Musical chairs at Douglas Lake

It’s common knowledge that tournaments at Douglas Lake are won deep. And the best deep spots are well-known as well. Former Elite Series angler Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala., best-described the situation almost everyone faced on on Day 1 at Douglas.

“I burned about a tank of gas just to find out I couldn’t fish anywhere,” he said. “I went to one place about 15 times, and there were always two boats on it, but it was two different boats.”

It’s the bass fishing equivalent of musical chairs, and when the music stops you don’t have a chair in which to plop. Remitz managed to catch a limit weighing 11-8 Thursday and entered Day 2 in 60th place. Overall, 118 of 150 pro anglers caught five-bass limits on Day 1. They ranged from David Mullins’ tournament leading total of 21-5 to Saint Cloud, Fla., angler Mitch Liss’s limit weighing 6-1, after a four-ounce dead fish penalty.