While most of his top-10 competitors are focusing on shad spawns and wind-positioned fish, Chad Morgenthaler will likely commit his full day to bed fishing. The bites may be less frequent, but the potential for finding giants in stationary positions creates the potential for a huge day.
After a cloudy Day 2, yesterday’s mostly sunny conditions urged more spawners to move up, while the increased visibility provided a better window for anglers to spot their targets and monitor their response.
“The shallow bite got me (to Championship Sunday) and I know there’s more new fish coming,” Morgenthaler said. “It needed sunshine yesterday, but it just didn’t happen quick enough because of the (overnight) storms we had.
“The afternoon definitely changed and the area got better. I got more bites in there in the last 45 minutes than I’d had all day in there. I’m sure the rest of the sunny afternoon changed things, so I’m excited to see what today brings.”
Placing sixth on Day 3 with 68-8, Morgenthaler turned in consistent performances of 25-15, 20-12 and 21-13 with a mostly shallow water focus.
“I struggled on Day 3 and I could struggle today, but I’m willing to make that bet,”
Quick bite response is essential for bed fishing and Morgenthaler missed a big bite around 8 this morning when the low sun angle kept him from immediately seeing his line movement. Visibility will only increase as the day expands, so his reactions should improve.
Notably, while male bass are typically much smaller than the spawning females, the quality of this Lake Fork fishery is impressive across the board. Anglers have reported catching males that weighted 4-5 pounds.
Females can boost the day’s total in a hurry. Just ask Cliff Pirch, whose 9-pound, 13-ounce Day-2 bed fish currently leads the Phoenix Boats Big Bass standings.
Morgenthaler will need a lot more than a 4- to 5-pound average to make a run at the top today, but he believes that potential exists.
“It could definitely get better today,” he said. “The water temperature is still in the low 60s and this lake is going to continue to go wide open until it gets well into the 70s here. They have another month of spawning to go, so that means there’s a lot of big that still have to commit.
“There’s going to be constant waves of fish that are continuously coming and coming and coming. Some of the guys saw new fish moving up yesterday afternoon, so we have a long way to go.”