For decades, high school musicals have channeled the lyrics of Rodgers and Hammerstein to tell us that Oklahoma is “where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.”
They just didn’t tell us how hard it would blow.
Today 100 Elite Series anglers found out the answer to that question. Greg Hackney (52nd, 26-6), who has fished various portions of the Arkansas River longer than most of the field has been alive, said it was the roughest he’s ever seen it.
Wesley Gore (87th, 22-5), who came in early a little shaken and a lot stirred, said “I felt like I was getting waterboarded for an hour.”
But not everyone suffered. One of those was Lake Martin Elite champion Fisher Anaya, who more than anyone in the field looks like you’d have to tie a couple of rocks to his shoelaces to keep him in place. He may have bent, but he hardly broke, and held onto the lead by a single ounce.
But what feels like a wind at his back may actually be the hot breath of the two anglers immediately following him, plus that of the ultimate closer Jason Christie (4th, 36-6). The Tenn-Tom Waterway winner knows that even in the harshest ‘nader, sometimes there’s no place like home.
It got tougher today, but not as much as predicted. It rarely does.
Here’s what I saw, heard and thought while dodging raindrops, bolts of lightning and flying terriers:
Minnesota Nice – One of the few states with crazier weather than Oklahoma – Minnesota — prepared its anglers well for this event, with three of four Minnesotans in the top 17. Austin Felix is in fifth with 35-11, just 1-6 off the lead. Bob Downey is in 14th with 31-7. The biggest leap was made by Seth Feider, who sat in 95th place last night before dropping one of the day’s two 20-plus-pound bags. His 21-3 jumped him 78 places to 17th.
Climbing Llama — Despite an ultra-successful career which has included a Progressive AOY title and seven Classic berths, Feider has never earned back-to-back regular season Elite Top 10s in the same calendar year. The closest he’s come was when he finished second in the last Elite of the 2016 season, then won the small field AOY championship that same year, and came in fourth in the 2017 season-opener on Cherokee. He finished fourth in the last event at the Tennessee-Tombigbee, so if he can continue this week’s upward climb from 17th place into the Top 10 it’ll be a career first.
Reverse Gold Rush – In Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family leaves Oklahoma for the purported security and potential riches of California. California native Chris Zaldain, who finished second in the September 2011 Central Open in Muskogee, seemed to find Oklahoma bereft of potential gain yesterday. He weighed in 11 pounds and sat in a tie for 89th place with Mike Iaconelli. Today, however, he found the gold (black gold?) that he was looking for in these parts, bringing in 17-13. He rose to 29th.
Jason Christie – “I had five places I would’ve bet the house nobody would’ve found. I saw boats there in practice. These guys find everything.”
Cut Weight Math – Yesterday the cut weight mark was the double-lucky 13-13, which would have produced an expected doubling of 27-10. It ended up being 26-9, just over a pound less than double, not as much of a drop as some naysayers predicted. Fourteen anglers missed the cut by a pound or less, although none of them suffered the indignity of weighing in fewer than 10 fish.
Limitology — Scott Canterbury (93rd, 20-13) was the highest-finishing angler who missed weighing in two limits. Yesterday there were 97 limits. Today there were 98. Every angler who competed had at least one five-fish day.
Shocker – John Cox still has not made a cut this year. He finished 51st, an ounce behind last-man-in Brandon Card.
Living the Teen Nightmare – Cody Huff (53rd, 26-6) was the only angler who had bags of 13 pounds or more both days and failed to miss the cut.
Fisher Anaya’s Lunch of Champions – Sour Patch Kids. He’s not a fan of the yellow and green ones.
Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath – “The clouds appeared and went away, and in a while they did not try anymore.” Today we saw several anglers turn to flipping when the expected overcast conditions gave way to persistent sun. With cold nights approaching, some of the anglers who’ve been relying on moving baits – and in particular, topwaters – may need to slow down and change tactics even further.
Big Bags – Day 1 produced 25 bags of 16 pounds or greater, including eight of 18 pounds or more. There were two at 19 pounds and one 20. Today we went up to two 20s, but dropped to one 19. There were also two 18s. There were a total of 15 bags of 16 pounds or greater.
Seth Feider (17th, 31-0) – “If you caught ‘em every day, it wouldn’t be fun. Terrible, brutal, depressing days like yesterday are what make the days like today great.”
Ups and Downs – Luke Palmer (9th, 33-0) is the only angler in the Top 10 who didn’t have at least 13 pounds each day. He beat his Day 1 weight by 8 pounds. Brandon Palaniuk dropped the most from Day 1 to Day 2: 5 pounds, 1 ounce. Seven of them went down today.
Bob Downey (14th, 31-7), prepared for the coming 40 degree temperatures – “I feel like anytime you’re in April you’ve got to have the insulated suit with you.”
Team Oklahoma – Two Oklahomans – Christie and Palmer – are in the Top 10, and the other two missed the cut. The only one whose weight went up was Palmer. Christie’s went down by a mere 2 ounces.
Local Angler Chris Jones on Fisher Anaya — “For a 20-year-old, he’s not fishing like a 20-year-old.”
Lure We Didn’t See – Biffle-O
Timing Matters, Uno — Christie has been catching some fish on a buzzbait but the best quality has come working a Zara Spook fast over and around the grass. In that respect, he’s benefitting from timing, and the fact that the grass in his main area is still mostly submerged. “In another week a frog is the only thing you’d be able to throw across that,” said Davy Hite.
Timing Matters, Dos – We’ve been lucky this week that the system has been reasonably stable, with only minor variations in water levels. In May of 2019, the water here rose more than 40 feet and stayed above flood stage for 22 days.
Timing Matters, Tres – Christie had fallen out of the Top 10 per BassTrakk but made a move around noon to a stretch of reeds, where he quickly missed a giant and then caught two keepers that helped his cause. He was convinced that he might not have caught them if he’d arrived earlier on this sunny day. “Literally at 12 o’clock it gives them a foot of shade,” he said. That’s the type of hard-earned local knowledge that could help him to his second consecutive blue trophy.
Black Market Tackle – After Fisher Anaya’s performance, the Rapala Mavrik 130 may be worth more than a Coike. There are apparently only two of these jerkbaits in circulation – Anaya has one and Jacob Wheeler has the other.
The International Contingent – Aussie Carl Jocumsen, who was outside the cut yesterday, is the top-ranked international angler, currently in 11th, followed closely by Cory Johnston in 12th, just an ounce behind. Chris Johnston and Jeff Gustafson are the only other international competitors inside the cut, in 34th and 43rd, respectively. All three Japanese pros finished 70th or worse.
Muskogee Factoid – Singer Carrie Underwood was born here and raised in Checotah – the purported steer wrestling capital of the world — just a bit to the southwest. Her husband Mike Fisher is an avid bass angler and she references crappie fishing on nearby Eufaula in her song “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore.”
The wind’s going to change direction tomorrow. This crew will still catch ‘em. They may keep the service crews busy, but nothing seems to get in the way of another slugfest.
Stay tuned for Day 3.
