80 early morning action shots

We started on Jesse Tacoronte on Day 3 of the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

Tacoronte had a dream morning on Day 2, boating 28 pounds in the first hour.

It appeared as if he might repeat on Day 3, when he hooked up on one of his first casts.

This one, though, wasn’t one of the giants of the day before.

But it was a start.

Tacoronte had boated his big string on a topwater.

And this one hit the same one from the day before.

It quickly went into the well.

While other Elite competitors showed up like Casey Ashley, who had shared the water the day before.

Tacoronte would settle into the area.

Working the shallow area slowly.

He would work one side, while Ashley worked the other.

The whole bar was covered in vegetation and with that came reams of coots.

A big change for Day 3, though, was the sun was shining early.

The day before, it was cloudy with patches of fog.

The abrupt sun that Florida is known for didn’t help any of the anglers.

It was still early enough that all the competitors hadn’t taken off yet.

Randall Tharp races by after a 15-minute late start on the first flight.

Tacoronte watched him race down the lake as he placed casts close to the abundance of shallow cover.

And minutes later, the second flight would speed by.

For several minutes, boats would rush by as the second flight raced to their starting spot.

Tacoronte’s area was close enough to the take off that virtually every angler had to run by him.

While they were racing by, Tacoronte would hook up with his second keeper.

And like the first, it would lack the shoulders of a truly big fish.

But it would still be a keeper.

On the small side for needing to build a big stringer.

Tacoronte would get the fish in the boat quickly.

But not quick enough for a few boats in the second flight to see that the fish were biting.

Tacoronte’s second fish would give him about 4 pounds.

And he would be up and casting before the end of the second flight rolled by.

Brandon Card would join the group on the island about 150 to 200 yards away.

And like Tacoronte, he would soon hook up.

And like the fish caught by Tacoronte,

they would put up a good fight.

jumping and splashing across the shallow area.

But also like the early bite.

The fish would lack the size to move the needle.

They were keepers, though.

Card would add another soon after.

And like the previous fish,

It would provide a good fight.

And add a fish to the well, but not much weight.

Tacoronte would keep plugging away.

And he would add another within short order.

The fight didn’t last long.

But Tacoronte would hold up a slightly bigger fish for his third keeper.

Jesse Wiggins would set up shop at the end of the island.

While Cliff Pace would speed by.

And Card would fish through the coots.

Card would eventually hook up on his end of the island.

His body language showed us it was not an ordinary keeper.

He fought the fish from the front of the boat.

And moved to the back.

But with a last second turn and splash.

The fish would pull off.

Card was obviously upset; grabbing his hat,

And throwing it across the boat.

He walked to the front deck and plopped down, laying there for more than a minute.

He would then sit up, contemplating what had just happened and indicating that the fish was probably a big one.

Tacoronte would be focused on other things, looking for fish that might be on the beds.

He had some local help as well. There were about 11 boats in the area during the first part of the day.

He even had a cormorant that gave him a look as if to say, “i didn’t see you here in practice.”

A few minutes later, Tacoronte would hook up with his fourth keeper.

And like the rest,

Would provide a good fight.

But come into the boat with very little fanfare.

This fish, though, would have a little more weight to it.

Not enough to jump start toward a huge day.

But enough to kick start his day.

This would be the last fish he would catch on the island.

Despite it being a magical place on Day 2, the fish weren’t there like they were a day earlier.

He quickly posed for the Marshal and put the fish in the livewell.

Then remembered he hadn’t held it up for the photographer. So he grabbed two and decided which one was caught last.

And gave the photog a better look at keeper number four.

After a few more casts, he cleaned his trolling motor.

Showing us just how thick the vegetation is on the island.

He then made the decision to move on and hope for finding another spot that held the magic of a 30-pound sack.