Day 3 of the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at the St. Johns River has already seen several of the top-50 anglers getting a jump on Semi-Final Saturday by capitalizing on big bites. We’ll probably see more by the time this story posts, but during the first couple of hours, BassTrakk showed these early kickers:
| Brandon Palaniuk | 7-0 |
| Clent Davis | 6-0 |
| Keith Combs | 6-0 |
| Mike Huff | 6-0 |
| Derek Hudnall (second-place since Day 1) | 5-0 |
| John Crews | 4-12 |
| Cory Johnston | 4-8 |
Not surprising to find big fish chewing early, particularly on a dim morning that saw the scheduled 7 a.m. takeoff delayed 20 minutes by dense fog. However, this time of year, the later hours of a fishing day often yield the game changers.
With Florida fish firmly in the spawning mode, water temperature works like a NASCAR flagman. Big females are revving their engines throughout the morning while the rising sun’s influence continues to warm the water.
Soon as it hits the magic number (defined daily by the fish), the green flag waves and it’s pedal to the metal.
We saw several examples of this on Day 2. Bernie Schultz, who started today in 30th place, anchored a limit of 19-13 with a 5 1/2-pounder that bit around 12:30, while Buddy Gross (sixth) found a 6-pounder at 12:20.
“I had bites in the morning (Day 2) and they just weren’t connecting well,” Schultz said. “But then the sun warmed things up and it just came together. That midday to afternoon bite is the best.”
Gross noted that trading his afternoon kicker for a 12-incher was huge. Likewise, we saw Day-1 leader Gary Clouse enduring a tougher Day 2 until 1 o’clock, when he replaced a 1 1/2-pounder with one over 6.
Recognizing that upgrade’s impact, Clouse literally laid on his front deck and just soaked up the moment.
Today’s forecast shows daytime highs in the upper 70’s. That’s a little cooler than yesterday, but plenty warm enough to deliver that midday-afternoon spark.
A key difference could be the solid cloud cover and rain that’s expected to last until early afternoon. While fish tuck under any available cover in sunny times, these low-light conditions often find the ones that haven’t locked on to beds roaming. This could create more opportunities throughout the day.
Conversely, any hopes of sight fishing are gone.
With most of the eel grass that once filtered this tannic river destroyed by Hurricane Irma (2017), the St. Johns’ dark waters have already challenged the visual hunt. Take away direct sunlight, add the rain’s surface disturbance and no one’s gonna be “looking at ‘em” today.
Worth noting, Schultz actually had a shot at his big fish on Day 1, but lost her. Returning to the same location a day later, he closed the deal.
“These are bedding fish, they’re sitting in the same spot,” Schultz said. “Your timing determines whether they’re going to bite or not.
“I hit her on Day 1 late on the way in. She hit the bait and missed it and I had to leave. Day 2, I had more time and I made a good cast and she destroyed the bait. That fish got me where I needed to be (to make it to Semi-Final Saturday).”
So, as Day 3 progresses, it will be interesting to see when those day-changing big bites occur. We’ll likely see a few sprinkled throughout the morning, but the latter half could once again see fortunes dramatically change.