After two days, 861 bass totaling 1,248 pounds have been weighed at the MAXXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River. That’s an average of 1.45 pounds per bass. Therefore, it’s no wonder that John Crews vaulted from 73rd place on Day 1 to 4th place on Day 2 with a 12-pound, 9-ounce limit that included the big bass of the tournament so far, a 4-14.
As further illustration of how far a 4-pounder will carry you here, Pat Schlapper maintained first place for the second straight day, thanks in large part to his 4-5 Phoenix Boats Big Bass on Day 1.
As Day 3 begins with the field cut to the top 50 anglers, there’s a margin of, appropriately, 4-1 between 50th place Cliff Pace (12-14) and 10th place Chris Johnston (16-15). Everyone in the top 50 is still in the game on a day when the field will be cut to the top 10 for Sunday’s finale.
“A guy from 50th can jump up into the top 10 with a big day,” said Beau Browning, an Elite Series rookie from Hot Springs, Ark., who jumped from 42nd place into a three-way tie for 5th with a limit weighing 9-15, which included a 4-2.
Also in that tie for 5thplace is Carl Jocumsen, who was surprised to find himself there after weighing 7-15 on four fish. A bigger surprise was Jocumsen had no keeper bass at 3 p.m., facing a 4 p.m. check-in time.
“A proper save-the-day, yeah, it was,” said Jocumsen, who thought he’d figured out a little creek that he had to himself on Day 1 when he finished in 9th place with 9-5. “My day went the complete opposite of how I thought it was going to happen. I caught a lot more fish than I thought I was gonna catch, but none of them were keepers, just a bunch of 11- and 11 ½-inch fish. I scratched and clawed and did everything I knew how to do, and then with an hour to go I made a move to a spot, and I caught four in an hour and saved my butt.”
That could well be how this tournament is decided. One angler will make a move to an area he hasn’t fished before and find a difference-maker or two or four, as in Jocumsen’s case Friday. However, what may be new water to a particular angler will have probably been fished before by someone else in this tournament. It’s no secret that Taylor Bayou and Hildebrandt Bayou, protected by a saltwater intrusion structure, have the most fishable water in this vast Sabine River watershed that’s otherwise hampered by high water and unfavorable tides.
Those two areas are like carnival rides. Taylor Bayou is the big merry-go-round and Hildebrandt is the smaller one.
“Nothing is comfortable right now,” Browning said. “I’ll have to fish a bunch of new water guaranteed (Saturday). And if I make the next day, I’ll have to finish new water again. But I’ve got one small area that’s somehow holding up through a lot of pressure. But I know a bunch of the guys that made the cut be will there again (Saturday), so I don’t know how long it’s gonna last. I really have to get to some new water, but I’m just gonna hold onto it as long as I can pretty much.”
It’s all about timing and patience in this grinder of a tournament when you’re fishing an area that you know has already seen a lure or two, either yours or someone else’s.
“Flipping, Chatterbait, spinnerbait, everybody’s doing the same thing pretty much,” Browning said. “It’s just such a target rich environment that we’re catching them behind each other. You know there’s stretches of bank that have been hit 10 times. I think those fish just move up and out of those stretches constantly to feed, so you never really know. You always feel like you’re fishing fresh water in a way because no one’s picking anything clean.”
With the variety of food on the menu here, maybe throwing the right lure at the right time at the right fish has something to do with success or failure here. Tournament leader Pat Schlapper mentioned finding two bluegill in his livewell that his 4-5 big bass of Day 1 had regurgitated.
“I’ve found multiple giant crawfish in my livewells,” Browning said. “I mean like 4-inch crawfish. But there’s so much forage here, crawfish, crabs, bluegill, mullet. It’s not one of those match-the-hatch type places. You’re just trying to mimic something they can eat. I don’t think they really have something they’re keying on. It wouldn’t surprise me if I found feathers in my livewell. I think they just eat whatever they can get their mouth around pretty much.”
