Fresh off an offseason where 104 anglers tried to figure out how to maximize 55 inches of screen, the Elite Series pros returned to competition on the St. Johns River quite thirsty.
The bent-but-not-broken Mike Iaconelli attributed his catch to his beverage of choice: “I like Red Bull and coffee,” he said. “I mix them together.”
Kenta Kimura, normally the tour’s greatest imbiber of Red Bull, threw us a curve ball today when he announced that through Cooper Gallant’s generosity he’d switched to Monster. His countryman Taku Ito offered Dave Mercer a cola that he promised would turn him into Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And of course, any time Lee Livesay drops nearly 23 pounds on the scales, it’s a bad day to be a Busch Light.
Perhaps the most shocking libation-related announcement came from Matt Robertson, who after a late winter bender claimed he’d “decided to quit drinking…until today.” Two fish for 3 pounds, 8 ounces will do that to even the most committed teetotaler.
The most precious and liquid, however, was water. The pros couldn’t get enough of it. Kyle Patrick reported that he drove 140 miles in his bass boat today and intends to do so again tomorrow. Drew Cook likewise reported that he “spent more time behind the steering wheel than I did fishing today.”
The anglers covered a wide portion of the expansive waterway. Indeed, Davy Hite said that “it’s the most spread out I’ve ever seen the field on the St. Johns River.” Hopefully that will lead to a compelling storyline, the exposure of new areas and tactics, and few of the on-the-water skirmishes that occasionally overshadowed last year’s exceptional performances.
Here’s what I think I saw today after an offseason that ended gradually and then suddenly, along with what I expect to see tomorrow:
Winds of Change – Multiple anglers, including a couple of those well inside the cut, reported having empty livewells at 11 a.m. or noon. Did they figure something out late in the day? Did the tide get right? Or was it just a matter of the water heating up after a cool start to the morning? It’s going to be frigid again tomorrow at blast-off, but with the anglers’ order reversed, we could see some of those who had short days today benefitting from more afternoon casting. In Florida, there always seems to be at least one angler who comes from way back in the pack to crash the Top 10 with a giant Day 2 catch. No one should be surprised if that happens tomorrow, as well as some other flip flopping up and down the leaderboard.
Kung Pow – Evan Kung leads all rookie, all Canadian and all international anglers.
With Age Comes Wisdom — With the departure of Rick Clunn from the Elite Series (albeit not from the Bassmaster studios), Bernie Schultz was elevated to the role of senior status on the circuit, after a wait not unlike that endured by the former Prince Charles. That position seemed to suit him well today, as the Florida native sacked 17-7 and sits in 18th place. If he can maintain or improve upon that position for three or four days, it’ll mark the best St. Johns result of his lengthy career. His first Bassmaster event out of Palatka was the 1984 Super BASS event.
Sophomore Slump – Last year’s two purported enfants terribles, JT Thompkins and Trey McKinney, find themselves in unfamiliar territory, 98th and 102nd place, respectively. Indeed, last year’s rookies went through top tens and top fifties like crazy, but today they struggled. Only four of the ten are inside the cut, and John Garrett had the best day. He sits in 33rd with 14-12.
Home Cooking – Three Florida pros showed their mettle today with Drew Benton, John Cox and Bernie Schultz in 4th, 13th and 18th, respectively. The fourth member of their quartet, Scott Martin, is one place outside of the cut in 51st, an ounce back.
Rookie Reality – After being told all offseason that this year’s rookie class might be even better than last year’s overachievers, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see most or all of them inside the cut. Reality intervened, however. As noted above, Evan Kung is in 7th, and Tucker Smith and Beau Browning are in 15th and 17th, respectively. Georgia’s Emil Wagner is just inside the cut in 45th. After that it gets dicey, though – the remaining five true rookies are all in 77th or worse, with two in the bottom ten.
Tell Me You Don’t Need to Scope without Telling Me You Don’t Need to Scope – Bill Lowen 3rd, John Cox 13th.
Family Values – Beau Browning is in 17th place with 17-8 in his first Elite Series event. His father Stephen finished 15th in the 2012 Elite event out of Palatka.
Cut Weight Math – Kyle Patrick sits at the cut in 50th place with 13 pounds. Twice that, of course, would be 26, and the traditional 2X+1 formula would put the cut weight at 27 pounds. With a 20-pound bag doable, and 30 pounds not out of the question, no one is out of it. Remember, last year at the St. Johns Brad Whatley started off in 95th place and after righting his ship finished out the derby in 2nd.
Past Winners – Past St. Johns River Elite champs: Bryan New 5th; John Crews 22nd; Cory Johnston 53rd; Paul Mueller 98th.
Returning Classic Champs – Randy Howell and Cliff Pace used Legends exemptions to return to the Elite Series after a few years away. They’re both outside the cut, in 61st and 64th, respectively.
The Hair Apparent – Randy Howell’s flat top may be back, but flow has taken over the Elites and established matinee idols Feider, Robertson and Welcher may have serious competition on the scalp of rookie Emil Wagner.
Short Shorts – After being unanimously selected as the Elites’ most accomplished and determined sandbagger earlier this week, Patrick Walters had no coverage today, so his catch was unknown until he brought it to the stage. A limit of 14-3 has him in 39th. An 82nd place finish here last year likely derailed his AOY hopes and surprised many of us since prior to that he’d amassed four finishes of no worse than 10th on the St. Johns. “We survived today,” he told the assembled crowd.
Fashion Statement – Matty Wong’s sunglasses.
Unlikely Walk-Up Music Choice – Matt Herren, “Peace Train.”
Wisconsin’s Barry White – Dave Mercer to Kyle Norsetter: “Did your voice get deeper in the offseason?” If it did, it apparently didn’t hurt his fishing. The Classic qualifier sits in 36th after finishing 25th here last year. He was also 16th at the Harris Chain and is no doubt looking forward to Okeechobee, but not necessarily looking past the remainder of this event.
Wise Beyond His Years – It now seems like Jay Przekurat has been around forever. He joined the Elites in 2022, won at the St. Lawrence that year, and has notched AOY finishes of 10th, 6th and 7th. I’m not saying that one or more of last year’s rookies won’t turn out to be a Hall of Famer. Maybe one of this year’s crew will end up being even more impressive. But the mark of an exceptional fishing career is excellence over an extended period of time. Przekurat hasn’t turned 26 yet. He’s on his way to his third Classic. He’s earned over $600,000 in career winnings. He may just win this week – on a waterway that hasn’t been among his best through the earliest parts of his career. I need to remind myself to watch him more closely, and never to rule him out.
