This morning Steve Bowman and I are following David Mullins of Mount Carmel, Tenn. Mullins just landed his first bass. It’s a nice one in the 3 pound range. He caught a 2 pounder earlier, which moves him into the unofficial lead.
Mullins finished Day 1 in second place with 17-12. He told reporters yesterday his experience with smallmouth on Tennessee’s Cherokee Lake played a role in his Day 1 success.
“This lake fishes a lot like home, where you have a window in the morning for about an hour and half to two hours and then it kicks back up in the evening,” Mullins said. “It’s the same way at home — and if you have wind, it seems like they’ll bite all day long.
“The wind just didn’t blow much.”
Mullins wasn’t the only angler who said the flat, calm conditions made the fishing tougher Thursday. Likewise, he wasn’t the only one excited about Friday’s forecast that calls for clouds, increased winds and rain showers beginning around 1 p.m.
“If it stays cloudy with a low ceiling all day, I feel like I’m going to catch them,” Mullins said. “When I don’t catch them is when it gets sunny and slick.”
It is indeed cloudy and dark this morning, but with no wind.