We know Kevin VanDam is fishing away from the shoreline. He’s fishing an offshore hump with isolated bottom cover that is providing a replenishing supply of baitfish and bass.
We don’t know where mystery man Hank Cherry is fishing. That was his choice. Wherever Cherry is or whatever he’s doing is working. He briefly knocked VanDam from the top of the leaderboard before the master of offshore cranking returned to the top.
Cherry is a skilled shallow water angler, so maybe there’s another piece to add to the puzzle.
Most others in the top 10 are fishing shallow. We know that by seeing shoreline in the backgrounds of pictures submitted by marshals. Chris Lane is fishing grassy points and having a great time fishing a Storm Chug Bug.
Michael Iaconelli, who is now in the top 10, dropped another hint about why fishing shallow is a sustainable all-day strategy.
In Alan McGukin’s article Iaconelli said later in the day as the sun centers in the sky it positions bass and baitfish in the shade. That shade helps the anglers eliminate much of the shoreline cover where the bass might be. It all looks good but when the shade factor is added casting targets become more visible, clear and concise. Find the shade, find the bass.
Another given is the abundance of food in shallow water. We’ve already heard from the shallow water anglers how the shad spawn is aiding their bite. When the spawn ends after daylight the baitfish remain in the area. So there’s an all day source of food.
Another source are the bluegill and crawfish as noted by Iaconelli. That food source is attracted to the cover and habitat provided along the inundated shorelines.
As the pieces fall into place for the all-day shallow bite it’s obvious that it gets better, later in the day, due in part to the shade. That ironically, or maybe not, coincides with yesterday’s midday flurry of bass activity leading up to weigh-in time.
Update: It’s happening now. I get to watch the photos from the marshals stream into our email account. It’s just blown up and there’s a steady stream of incoming fish catches.
Here’s some proof. This pic just came in of Gary Klein, who likely caught this biggie from beneath the shade of that matted grass.
