By now you see the number of rod combos reduced to a few on the front decks of the pros. That is not the case on Day 3 here at Ross Barnett.
Doing the BASSCams this morning I had to watch my step when boarding the boats. Some anglers had up to 20 rods rigged up and ready for action. No one seems to be dialed into a pattern even after three days of fishing.
Mark Menendez might be an exception. He’s caught consecutive 17-pound stringers. Four small bass swam in his livewell yesterday at 10 a.m. He pulled up on a spot, caught a 2 pounder and filled the limit. With that monkey off his back he made a key adjustment. It worked. He culled up with a 3 pounder and then caught a 5 pounder.
“I have to go through a lot of bites, cull a lot of small fish, to get to the bigger bites,” he said. “But yes, I have something figured out.”
Details to come. For now, a key part of his strategy is fishing the shad spawn.