If you want to see how hard these guys fight for every ounce, look no further than Davy Hite.
Hite stumbled badly yesterday, posting a 5 pound, 10 ounce weight and winding up in 97th place in the standings. That was a devastating finish for Hite who started the event on the bubble for the AOY Championship in 54th place. After Day 1, he dropped to 66th and needing to pull off a miracle.
Hite hasn’t pulled off a miracle yet, but he’s close to salvaging one.
At this point, he’s boated an estimated 13 pounds plus and moved into 59th in the standings. That will push him back up in the AOY ranks, but not quite far enough. He has to fish tomorrow and have a good day there to get in the AOY. But he’s making moves that could get him there.
That 59th place standing is just 2 1/2 pounds out of making tomorrow’s cut. As has been discussed regularly, that is still a steep climb. But it could also hinge on that one bite.
All of that is noteworthy because it’s the little things that seem to become huge on days like this. For instance, Hite only had three fish yesterday. A limit would certainly have him in that position, possibly just one more fish. That all has to do with fishing and the ongoing battle between man and beast in these events. But let’s look back to Winyah Bay when Hite made a boating error and wound up on a sandbar, losing multiple points in the process and leaving him battling from behind the rest of the season.
It’s a testament to Hite that he’s actually still on the verge of getting to the Championship after losing a whole day’s catch in one of the closest, tightest events of the year.
He took that turn into the mud of the South Carolina marsh in stride. And I’m sure he handled the lack of limit on Day 1 with the same professionalism all of us know him for. But there are a lot of folks out there who would have stopped scratching and clawing a long time ago.
If Hite is able to pull off a come-from-behind miracle today, then it should go down as one of more amazing days in his career.