Day of practice, day of discovery

GROVE, Okla. — Some are tight lipped while others lament the backwards dance of how water clarity is setting up on Grand Lake for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.

“It’s a new way of thinking, for sure,” said Chad Morgenthaler, one of the 55 pros in the hunt for bass on the official practice day. “Here you can throw conventional bass fishing wisdom out the window.”

Conventional bass fishing wisdom says to search for bass in the upper reaches of lowland, manmade impoundments in spring. That’s where the water is dingy, warmer and more attractive to the predator nature of a bass. That’s not what you’ll find this week on Grand Lake.

The upper lake is crystal clear compared to the lower end. This time of year the conditions should be reversed, geographically speaking.

“I’ve never seen a lake take so long to settle down,” added Bernie Schultz, a nine-time Classic qualifier with three decades on the B.A.S.S. tours. “The water is so cold, dense and the wind keeps it churning and muddy in the lower lake.”

The backwards clarity factor is justified due to weather last December. Historic rain and flooding impacted the region and the effects are lingering on Grand Lake, although the lake is back to normal for this time of year.

“It’s definitely changed my game plan and I really don’t know what that is going to be,” added Schultz.

What that was going to be was a jerkbait pattern. Schultz has refined and mastered the technique over the years. The jerkbait is his go-to lure and Schultz hopes to find water suitable for the textbook springtime lure.

“I can feel the fish bumping my reaction lures so I’ve found the right depth,” he added.

Boyd Duckett, 2007 Classic champion, called his official practice a day of discovery.

“It’s nothing like what it looked like in December,” he said of the last trip to Grand during the open scouting timeframe. “The upper layer of the surface is really muddy but it’s clearer deeper.”

That’s likely because sediment settles to the bottom unless environmental conditions keep the water in a flux. Duckett said his focus is the lower lake where many pros speculate are the biggest bass in the lake.

On the glass half full side of the group is David Walker. He likes the perception that Grand is fishing tougher than it’s usual potential for producing easy double-digit limits.

“This is what I was hoping for and the playing field is more level,” he said. “There are two potential scenarios and those are fishing the clear water or trying to find them in the muddy area.”

Deciding which clarity to choose from will be a daunting task. Most anglers will commit to one or the other on this day. Timing versus the size of the lake is why. Grand Lake is 46,500 acres and covers about 60 miles from one end to the other.

With three days to figure out the difference between clear and muddy water deciding which to focus on indeed will be key. Today is the only day to practice the theory of which is best.