Catching fish isn’t a problem in these pools of the Mississippi River. BASSTrakk has illustrated that point already this morning: 17 anglers had limits and about three-fourths of the field had a keeper in the first two hours.
It’s the elusive 3-pounders that are the key here. And, as Gerald Swindle noted yesterday, a 4 1/2- to 5-pounder “is like gold.”
The anglers polled yesterday seemed to think fishing was a little tougher this year than it was in 2012 and 2013 when the Elite Series was here in June both times. We’ll see. But for reference points, it took 25-8 to make the two-day top 50 cut in 2012 (an average of 12-12 per day) and 23-5 in 2013 (an average of 11-10.5).
“It’s a game of ounces here,” said Todd Faircloth yesterday. “If you can figure out something to boost your quality just a little bit, that’s always the key here. There will be a lot of real tight weights. You catch a 3- or 4-pounder and you’re way ahead of the game.”