Scott Rook gets to his first fishing area on Day Three of the Ramada Championship to find rough waters.
But it doesnât take him long to hook up with his first keeper.
Rook played every fish with care, while also trying to keep his feet.
Rook, though, was happy with the result.
For the first hour he had consistent action.
All of it eventually sending him to the passenger seatâ¦
And landing a smallmouth.
But during that hour, the waves got rougher.
Often sending Rook from one end of the boat to the other.
And at times rolling crashing waves over his bow.
He built a quick limit in this fashion.
Rook reaches out to get snag his fourth keeper.
The waves often forcing him to grab his line.
Most of his initial limit was in the 2-pound range.
After boxing his fish, he hits the deck again.
To ride the waves.
And occasionally making adjustments to his equipment.
For the first three hours this was a common sight, the trolling motor completely out of the water.
During the course of the action, Rook missed several fish and lost three 3-pound class smallmouth.
And the waves continued to crash over the bow.
With bow out of the water, Rook sets the hookâ¦
And almost immediately he comes crashing down.
This was Rookâs limit fish.
This time he landed the bass from the driverâs seat.
Back on his feet, Rook casts to the sweet spot on the shoal heâs fishing.
A few hundred yards away, Terry Scroggins speeds byâ¦
Hitting the waves with a crashâ¦
â¦that sent spray that almost covered the whole boatâ¦
â¦before digging out.
A few minutes later, he boats his first keeper of the day.
Rook, meanwhile, is getting his own bites. This one a 3-pound plus smallmouthâ¦
That jumped and spit his hook, forcing him to re-tie.
In a span of about 30 minutes, Rook lost another 3-pound class fish and had a local fishing boat drive right up on his shoal.
By noon, though, the wind had calmed and Rook was hoping for the afternoon bite to turn on.