Around 8:25, Bassmaster LIVE caught up with Day-1 leader Buddy Gross, who was behind where he thought he needed to be in his productivity goals. The first round saw him catch 33 pounds, 9 ounces, but toward the end of the morning’s second hour of competition, Gross had only two fish for about 11 pounds.
In his morning commentary, Gross admitted to struggling with the decision to stay on the spot holding quality bass, or relocate in search of more active fish. Option two would take his current spot off the table, as another competitor that also knew the area’s potential would surely move in as soon as Gross departed.
Bottom lining it, Gross didn’t want to leave too soon and miss a feeding window.
By the time this story posts, the BassTrakk standings will undoubtedly shuffle, but Gross’ patience was rewarded at 8:31 with a 5-2 that allowed him to regain a few of the spots he had fallen.
Solid example of a timeless bass fishing principle: Capitalize on the meaningful moments.
Sometimes those periods of concentrated bass activity are stimulated by wind, power generation current, or daily ebb and flow (tidal fisheries). Whatever the case, savvy anglers do their best to maximize the moment.
Dynamics are countless, but this event has already offered multiple examples.
Get While the Gettin’s Good
Seth Feider lit up the Day-1 BassTrakk standings early with a limit that went 23-12 before 8 a.m. Placing 12th with 27-10, the Minnesota pro said he anchored his day by leveraging a seasonal scenario with breakout potential.
“I got most of my weight in the first hour and a half of the morning and then after that it was pretty slow,” Feider said. “I made a couple of decent culls late in the day, but I caught them mostly on a shad spawn in the early morning. It was pretty fast and furious.
“This lake is full of 4- to 8-pounders, but they’re not easy to catch because they get so much pressure. If they’re snapping, you definitely gotta get ‘em in the boat and capitalize.”
Don’t Dally
Brandon Palaniuk, who won the year’s second Elite event at Lake Okeechobee by parking on one key spot, said that overcoming a Day-1 slump required an opposite strategy. Starting his morning with an early 7-pounder, Palaniuk went without a bite until 11:30, before adding 22 pounds in about two hours.
“I finally started making the right moves and getting in the right places,” he said. “Lake Fork’s one of those places where, if you’re not getting bit, move. There are plenty of fish here, plenty of big ones and that’s how I’ve always done well.
“I don’t think I moved enough early on; I just kinda got sucked into an area where I was seeing fish, I was getting them to follow and not bite. Finally, I had to move and change techniques. That was kind of the difference maker.”
Open Your Own Windows
Coming off his win two weeks ago at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell, Paul Marks placed fifth on Day 1 with 30-13. With the exception of one afternoon cull, he had most of his weight before noon.
Confident with his day’s productivity, Marks decided to create his own window of opportunity — this one, with a scouting focus.
“I quit fishing at 11:30 and just looked the rest of the day,” he said. “I had 30 and I knew I needed to find some new places, because what I had wasn’t going to hold up.
“I fished like 10 spots and the rest I just looked around.”
Notably, a stellar second morning found Marks sitting atop the BassTrakk leaderboard with 31-6 at 8:54. He’ll continue looking for upgrades, but he’s probably repeating his Day-1 strategy of wisely using some of his time seeking areas that might offer windows of opportunity on Saturday.
Afternoon Rallies
Largemouth bass, particularly the large-growing Florida bass that have played a prominent role Lake Fork’s stocking history, are meteorologically sensitive creatures. They definitely bite during the early morning hours, but midday often finds them in uncooperative moods.
The slight cool spell and bluebird skies that followed pre-tournament storms exacerbated Day 1’s middy slump, but afternoon clouds and increasing wind brought fireworks. Several anglers scored big late-day bites, with the top-4 — Gross, Trey McKinney, Jay Przekurat, and Kyoya Fujita boating Lake Fork studs shortly before wrapping up their day.
Gross caught a 6-11 at 1:14
McKinney had a 7-2 at 2:06
Fujita added an 8-9 at 1:43
Second Chances
Przekurat, who placed third on Day 1, demonstrated a key principle relevant to pretty much any fishery, but most certainly to Lake Fork — give the good stuff multiple shots. Doing so led him to the first round’s most impressive catch.
After a disappointing morning in a timber-strewn bay, Przekurat returned to that spot around noon and caught a 9-14. That fish — his personal best and the day’s top fish — pushed Przekurat to 31-2 and positioned him well for the remainder of the event.
“They just weren’t set up, they were roaming around,” Przekurat said of his morning visit. “I went back there and caught that giant. They just grouped up where you could catch them. In the morning, they were just scattered out and roaming around.”
No doubt, the remainder of Day 2, as well as Semi-final Saturday and Championship Sunday, will see several more windows of opportunity. While this derby’s far from over, the ending storyline will likely center on the victor’s ability to capitalize on those key moments.
