Thursday on Toledo - Bassmaster

Day 1 of the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend was a mix of emotions for most of the field as some had a fantastic Thursday while others struggled to get that big bite. We started the morning with Matt Lee who we found shortly after leaving takeoff.

He filled his boat with numerous small fish to start the morning.

Meanwhile Andy Montgomery was fishing within eyesight of Lee.

Lee continued to work his offshore spot.

Justin Lucas ran byâ¦

Just as Matt Lee hooked up.

Lee swung aboard another small keeper as he built a fast limit.

Lee continued to work around his first spot as he tried to locate some bigger ones. He finished Day 1 in 82nd place with 11-7.

Across the creek we saw defending Toledo Bend champion Jacob Powroznik fishing down the bank.

But he was on his way out of the creek as he packed up to look for new water.

Fred Roumbanis was around the cornerâ¦

And he was fishing just the way he likes to.

He had a quick start to the day and had boated two fish over 5 pounds before we arrived in this area.

It wasnât long after arriving that Roumbanis would hook a fish and it would fly into the boat.

That one didnât help him, but this one did moments later.

That was keeper number four as he added that fish to the livewell with his two good ones and one other smaller fish.

Then he took the time to retie before getting back in action.

We left him as he continued to explore this area.

David Walker was the next angler we found and he boated a fish just as we arrived.

Unlike Roumbanis, David Walker was fishing much deeper.

And was also throwing an array of baits on his spot.

After a few minutes he hooked up.

But it wasnât the right kind or the right size.

He went back to heaving his bait as he tried to fired up a school of largemouth.

But while we were there he was plagued with white bass.

Micah Frazier was also fishing deeper at the next stop we went to.

As we avoided boats in the designated driving lanes Frazier boated a smaller fish that didnât help him.

Meanwhile Elite Series Rookie Brett Preuett was cruising to his next spot.

Brandon Lester was running to a new area as well.

Then we stumbled upon Todd Faircloth who was one of the local favorites for this event.

He was hooked up as soon as we arrived.

But it wasnât a big fish and it didnât help him at the moment.

Faircloth hooked into another fish a few casts later.

And he tried to keep this one from jumpingâ¦

But it wasnât of any help as well.

The shallow grass fisherman by nature was fishing deeper than expected, but he had his school fired up.

And he showed it by hooking up again.

This one had a little bit more size than the othersâ¦

But it still wasnât what Faircloth was looking for.

He stayed patient and made numerous casts at different angles looking for the right bite.

He eventually hooked up with a solid fish that may help him.

He went to the back of the boat to cull and was able to upgrade by a few ounces.

He didnât have the weight that he was hoping to catch so he dialed in a new spot on his electronics.

Another local favorite wasnât far from Faircloth.

Keith Combs was switching areas when we found him so we followed. He hooked up on his first cast and brought this back to the livewell to cull.

He too, was building up his weight.

After getting his school fired up he seemingly hooked up on every cast.

But most werenât the size he was looking for.

He bowed his rod over on another fish.

And swung it aboard.

But this one didnât help.

Another hooksetâ¦

And another fishâ¦but size was the issue for Combs around mid-day.

He kept casting away at his spot.

After a bunch of fish catches on that spot he decided it was time to swing for the fences and he took off. He would later bring 21 pounds to the scales to stay in the hunt after Day 1.