Talk of a sight fishing slugfest was the hot topic among the pros and media prior to the Bassmaster Elite Series at Toledo Bend presented by Econo Lodge. After Day 2 the buzz has subsided.
The big question everyone asks is why?
Seeing numerous 25-pound-plus sacks of Toledo Bend lunkers land on the weigh-in scales was the prediction. Those have not appeared. The answer might not come until Championship Sunday.
Prior to the tournament the perfect storm was gathering to make it all happen. Water temperatures well in the spawning range for Toledo Bend’s bass population. Clear water. Lower than normal, thereby shrinking the spawning zone and concentrating the bass. A lunar phase nearing the full moon.
On Wednesday the passage of a cold front whipped the lake into a frothy mess. Temperatures dropped into the low 50s—the coolest in recent weeks. That, of course, could be the main factor. But this is Toledo Bend, land of the big bass. Number one on the list of the Bassmaster Top 100.
Two days after the frontal passage hope remains. Here is the scoop about what is to come from the Day 1 and 2 leaders.
Day 1: Jacob Wheeler
He sacked a 25-pound limit, however sight fishing was not the trick for Wheeler. Instead, he focused on deeper fish, either coming or going from the spawning beds.
“The thing here is if you catch 25 or even 20 pounds tomorrow you still are in it,” he said. “It’s not like everyone is smashing them.”
Wheeler admitted that today was tougher for everyone. That includes himself. Wheeler only managed 4 keepers weighing 11-1. He is seventh place with 36-2.
“You’ve got to go back out there, put your head down, and realize this is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said about his upcoming plans.
Wheeler lost the lead and is quite happy where his name is on the scoreboard.
“Being in the lead means lots of weekend pressure, locals following you around and fishing your areas,” he said. “At least I can calm down, get away from some of that pressure, and get back out there and catch a big lead and slide under the radar.”
How he plans to do that is by continuing his rotation of lures covering the meandering contours of spawning migration routes and transition areas.
A crankbait and hair jig comprises two of his strongest weapons for offshore bass fishing in Wheeler’s arsenal.
Here, it’s all about how those lures are presented. First, Wheeler spent hours graphing offshore structure before even making a first cast. He wanted to know precisely how the bass were lined up on the cover. He still is doing that as the week evolves and fish come and go.
“It’s super important here because the fish aren’t aggressive,” he explained. “You can’t just go out there and wind back a crankbait.”
A pop of the wrist while winding in the crankbait is one trick. So is burning the hair jig off the bottom and allowing it to flutter back to bottom. Both go against the standard techniques for the lures.
“You’ve just got to do something different to get the reaction bite,” he added.
What about the lunkers missing from the scales?
Wheeler’s reasoning is the cold snap.
“This morning was tougher on the guys focused on the shad spawn,” he said. “They didn’t bite as well due to the cold weather.”
The deep fish can’t be depended upon either, and Wheeler knows it.
“There’s not that many of them around and if you don’t get on them at the right time then you aren’t going to catch them.”
Wheeler went looking for bedding bass with no luck. He thinks the missing bass got picked off yesterday by his peers.
Still, he is optimistic.
“I feel like a big wave of big females are headed in based on the full moon coming up on Tuesday,” he said.
Day 2: Jamie Hartman
Hartman, a native New Yorker who is new to fishing southern waters, is fishing textbook instincts.
Hartman found bedding bass when he came here two months ago. For that reason he spent two weeks graphing transition and migration areas. The plan was to intercept post-spawn bass coming back out to deeper water.
Now, he’s fishing the same areas for what he believes are bass in the reverse mode.
“All of the females look so healthy that I think those bass are moving in to spawn,” he said.
Hartman admitted that he might be catching some of both fish in the spawning phase. If so he’s got double the chances of improving his weight.
Regardless of what happens the next two days will be the same.
Expect everyone to be swinging for the fences.