Hudnall misses on 5-pounder

Derek Hudnall has been fishing the same stretch of river where he caught 21 pounds of bass yesterday. He had most of that weight by 10 a.m. Today he has a single 2-pounder in the livewell.

“I’m drifting the same spots, I’m seeing fish on my Lowrance units, but they’re just not biting this morning,” he said.

Hudnall started the day in 10th place.

He did have a huge bite at 9 a.m. and got the fish close enough to the boat to call it a 5-pounder. But the big smallmouth slipped off.

“Yesterday I caught a lot of small ones in schools,” he said. “But the big ones tend to be nomadic, off by themselves. That big one I just lost was like that, a nomad.”

With only one fish in his livewell Hudnall is fighting an urge to try other areas. “It’s so hard to leave this area because I’m seeing so many fish. It’s frustrating.”

Hudnall feels his bite may turn on around noon. And he believes the massive ocean-going tankers help stimulate the fish. We’ve have three of them pass by in the past hour.

In the meantime he’s trying different baits and grinding hard.