We got a late start this morning, and it has taken a while to get close to some of the Elite anglers. We have been looking for Tyler Rivet, who is currently in third place and not far from our launch at Goose Pond.
It wasn’t easy getting into the backwater, which requires going over or around a shallow bar along the Tennessee River. But we made it.
On the way to Rivet, we saw Mark Menendez catch his first fish of the tournament. It weighs about 1 1/2 pounds. Mark told us about the good luck he used to have whenever former Bassmaster photographer Gerald Crawford would pull up on him. “I always caught a fish when Gerald showed up,” Menendez said. “Maybe you are good luck too.“
If photographer Laurie Tisdale and I really were good luck for Menendez, I think he would’ve caught something bigger than that.