Omori's 6th keeper
Takahiro Omori's 6th keeper, a 5 + pounds.
Lefebre heating up
After a drought, Lefebre has filled his limit in and culled in the past 45 minutes, all coming on a jig. Some swimming the black and blue jig through pad-fields, a few flipping in cover. He still has some room to make up but has plenty of time and the activity in the area is increasing by the minute.
The flotilla of boats moved out, and he's starting to settle in.
Patience for the Pennsylvania pro is going to be key today.
"It gonna be a grind today, but I'm still having fun," he smiled.
Execution will be key on this high-pressure day. Lefebre has had a few missed bites, including one he described as a "donkey."
His box includes one he wouldn't mind bringing to the scales, two around 2-pounds, and two small twins about 1-pound apiece.
Update by Bassmaster Marshal Robert Brannon
Photos by Ronnie Moore
"He just won a tournament..."
After returning to Takahiro Omori's first spot, he quickly hooked up with one heck of a cull. While everyone on our boat decided the BASSTrakk weight of 20-11 he previously had was probably generous, there's absolutely no doubt he's over 20 pounds now.
Our camera boat driver who has followed Omori every day said the most recent catch is the biggest fish Omori has caught all week. Eyeball guesstimates here are running at close to 6 pounds.
As Omori held the fish up for us all to see, someone in a spectator boat hollered, "He just won a tournament."
With the biggest bites coming on the most important day of the tournament, it's sure starting to look that way.
D-Bombing a creek
John Crews ventured into a creek after the shad action subsided on the main river. He’s also switched from a reaction bite, appropriately, to a keenly focused pitching-and-flipping tactic. The lure is a Missile Baits D-Bomb and the targets are brushpiles along a flooded shoreline. It’s the kind of spot that everywhere you look can produce a bite.
We’re idling to the back end of this creek and it’s a narrow passage to the back. Yesterday he didn’t fish here, but it’s worth a shot at this point.
Crochet with a limit
Cliff Crochet woke this toad up and he ate his bait just like he's supposed to do. Nice fishy. No. 5 is in the box!
Photo by Bassmaster Marshal Joe McElroy
A limit for Niggemeyer
James Niggemeyer lands number 5.
Photo by Bassmaster Marshall Rodney Gray
Hackney nearly in Tennessee
Toyota Angler Of the Year leader Greg Hackney is inching his way north
on the Elk River. He's just 7.5 miles away from the Tennessee border.
The water is skinny here and Hackney, who grew up in Arkansas and now
lives in Gonzales, Lousiana, is right in his element.
Asked if he had a Tennessee fishing license with him, Hackney said he
did. As most of you know, when fishing, talk often turn to bigger
picture topics. "They ought to come out with hunting and fishing
licenses that are good in every state," said Hackney. "Like a driver's
license." Amen brother. Let me be the first to cast my ballot for
Greg Hackney for president. "The Hack Attack" would work well as a
campaign slogan.
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Fist bump for Crews and cameraman
This photo taken by James Overstreet says it all. The fist bump with JM cameraman Eric Kaffka signals that a limit is aboard the boat of John Crews. He caught that by 7:30 a.m. and started culling about 30 minutes later.
He’s stuck with the game plan thus far. That is drilling down on a shad spawn bite on the windy side of an island bordering the main river channel. He’s using a one-two punch of a jerkbait on the point of the island where shad are actively spawning. When that action subsides he goes around the corner to the back side of the island and skips, pitches and casts a swim jig to isolated casting targets. Those are brushpiles and isolated grassbeds.
Around the corner is James Niggemeyer. He’s working that back side of the island. The two anglers discussed boat positioning and overall strategies and are in sync with their game plans.
Crews is literally on point and looks to be locking down on the shad spawn bite.
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Niggemeyer has four
James Niggemeyer has number 4 in the boat.
Photo by Bassmaster Marshall Rodney Gray
Klein with 4
#4 keeper boated by Gary Klein.
Photo by Bassmaster Marshal Doug Castro
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