Grinding on Grand Lake

The final practice day for the Geico Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro on Grand Lake begins as every angler tries to utilize the final hours of practice in order to fortify a gameplan for Fridayâs Day 1 of competition.

The first angler we found was Brandon Palaniuk who finished second in this very Classic in 2013.

Palaniuk made numerous casts around his first area.

He cut his first spot like a pie and made numerous passes with different casting angles.

We went around the corner and found Clifford Pirch fishing a rocky bank.

He worked multiple baits around the rocky habitat.

Pirch checks out his electronics as he sees some bait or underwater structure.

Pirch is unique in the fact that he turns his back unit around and checks out what his back transducer is reading.

Two geese fly overhead as Pirch figures out his next move.

Pirch decides to move on and check out some new water.

Chris Lane was around the corner chunking and winding.

But he decides to make some moves as well.

Lane whips it around the point and heads up the lake.

Thomas Martens, the B.A.S.S. Team Championship representative fishes down a rocky and wooded bank.

Martens believes he hit something and spun a prop so he tries to get on plane to run back to the ramp real quick.

He comes off plane moments later and decided to try to change it on his own.

The defending Classic champion Casey Ashley works down a diverse bank.

Ashley chucks multiple baits down the shoreline.

He flings out a cast as water sprays off his reel.

Matt Herren gets settled in near the back of this creek.

After seeing Justin Lucas cruise by we followed him to the back of another creek.

Lucas doesnât like the water clarity in the back of this creek so he decides to head closer to the mouth to continue fishing.

Lucas makes a few castsâ¦

â¦as he works to the end of a point.

After fishing the point he turns around and fires out another cast with a different lure. He covered his area pretty thoroughly.

Still not pleased with the water clarity, Lucas heads out. He told us practice has been brutally slow for him so far today as well as this week.

As Lucas left, we found James Watson.

Watson qualified for the Classic by way of a victory at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open at Table Rock Lake.

Watson works around some cover on the shoreline with numerous baits.

Then he makes his way out of the creek. So much moving around today as anglers are searching for a hint of a sustainable pattern.

B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier, Levi McNeil fishes in the back of a pocket.

McNeil hooks up while we are watching him.

McNeil stretches for the fish at the side of the boat.

He realizes it is a drum and he tries to unhook it quickly to get back to work.

McNeil thinks hard about his next decision as he searches down the bank for a big bass.

He pulls the trigger and decides to make a move from this area.

We stumble upon Jordan Lee fishing a short pocket nearby.

Lee picks apart every edge of the dock in front of him.

After peeking around the corner of the dock, Lee makes a long cast down the entire side of it.

Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens qualifier Chris Dillow took the title on the James River earlier last year, but Grand Lake certainly doesnât setup like the James.

Dillow makes a cast around a dockâ¦

â¦but decides to head out as he was still in search for his first bass bite of the day.

College Bracket qualifier Trevor Lo speeds by us so we decide to follow.

Lo picks one of the many rocky banks that grace the shores of Grand Lake.

He fires out a cast parallel to the bank.

Then he casts straight to the end of the point.

Lo was fishing fast, but slow at the same time. He was firing out casts left and right, but was thoroughly covering the water column.

He switches to a spinning rod to try and entice a bite.

Lo heads out as he tries to build upon his pattern. He caught a three-pounder earlier in the day and got another bite as well.

Local favorite Jason Christie is the next angler we spotted.

Christie was picking apart cover with numerous baits and presentations.

He was as calm as they come as he tries to win the Super Bowl of bass fishing on one of his home lakes.

Like other anglers, Christie pulls up the trolling motor and heads out.

Chris Zaldain heaves out a cast towards the cover that Grand Lake has to offer.

Chunking and winding to cover as much water as possible.

Brent Ehrler is fishing his first Bassmaster Classic and he is grinding away.

Ehrler takes every short cut to save time and allow for more casts to find fish.

Ehrler was hard at work, but excited to get the chance to shine on the biggest stage.