No one was more shocked than Bill Lowen when he finished Day 1 on Lake Lanier with a limit of largemouth bass, anchored by the day’s big bass of 6 pounds, 14 ounces. His 15-pound, 15-ounce limit put him in a tie for 12th place with Brandon Card.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Lowen said. “I never caught a largemouth in practice, other than a 10-incher, which I don’t count. Everywhere I caught spotted bass in practice, I caught largemouth (on Day 1). I was shocked.”
Lowen said he didn’t have a great practice on Lanier, but caught enough spotted bass that he thought he could grind through a decent finish. His practice did include catching a spotted bass weighing over 5 pounds.
“Maybe it was the weather,” Lowen said. “Maybe in the places I caught largemouth bass (Thursday), I’ll catch spots today, just like I did in practice.”
But don’t take Lowen’s shock as a complaint. He was more than pleased with that 15-15 total and big bass of the day. Consider Lowen pleasantly surprised.