Lunkers of St. Johns

Big fish came as advertised in the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels. It started in practice, as Seth Feider proves with this 10-pounder. He might not have meant to get it in the boat, but once he did, he felt compelled to take a photo and share it on his Facebook.
(Photo courtesy of Seth Feider/Facebook)

On Day 1, the anglers who had marked bedding fish in practice went out and tried to coax them to bite. Those who were able to land the giants, like Jay Brainard, did well right out of the gate.

Behind big bites, anglers like Mike McClelland found themselves in the hunt with bags around 20 pounds. There were 12 anglers who weighed in bags that big on Day 1. The problem was backing them up. Only four anglers who topped 20 pounds on Day 1 finished in the top 12.

Photo by Bassmaster Marshal Daniel Green

Brandon Lester got off to a fast start, going right to this beauty and landing it on his fourth cast. Later he said he didnât think the 9-3 lunker was that big. âHonestly, I thought the fish was about a 6 1/2- or 7-pounder. Once they get over 7 pounds, when theyâre sitting in the water, itâs hard to tell.â

The fish helped Lester grab the Day 1 lead with 23-13, but he weighed 14-2 then 11-12 to fall just out of the top 12 cut at 13th.

Classic champ Edwin Evers also got off to a fast start, catching the big bass on Day 1. Evers said the 9-13 put up quite a fight. It helped bring Evers’ weight to 20-5, which he followed with 13-2 and 15-5 to finish 16th.

Photo courtesy of Edwin Evers

Elite Series rookie Drew Benton was a popular Fantasy Fishing pick at St. Johns, and for good reason. The Floridian – heâs from Panama City — started with 22-15, faltered with 9-14, then busted a pair of 20-pound bags to stay in the hunt.

A couple lunkers helped Cliff Crochet bust the third-best bag on Day 1, 22-14, which put him third. Several anglers experienced the pitfall of St. Johns, where one great day did not lead to another. Crochet only had three fish for 6-2 on Day 2, and dropped precipitously. He finished 46th.

The opposite happened to Justin Lucas, who made a major climb on Day 2. After catching 22-13, Lucas went from outside the cut at 68th, to ninth. A couple bass with shoulders helped Lucas climb 59 places.

Two consistent bags helped Brent Ehrler finish in the top 50, but a limit going only 7-14 kept him from fishing Sunday.

For some, even a lunker wasnât enough. That was the deal for rookie Fabian Rodriguez, who had this big âun in his 16-12, Day 2 bag, but he still didnât crack the top 50.

Davy Hite was among the anglers who didnât need a monster fish to remain in contention. Hite reached Sunday with bags of 15-2, 20-13 and 18-14, then his fish ran out and he came in with only 7-14 to finish 10th.

Ken Iyobe found one to make him smile, and he started the season off right with a 25th-place finish. It looks as though Morizo Shimizu may have some competition for the biggest smile on tour.

Local knowledge is a pretty big deal here, and Terry Scroggins is as local as they come, living in San Mateo across the river from Palatka. He rebounded and jumped 35 spots with 21-10 on Day 2. Mark Zona said Scrogginsâ plan in all the Elites here has been to sustain the heavy blows of sight fishermen, stay in contention and increase his weights each day to the title. He made the finals and took seventh.

Palatkaâs Cliff Prince could have won the event if not for a nightmarish Day 1. He made a mistake in hitting a livewell aerator switch that left him with 5 dead bass and no opportunities to cull at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. With penalties and having to throw back a 4-pounder, Prince weighed just over 10 pounds on the day. This Day 2 monster went for almost as much.

Prince scored this 10-8 in his first 20-plus bag, and his second sent him into the top 12. Another solid Sunday had him finish sixth, but Scroggins for one said he believed Prince should have won. Small consolation was earning the eventâs Big Bass Award of $1,500.

Keith Combs, one of three Texans to make the top 12 in each of the previous three St. Johns Elite events, was closest to going four for four by taking 14th. He sandwiched two 19-14 bags, the latter helped by this hawg, with a disappointing 9-4. Todd Faircloth (32nd) and Alton Jones (42nd) missed making their fourth and final days here by a larger margin.

Lucas is back with a bigger single fish, and his Day 3 bag of 19-9 sent him into the finals. He caught two fish for 3-4 on Sunday — what this bass might call brunch.

Whatâs going on back here? Must be some big fish! Rick Clunn stayed under the radar the first two days on St. Johns, but didnât stay there for long. He drew tons of attention as he waited until his family arrived in state and got to his boat. One by one, the other anglers weighed their fish, then headed to Clunn’s boat to see what the fuss was about..

Clunn started the day with a combined Day 1 and 2 weight of 31-8, for 31st place. With son, River, and tournament director Trip Weldon helping, he thrills all with a 31-7 bag that sent him into Championship Sunday with a 6-pound lead over Greg Hackney.

Drew Bentonâs first Elite saw the youngster shine. He scored Sundayâs big bag at 21-14 to climb into fourth. Not a bad start at all.

Marty Robinson climbed 21 spots from Day 1 then made another move — besides his dancing — on Day 4, when he weighed the second biggest bag at 21-9. He took third with 76-5.

Greg Hackney made Championship Sunday interesting very quickly, landing a 6 (probably the one in his right hand) in the first moments of Bassmaster LIVE coverage. He made a good run, but his 21-0 left him short with 77-15.

After a flurry of catches by Hackney, Rick Clunn was shown on LIVE with counter punches that allowed him to weigh 19-0 and win by 4 pounds.

Clunnâs victory was his first since 2002, and the 69-year-old said it was more important than the rest because River, 12, was there to finally see what his father did so often years ago – win events.