It wasn’t an easy decision that Brock Mosley was facing today. But it was made easier by the weather and his draw in the takeoff order on Day 1 at the Sabine River. With bright sunshine, relatively little wind, and a boat #97/fourth flight takeoff, Mosley made the long run to Houston along the inter-coastal waterway. And it has paid off with an unofficial, tournament-leading 14-pound, 6-ounce limit. It’s a 100-miles-plus boat ride one way.
“On the fifth cast, I caught one that was almost three pounds,” Mosley said on “Bassmaster LIVE.” “I knew right away I made the right decision. I had a limit in 20 minutes.”
Mosley capped that limit with a 5 1/4-pounder at 11:40 a.m. It takes a four-day game plan to win an Elite Series tournament, and Mosley knows he won’t be back here tomorrow. Winds are forecast to blow 20- to 30-miles-per-hour Friday, making the long run nearly impossible. Mosley can live with that. He’s putting money in the bank, so to speak, today.
“If I can catch 7 or 8 pounds around Orange, I’ll still be in the game (Friday),” Mosley said. “Hopefully, I can come back here Saturday and make it to Sunday.”
In the three previous Elite Series tournaments at the Sabine River, the winner has had one big day and one survival day. In 2018, Greg Hackney weighed 16-3 on Day 1. He weighed only 7-5 on Day 4 but still won with over a 3-pound margin. Chris Lane had highs and lows of 15-10 and 10-6 to win by 4 pounds in 2015. Todd Faircloth’s winning formula in 2013 set this pattern. He had 16-8 high and a 7-14 low in the four-day event. He won by over 6 pounds. Mosley has gotten the hard part out of the way on Day 1.