me find the areas that are holding fish.”
Henna has put together two solid days and is fishing multiple patterns, so she could be a presence at the Day Three weigh-in.
Bayard moved into first place ahead of Marty Mood with another 50-plus-inch bag. The tight-lipped Bayard wasn’t sharing much information, but he said he felt confident his patterns would hold up.
“Most of my fish aren’t turning on until 10:30 or 11 so I’ve got some time to try some things early on and then look for a kicker,” he said.
Mood’s patterns didn’t transfer well from Bastrop to Fayette, but the Florida angler eked out a limit, catching his last bass with five minutes left in the day to stay in contention.
Overall the international anglers rebounded very well and now hold most of the places in the Top Ten. Gianluca Armini of Italy moves to fourth and Matt Petrie of Australia slips to fifth.
Day Two Totals
1)Brendan Bayard, USA , 6 fish, 104.75 inches
2)Henna Honhanen, Finland, 6 fish, 102.50 inches
3)Marty Mood, USA, 6 fish, 102.25 inches
4)Gianluca Armini, Italy, 6 fish 100.75 inches
5)Matt Petrie, Australia, 6 fish 100.50 inches
6)Johnson Lee, Singapore, 6 fish 98.00 inches
7)Gero Priebe, Germany, 97.75 inches
8)Josh Carpenter, Australia, 6 fish 96.50 inches
9)Scott Lovig, Australia, 6 fish 96.25 inches
10) Jerome Richard, France, 6 fish 95.50 inches