While Day 1 of the 2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Pickwick Lake presented by Lowrance was plenty tough on much of the 155 boat field, the Tennessee River reservoir still showed its impressive potential.
Here are a couple of observations from the day that was.
Youth movement
It’s quite repetitive at this point, but the youth movement in bass fishing can’t be understated. Landon Myers, an 18-year-old high school senior, is leading this tournament with 27-7. Dylan Nutt, a college junior, is second and seeking his second three-day tournament win at Pickwick this year.
Behind them currently inside the Day 2 cut are University of Montevallo senior Nick Dumke in fourth, McKendree University’s Harmon Marien in fifth, Carson-Newman and former All-American Evan Newell in 12th, 17-year-old BFL All-American qualifier Grant Neubauer in 13th, Erskine’s Lane Clark in 15th and Montevallo’s Brody Robison in 16th. Just outside the cut is Murray State’s Adrian Urso in 23rd.
That is an incredible amount of young talent that could be headed to the 2025 Nation Championship this October.
Prespawn movement makes for tough Day 1
As Dylan Nutt noted, temperatures have been on the upswing in northern Alabama. He saw water temperatures in the 54 to 56 degree range. And while that likely has the bass preparing to make a move to their staging areas, it did not make for a better bite on Day 1.
Only 43 limits were recorded from 155 boaters on Day 1, but 15 of those limits weighed over 20 pounds. If you caught a limit, it was likely it was filled with quality bass. This warming trend is expected to last through Friday’s tournament, giving the bass a chance to settle in potentially.
A major storm system is expected to impact the south on Saturday, which may get the bass eating ahead of it.
Mixed bag delight
Plenty of smallmouth and largemouth crossed the weigh-in stage on Day 1. Largemouth dominated Myers’s bag while Nutt carried three largemouth and two smallmouth across the weigh-in stage. Smallmouth will certainly continue to factor and help plenty of anglers clinch a spot in the Top 17, but big largemouth will likely make the difference for the winner.
The Biggest largemouth
Illustrating the previous point, one bass has Corey Bohlmann in contention for a big run on Day 2. That one largemouth weighed 8-3 and has him sitting in 68th place. It will require a big bag, but it’s not unrealistic he could slide into the Top 20.
