It’s a big deal to catch a five-bass limit of bass at this tournament. Only 58 of the 109 anglers caught a limit on Day 1 at Winyah Bay in 2016. Keith Combs became the first angler with a limit today when he caught his fifth 12-inch-minimum keeper at 8:18. Granted, it’s a light limit, weighing an estimated 7 pounds, 12 ounces, according to BASSTrakk.
But some perspective is in order. What would appear to be less than stellar catches at other fisheries are solid here. This is an unusual playing field. For example, Combs’ 7-12 in just over an hour this morning would have put him in 55th place at the end of Day 1 in 2016. The 400 bass weighed-in by the 109-angler field on Day 1 in 2016 averaged 1.95 pounds. And that included John Murray’s big bass of the day – an 8-pound, 9-ounce largemouth, which further emphasized the feast-or-famine nature of this fishery.