An under-appreciated aspect of Elite Series tournaments is the game planning required for a four-day event. If you can, you’d like to save a spot or two for later in the tournament, when it’s harder to get key bites. But you have to adjust on the fly.
Cliff Pace provided some insight into his adjustments yesterday. A few places he was hoping to save until Day 3 had to be put in play on Day 2.
“They’re just little off-the-wall places that I’d been leaving alone,” Pace said. “I was hoping I could get through (Friday) with the wind and not have to fish that stuff. It wasn’t an option. It was go fish it or weigh in three.”
Pace was stuck on three keepers from 8:44 a.m. until 12:50 p.m. Then one of those off-the-wall places produced his big bass of the day – a 4-12 – and his fifth keeper. It gave him 13-10 on Day 2 and allowed him to stay in 3rd place, where he started the day.
“I think the guy that wins this event is going to figure out some off-the-wall way to catch ’em,” Pace said. “Something that just ain’t typical summertime fishing. I don’t have that now. I’m still looking for it.”