The early hours are crucial

It’s not just that most of the bass have been caught early on Ross Barnett, both in practice and on Day 1. It’s that combined with the anglers being concentrated in certain areas of this relatively small 33,000-acre lake. You can get in a bind quickly.

Dave Lefebre was overjoyed to have his seventh-place bag of 18-4 on Day 1. He would have settled for less.

“If you had told me this morning that you’d give me 12 pounds, I might have taken it,” Lefebre said. “It’s tough. There are no guarantees out here. You don’t know who is going to be on your primary stuff.

“They bite early here, so if you make a mistake early, it can cost you a whole day.”

Mistakes or not, most expect the leaderboard to shuffle dramatically today, These first hours will go a long way in determining who makes the Top 51 cut after the Day 2 weigh-in.