ORANGE, Texas — While the Sabine River appears to be fishing better than it was two years ago, it's still a finicky fishery. The concern with consistency left the leaders cautious, rather than confident, after Day 1 at the Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament presented by STARK Cultural Venues.
"I don't know what to expect," said Dean Rojas, who finished second here in 2013 and is tied for 30th place with 9-9 after Thursday. "This place can just shut down, and you won't get any bites."
Two years ago, Hank Cherry was in fourth place with 12-11 and zeroed on Day 2. Matt Reed was in seventh place with 10-13 and zeroed on Day 2. The opposite occurred as well. John Murray zeroed on Day 1 and weighed 14-10 on Day 2. Takahiro Omori zeroed on Day 1 and weighed 11-13 on Day 2.
You can expect similar ups and downs in the standings again this year.
"This is definitely a tournament where you can bounce back," said Brett Hite, who is in 79th place with two bass weighing 3-13. "I caught two fish today, but I might come back with 15 pounds tomorrow."
The general consensus at Thursday's weigh-in was that the Sabine River has improved significantly since 2013, when the bass fishery was still in early recovery mode from major hurricane damage. And that was borne out by some of the statistics:
– In 2013 there were only 17 five-bass limits on Day 1, and 37 limits were weighed Thursday.
– In 2013, 40 anglers in the 100-man field had either zero keepers or one; Thursday only 22 anglers in the 113-man field had either zero or one keeper.
Despite that general improvement, the first-day results presented one exact replica of 2013: Dean Rojas led with 15-10 on Day 1 in 2013, and Chris Lane leads this year with 15-10.
The fear is that the 2013 inconsistency of the Sabine River will repeat.
"I figure (Friday) is going to be a struggle," said Shaw Grigsby, who is in fourth place with 13-4. "Unfortunately, my area had about five boats in it, so there's probably not going to be a fish left in there."
Chris Lane noted that his first-place total of 15-10 could have easily been closer to 10 pounds, if not for one magic hour.
"With tidal waters, there are times to really capitalize, and those windows are very short," he said. "I culled three times within that hour. That made all the difference in 10 pounds and 15. Those were the three biggest fish I think I've ever caught on the Sabine River."
Lane said two were "pushing four pounds" and another was close to three pounds.
Lane and Aaron Martens, who is third with 13-14, are fishing some of the same areas, and Martens mentioned the tide changes too.
"It's hard to time this place," he said. "It's like every hour they bite for 15 minutes."
Stephen Browning is a self-described "river rat" who feels at home on the Sabine River. It reminds him of the lower Arkansas and White rivers, where he fished when he was growing up in south Arkansas. Browning knows he'll have to make an adjustment Friday, if he hopes to back up the 11-2 bag that put him in 12th place on Day 1.
"That's the thing about river systems," he said. "There are only so many fish in so many areas. Once you take them out of there, I don't think you'll see a big wave come in there and replace them.
"The fish I caught today, I found yesterday. I'll probably have to regroup tomorrow."
Browning will probably have plenty of company in the regrouping mode Friday. One thing hasn't changed since the tournament started: These anglers still think an average of 10 pounds a day will make the Top 12 cut Saturday that determines who will be fishing Sunday for the $100,000 first-place prize.
"It might not take much more weight than last year at the top end," Martens said. "There will be a lot more limits, but it's still hard to catch a big bag here."