Daily Limit: Respect of Clunn

Rarely do the anglers promote the next guy in line, but Rick Clunn has never been just the next guy in line. He garners much more respect. Always has.

He did again Saturday, in a you-got-to-see-this way. Word was something special happened. The emcee and several anglers advised the crowd to stick around for fireworks. There was a buzz backstage. And the clue was Clunn was saved for last.

The longtime legend was in the middle of the pack of the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels after two days. By weighing a bag close to his two-day weight, Clunn went to the head of the pack Saturday.

He busted 31 pounds, 7 ounces, sending chills through almost everyone who watched it propel him to the top of the leaderboard with 62-15.

Clunn, who shares the record for Classic titles at four, has topped 30 pounds several times in his 42 years of B.A.S.S. events. Two came the last time he contended for a title, four years ago on Falcon when he fell to Keith Combs after a postponed day.

A crowd of Elites, who had gawked, photographed and videoed Clunn backstage, came out front and lined the stage to witness history. They watched and soaked in the moment as Clunn, his son, River, and tournament director Trip Weldon posed with the behemoth fish.

Clunn was asked by emcee Dave Mercer if his 15th Bassmaster victory — he hasn’t won since 2002 — would come on Sunday.

“I’m no fool,” Clunn responded. “I don’t predict. You’ve got to go out and execute. Somebody else could do the same thing I did tomorrow.”

Clunn added he’s just going to catch the most he can and hope it sticks. A victory by the legend would be an improbable start to the 2016 Elite season, after an unbelievable come-from-behind victory by Edwin Evers in the Classic. (See his remarkable Day 3 Sunday from 10 a.m.-noon ET on ESPN2.)

Saturday’s surprise showing — they were no on-the-water reports from Clunn — touched a number of people, namely Skeet Reese. He has treated Clunn as a father figure, and he wept at the feat. B.A.S.S. co-owner Jerry McKinnis, who calls Clunn his closest friend, also cried tears of joy.

McKinnis said he took hints as Mercer foreshadowed something special was in the offing. Several anglers repeated it, saying a big bag was coming. As the candidate list narrowed, McKinnis knew … he realized because Clunn remained. What else could it be?

“Before he even put his catch on the scale, I started bawling like a baby,” McKinnis reported on his Facebook. “This is such a great man with such a special family.”

One of the final things Clunn told Steve Wright for his story, The show backstage, was that “the most important thing, whenever you get to the end, is that people respect you and respect what you did.”

Nailed that, Mr. Clunn, and most everyone probably shares McKinnis’ sentiments that Clunn “needs to do it again tomorrow.”

Bassmaster LIVE will certainly be special with a camera in Clunn’s boat. It starts at 7:30 a.m. ET.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM

Brent Chapman had folks other than Clunn to worry about. His mother was on her way to the weigh-in, so he stepped out of line and waited for her to get a seat in the crowd.

“It’s my mom’s birthday,” Chapman told Mercer after weighing 23-9 to jump in the top 12.

The big bag at the time was a great gift, but the crowd also serenaded her with “Happy Birthday.” And Chapman was rather pleased that he gifted himself another day of competing.

“I haven’t had the best performance the past two years, and I want to get to back to the Classic,” he said.

HEY, JO, WHAT’D YOU DO?

Stephen Browning busted out photographer James Overstreet, a good friend who lives not far from him in central Arkansas. Browning had Mercer read a semi-cryptic text message from JO on stage.

“Call me after you see the passenger side of your front bumper,” Mercer read.

Browning, who weighed in 16-2 to finish 36th, then stepped up to the mike.

“I’m afraid, but I know JO and he’ll take care of anything he did,” Browning said. “I’m just glad I’m here on a Saturday for him to run over me.”

Contacted a bit later, Overstreet said the parking lot got tight as the day progressed and he thought he had Browning’s front bumper cleared when he was leaving. He did not.

SWINDLE KNOWS OPRAH’S FEET?

Gerald Swindle warned anybody listening not to fish anywhere near the bank he seined Saturday, when he only weighed 8-4 and fell to 40th. He went on about his stretch, saying even the birds left knowing there wasn’t a decent meal left there.

In his stream of country comedy consciousness, Swindle threw out the line of the day that left many scratching their heads.

“Like Oprah Winfrey’s feet, a little rough on the bottom,” he said of his area … we think.

Mercer asked the burning question, although it was too late as Swindle had exited (probably to go look at Clunn’s fish).

“I wanna know how he knows what Oprah’s feet look like,” Mercer quipped.

ST. JOHNS A BIG FISH FISHERY

Kevin VanDam backed Mark Zona’s assessment this week that the St. Johns River is among the top big fish fisheries. He said all the food that comes into the river system helps the largemouth get larger, and he noted the potential for huge bags, like Clunn’s 31-7 and Chris Lane’s 37-9 in 2014.

 “Someone’s going to smash a monster bag,” he said. “Hopefully it will happen on LIVE.”

Don’t know if he was plugging LIVE or wondering why Clunn’s monster day was missed.

CULLING

  • Steve Bowman doubled his pleasure with this Photo of the Day, capturing this bonus catch from Terry Scroggins. See all the photographers’ shots from the St. Johns River. 
  • If you want all the facts on Clunn and his magicial Day 3, check out Bryan Brasher’s story.