Last day of practice

Matt Herren runs down the lake on the final day of practice for the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake.

While Russ Lane runs up the lake. Running to and fro was a consistent trend on the last day to get something done.

When the anglers weren’t running around they were looking places where fish could be.

Or looking for places to actually get a bite, like Trevor Lo.

Lo is the College Bass representative in this event.

Lo was working hard to find something to work in his first Classic.

Nearby, though, Rojas, who wasn’t working so hard was hooking up.

In the early stages of this fight, it appeared as if Rojas tried to shake off the fish from the hook.

But it was quickly evident this fish was completely hooked.

It would probably help come Friday too. But Rojas quickly released it.

Then took off to look for other places, while a gull sailed along with him.

Greg Vinson casts around boat houses, looking for something different to go with what he had working earlier in the day.

And across the lake, Chris Dillow hooks up with his first bite of the day.

But it wasn’t the kind of fish he wanted.

Big drum like this were biting all over the lake.

Anglers reported catching drum in every corner of the lake.

Justin Lucas idles into a creek looking to expand his water.

But he spent as much time watching his electronics.

All of the anglers stayed bundled up during the day, like Brandon Card. Early temperatures were in the 30s.

But even in the cold, a few bass were biting.

Bobby Lane said he has his hooks bent in so not to catch fish, but still hooked up with more than one keeper.

Bent hooks or not, Lane put them in the boat.

Lane is fishing his 6th Classic and has finished in second last season.

Brandon Card is fishing his second Classic. His first was here two years ago.

Card said he made a mistake of fishing too fast in the first one, so he’s slowing down for this Classic.

On down the lake, Micah Frazier searches for his first bite of the day.

Frazier is in his first Classic after an exceptional year on the Elite Series.

Justin Lucas continues to work. This time with an audience.

The wind started blowing early and stayed consistently strong at over 15 miles per hour all day.

The wind forced anglers to stay bundled up all day.

The strong wind occasionally forced errant casts, causing anglers to dig baits from low handing limbs.

Big mansions were a common sight along the shores of Grand Lake.

Matt Herren works hard along a bluff bank.

And even harder to get under cables.

Even David Fritts was working hard. He hasn’t fished a Classic in over 15 years, but he was on the water testing crankbaits to see how deep they would dive. He wasn’t fishing and he stayed out of the rest of the field’s way.

It seemed like every time we got around Bobby Lane he would hook up with a fish.

As soon as he could get his hands on the fish, he would quickly release it.

James Watson was killing time in the back of a short pocket, and it was hard not to notice his boat wrap. The wrap pays homage to the US Army bombers from World War II. It includes bullet holes and a pin up girl.

Watson’s boat included the shrapnel holes from a bombing run. All of it very appropriate for Watson, a former Drill Sargent in the US Army.

Greg Vinson fishes past a water line full of drift wood that is the remnant from the big flood during the winter that shot the lake up about 10 feet or more from where it is now.