Greg Vinson got on the scoreboard at 9 a.m. with a 1-pound, 3-ounce bass. He’s leading a battle of ounces so far in his duel with Dustin Connell, 19-13.
Vinson was one of several anglers in this field who took advantage of a pre-practice opportunity at Carters Lake last month on Labor Day weekend. It was really key for Vinson, who ran way up the Coosawattee River yesterday and had a limit by 9:30 a.m. Everyone else in the 15-man field yesterday was concentrating on the main lake, where Vinson spent most of his pre-practice time as well.
“I decided to go look at something totally different than what looked like the main deal here,” Vinson recalled. “i caught a couple of fish up there that day, and it was a really tough bite. So catching anything when I was here Labor Day weekend was a big deal.”
In practice Monday, Vinson slipped up the river, caught a few to make sure the fish were still there, and got out.
“I caught three or four solid fish, enough to feel good about it,” he said. “Then it got really busy in there during practice. I had to leave earlier than I wanted. I had to shake off a fish as a boat was coming by.”