LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The final two days of the Bassmaster Legends are unique. Each angler will begin their day in a designated hole and is allowed to spend exactly 70 minutes in that section of the river. At the end of the day, all 12 get to enjoy "happy hour" where they can run the course and settle down in their favorite spot.
The anglers picked holes in order of Angler of the Year standings.
Bassmaster.com asked a few where they will begin the day, and who they will be sharing the hole with. Here's what they said:
Kevin Short
What will be the most challenging factor for you in the hole-course format setup for the final two days? "Time. I've never fished this format, but have always wanted to. One hour and ten minutes in one little stretch of river isn't a whole lot of time. Time management is going to be a big deal because I've never had to do that before so I'm at a disadvantage in that respect. The good thing about it is that if I can catch a couple of fish and get an idea of what's going on, I can start visualizing in my mind what parts of the river are similar in the next hole. The advantage I have is knowing every little spot in every hole so I can preplan."
Which hole are you starting in, which angler are you sharing water with, and is there a reason you chose to begin the day in that part of the course? "I had to pick last so I'm starting in hole 5 with Shaw (Grigsby). I would have liked to start in hole 6 or 1 because I would have liked to finish the day in either 6 or 1. This is because of what's up there and I'm basing that on the pattern that I was fishing in the upper pool. What I was fishing in there is very similar to the cover and structure in holes 1 and 6. As it is, I guess I will finish in hole 4 which means if I want to spend happy hour in hole 1 or 6 I will have to make a seven or eight minute boat ride across the river. One of the things I'm going to look for though is the pattern I established to get here because I know it will work in every single one of the holes."
How much weight will it take to get into the Super Six and fish again tomorrow? "Based on what I've seen the last two days, I'm going to feel pretty good if I've got four fish that weigh eight pounds."
Shaw Grigsby
What will be the most challenging factor for you in the hole-course format setup for the final two days? "I really don't have any apprehensions about the hole-course, I love them. This type of fishing forces you to focus intensely. It actually is a better fishing situation because it forces you to adjust and move minute by minute. To me, that is the best challenge you can have in fishing and I absolutely adore the one hour and ten minutes we have in each hole. Professionally, I still think the guy that catches fish over all four days should be the guy to win it, but for an intense competition there's nothing finer than this."
Which hole are you starting in, which angler are you sharing water with, and is there a reason you chose to begin the day in that part of the course? "There really isn't any bright side to hole 5 where I'm starting and fishing with Kevin Short. I would have really liked to start in hole 3 because it's got all the backwater in it which is nice."
How much weight will it take to get into the Super Six and fish again tomorrow? "You know I think having eight, nine, maybe 10 pounds will get you fishing tomorrow. I can't worry about that though, I've just got to go and find some fish and try to put a few in the boat."
Rick Clunn
What will be the most challenging factor for you in the hole-course format setup for the final two days?
"Probably just reading the course as fast as you can, reading the conditions. What you've got to understand about this course is that fish would not normally live here. Fish are living in what they consider secondary water. So it's not like you can say, 'what are the largemouth doing at this time of the year?' I know what they are doing but that doesn't exist on this course. They wouldn't live here unless they were brought here which forces them to adapt. Which is what we're going to have to do. You're fighting yourself all day because your brain says that these fish should be doing this, but that doesn't carry over to what's going on in the water here."
Which hole are you starting in, which angler are you sharing water with, and is there a reason you chose to begin the day in that part of the course?
"Hole 6 with Snowden. I wanted to come through the two holes, 1 and 2, that contain the most fish as quick as I could. All the fish are released right here so I'm assuming holes 1 and 2 will have the most fish because they are the closest. The other guys chose the holes ahead of me so I chose 6, which will put me in the other two holes somewhat early. Also, I will be in hole 5 at the end, which is straight across the river to where I want to spend happy hour. Most of the guys will have to run a few minutes but I will be close enough to get a head start on fishing."
How much weight will it take to get into the Super Six and fish again tomorrow?
"I really can't worry about what I need. I just need to go out and try to secure a limit of fish and if I can't, get as close to a limit as possible and hopefully it will be enough to fish tomorrow."
Greg Hackney
What will be the most challenging factor for you in the hole-course format setup for the final two days?
"I really don't know yet, but it's out there. I won't know until I start rotating around, and then I will just have to try and adjust to what's working."
Which hole are you starting in, which angler are you sharing water with, and is there a reason you chose to begin the day in that part of the course?
"I will be starting in hole 4 and I think I'm fishing alongside Kevin (VanDam). I chose this because there's an area in there that may be similar to what I've been fishing. And it may only be one aspect of it like the water color or something and I'm taking a chance on that. I may find something that I can duplicate from the first two days. You always want to start off as quickly as possible and that may be one or two fish but the confidence builds from there."
How much weight will it take to get into the Super Six and fish again tomorrow?
"I really don't know but I would like to have 12 or 13 pounds to be where you want to be at. That's really the objective here."
Steve Kennedy
What will be the most challenging factor for you in the hole-course format setup for the final two days? "I really don't know because this is the first time I've ever fished one of these things. The only thing I can imagine is that we hadn't practiced on it so if you do find fish, you're going to have to turn around and leave them. What I've been doing to get to the cut is flipping grass for hours at a time and just getting a few bites here and there. So it's going to be tough to leave whenever I do get a bite."
Which hole are you starting in, which angler are you sharing water with, and is there a reason you chose to begin the day in that part of the course? "I'm starting in hole 3 and fishing with Dean (Rojas). Really no particular reason why I chose this other than it's closest hole to where I fished the first two days. Plus, down this side there isn't any backwater but when you get back into hole 3 and 4 you've got a little bit of that to work with."
How much weight will it take to get into the Super Six and fish again tomorrow? "I'm going to say eight pounds, four fish should get you in but there is really no way to tell."
Dean Rojas
What will be the most challenging factor for you in the hole-course format setup for the final two days? "Probably not knowing the course all that well being the first time I've been on it. I will also have to utilize my best time, only an hour and ten minutes, and that will probably be the most challenging part of the whole day."
Which hole are you starting in, which angler are you sharing water with, and is there a reason you chose to begin the day in that part of the course? "I picked second and picked hole 3 with Kennedy. With 3 I was on the outer edge of the course. If I had chosen anything closer, the guys would be running by the fishing area in the morning and that would have disturbed the early topwater bite. I think it's better to go on the outer because the guys will go there and shut down and start fishing. I wanted to get to holes 3 and 4 without all of the wave action of people on the water."
How much weight will it take to get into the Super Six and fish again tomorrow? "I have no idea with the way the fishing has been this past week. I'm just hoping to catch a couple of bass, but I think four fish might be good enough for a sixth or fifth place finish."