CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. – Ontario pro Jeff Gustafson weighed in the biggest limit and the single biggest fish on Day Two of the Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lake brought to you by the United States Marine Corps, and jumped 30 spots from 34th to 4th, just 4 pounds 8 ounces out of the lead. That’s cause for celebration, but it’s tempered by the fact that two of the three anglers ahead of him are sharing his primary area.
Brandon Palaniuk (1st) and Carl Jocumsen (2nd) both saw Gussy during the day. The three may not have done all of their damage there through two days of competition, but they’ve caught enough in this one aquatic clubhouse to both show its potential and to raise the question of whether it can withstand continued sustained pressure.
It’s not just those three, either. Tyler Rivet (20th) and John Cox (24th) are both hedging their bets on this one backwater. Seth Feider was fishing there, too, and while his 45th place finish won’t qualify him to fish on Saturday, he did flip up a 7 pound 12 ounce giant out of there today that likely won’t be catchable tomorrow. That fish was holding up as Phoenix Boats Big Bass until Gustafson brought his 9-07 behemoth to the scales.
Two massive lakes, tens of thousands of acres, and they’re all crammed into this one place. Of all the gin joints, in all the world, they all had to end up here.
Nevertheless, there seems to be no friction. As Gustafson was being interviewed by the media, Cox wandered up and asked if he was in his fellow competitor’s way. “I don’t want to jack you up,” he said. Gustafson seemed nonchalant about the prospect. Indeed, while Jocumsen flipped up a key fish on Thursday, Gussy cheered him on. Rather than discouraging him, it further convinced him that the “right ones” are there.
“You flip in the right hole and you catch one of those,” he said, referring to his big fish. He had a terrible practice, barely landing a limit of fish over three days, so he’s committed to this one zone. “Not having a lot of areas is the main reason that I decided to hunker down and now I think it’s probably the best area on the lake.”
The rest of the group may be feeling the effects of the increased pressure. Jocumsen’s early morning fish across the lake did not play nice today. He left for the community backwater at 9 o’clock with just one bass in the livewell, and struggled to fill out a good-but-not-great limit that weighed 12-07.
“If I’m going to win this tournament, I need that first spot to fire up and I need to put the big fish that bite in the boat,” the Day One leader said. Today he missed a big one early, and then whiffed on a couple more “giants” in the crowded backwater. He hopes he’ll be able to find clean stretches in the shared area when he arrives there later in the day.
“Today I had trouble finding clear areas,” he said. That caused the fish to bite less aggressively than they did on Thursday. “My first 4-pounder had it by the skin today. Yesterday they all had it down the throat. The pressure is what’s doing it, one hundred percent.”
Palaniuk, who traded places in the standings with Jocumsen today, believes that “there may be a few less tomorrow,” but he’s convinced that a winning catch lives in the area “if you get on the right rotation. Carl was the only one I ran into at all today who was somewhere that I wanted to fish, and that was no problem at all.”
Even though he won’t have a chance to fish again tomorrow, Feider agreed with Palaniuk that while the pressure may be affecting the shared area, there’s enough key habitat there to hold many more big limits. “I think we beat the hell out of it, but there’s still a 30 pound bag in there, no doubt about it.”
Beyond the ability to get on the rotation, the other key factor that might cause another flip-flop tomorrow is the approaching weather change. Thursday’s still water and sunny skies gave way to Friday’s haze, humidity and heat. At some point tomorrow some wind and rain will come into the picture. It’s no secret that most of the top anglers in this group have been punching thick cover with heavy weights and creature baits, a bite that is bolstered by unrelenting sunshine. Tomorrow, they may have to adjust that game plan.
Cox, for one, believes that the impact of that weather change will be unequivocally positive for all of them.
“The reason it’s so good in there is because of the flow through there,” he told Gustafson. “If the wind blows, everybody will catch 20 in there. I could see it today. As soon as that duck weed opened up, you’re about to get bit.”