Heavy cloud cover moving in marked the first day of the Plano Bassmaster Elite on Lake St. Clair.
Photo: Steve Bowman
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Jeff Kriet takes up a position close to the take-off area as the sun starts to peek over the horizon.
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The golden sunlight highlighted the first 20 minutes of the morning.
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But it was quickly replaced by clouds.
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There would be moments when the sun would break through, as angler like Jared Lintner would start looking for schools of smallmouth.
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Despite the promise of light wind it was obvious early on that waves would also be a part of Day 1.
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Edwin Evers anchors himself to the front of his boat as he makes long casts into St. Clair.
Photo: Steve Bowman
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And he would hook up early.
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It was obvious that Evers was happy with the results as he fought a heavy fish.
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The battle took several seconds before the fish came close enough to show itself.
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And the splash changed Evers demeanor.
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But he still fought the big fish as it sent a spray of water across the front of the boat.
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And sent Evers to the passenger seat to land the fish.
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But it was obvious something was up when Evers grabbed his bait, instead of grabbing a fish.
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A half second later and it was obvious as a big muskie exploded out of the lake.
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It hung in the air like it was surveying the angler who had just hooked him.
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Then made a big flip.
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And fell back into the water with a big splash.
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After another muskie that produced a break off, Evers would pull up stakes and move on.
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It was a common sight on the lake as anglers moved from spot to spot.
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Some of them, like Brandon Card, hooking up.
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And landing fish, even though, his was a short fish on the lake which requires fish to be 14 inches in length.
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Joe Sancho would work through the lake.
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Leaving his trolling motor down when he moved through the rolling waves.
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And making big splashes as he moved.
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In calmer water, Gerald Swindle would hook up.
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Producing a Michael Jordanesque sticking out his tongue moment.
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Swindle would hit the driver's seat as his third keeper made a big splash.
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And he would quickly cradle it in the boat.
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Giving it a quick look over,
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Before placing it in the well.
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Nearby David Mullins would work a grass bed.
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Moving from one spot to the next.
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Kevin LeDoux would boat his third keeper.
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A smaller fish that would help him build a 15 pound limit.
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Jordan Lee would ride the waves of the main lake to produce a 17 pound, 10 ounce stringer.
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And nearby him, Jacob Powroznik would be building an 18-11 Day One start.
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Powroznik, like many of the anglers, would not be alone.
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He would share water with several anglers including Davy Hite who at this time was making virtually the same drift.
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Hite would get off that timing by re-working his tackle when it came time to move.
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Chris Lane, who won here two years ago, would be fishing more shallow. He would finish the day with 17-9.
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And like many of the anglers would have to hop from spot to spot.
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He would finish the day with 17-9 in 35th place.
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