B.A.S.S. Opens Start Tomorrow

Looking for a couple more of these tomorrow! @BASS_nation @Abu_Garcia @spiderwire @areaccessories @UnderArmour pic.twitter.com/B4pXzR1gIE
— Hunter Shryock (@boomer496) January 14, 2015

Having had my eyes mostly pointed north, where single-digit temperatures have the ice setting up nicely for next week's Pennsylvania ice adventure, it's almost hard for me to believe that tomorrow B.A.S.S. will be starting the Southern Opens season on Florida's Kissimmee Chain and that some guys will be sight-casting for spawning bass. Next comes the first Rayovac on Okeechobee, and the tournament season and spring progress from there.

Reports I've seen suggest that some big bass are being caught, although I gather that a major lack of grass has changed the face of the Kissimmee Chain fishery quite a bit from what most pros are used to seeing. It's always fun for me to see how well the fish bite, how they are caught and who figures out the right patterns.

I'm especially interested in watching Alton Jones Jr. competing in the Opens this year. I first met "Little Alton" when he about 10, I'd guess, so I'm certainly excited about the start of his pro career. He was a good fisherman, even then, and I can't imagine anyone entering the pro ranks with a much fuller understanding of all aspects of pro fishing.

Of course, I'll have to find out how Day 1 went tomorrow evening. I have a morning appointment with some Chattooga River trout.

Chris Lane's Astounding Day

Chris Lane weighed-in an astounding 37 pounds, 9 ounces of St. Johns River bass
yesterday to take a 9-pound lead halfway home. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

I mostly avoid re-hashing reports that you can read in various other places. Some things are tough to ignore, though, and a 37-pound, 9-ounce bass limit in a major tournament clearly is one such thing. That's what Chris Lane brought to the scales yesterday on Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River.

Looking at the numbers, Lane would be in 10th place after two days if he had zeroed on Day 1! He actually had a solid 18-11 on the first day, though, so yesterday's giant bag put him nearly 9 pounds ahead of Day 1 leader Randy Howell.

The good news for Chris Lane is that he is in a great position, and because he is not sight-fishing in a crowd, he is not watching his fish supply dwindle. The bad news is that if he could do it yesterday, someone else could do it today or tomorrow. Twenty anglers had 20-pound-plus bags yesterday, and the St. Johns River holds enough big fish that someone else could surge into the spotlight with a giant bag tomorrow. In fact, although the cut-line was 28-14, barely more than half of Lane's two-day total, I'd go as far as to say that no one who made the cut is out of contention halfway home. Lane's bag today could change that story and all but seal the deal, but he was the first to say that he might catch 10 pounds or another giant bag. Not surprisingly, he did not plan to alter his approach of flippin' shallow lily pads

A Splendid Champion

2014 Bassmaster Classic champion Randy Howell. B.A.S.S.
photo by James Overstreet.

Fishing plans pulled me from the Bassmaster Classic soon after the final press conference and carried me out of phone and Internet range for two days. I returned to a backload of work and no immediate opportunity to report Classic perceptions. In truth, I know folks don't (and shouldn't) turn to here for the most timely and complete news coverage. BASS, FLW and other sites do that well. Still, to fail to convey any impressions somehow would leave me feeling like I hadn't completed the blogging part of my mission at the Classic.

You've likely read about Randy Howell's lures, including the Livingston Lures prototype crankbait he tied on for the first time on the final day of the Classic, and about his last-minute decision to turn his boat around and switch starting spots on the final day. All great stuff.

The things that impressed the most, though, were Randy's honest and unfiltered emotions, his clear testimony about God's love and direction; his obvious desire to give God all the glory; the shared joy of everyone in the crowd about the huge group from King's Home that Randy had arranged special seating for and that all got to see the Bassmaster Classic won by the angler who works hard to raise money and awareness for them; and of course the unified delight of the entire Howell family.

As a fellow homeschool dad, I enjoy seeing the dynamics of families who travel together, sharing experiences and learning on the road. It was fun learning of his son's Sunday School prayer request for "Dad to win the Bassmaster Classic" and for his wife's encouraging idea of hanging that prayer request on the bathroom mirror, so Randy would see it every day -- and her foresight to have someone retrieve that piece of paper from their home on the final day and bring it to the weigh-in.

I haven't had the opportunity to work with Randy Howell, but I've always been impressed by the way he comes across on stage and the personal way that he interacts with fans through social media outlets. I'm seeing that this week, more than ever, from the new Bassmaster Classic champion, and I am convinced that B.A.S.S. has gained a splendid champion.

One Month & Counting for Classic Competitors

2008 Bassmaster Classic champion Alton Jones, who earned entry into this year's Classic by winning the Elite Series opener on the St. Johns River, expects some big bags at Grand Lake no matter what the weather brings. B.A.S.S. photo.

In one sense, a month can't pass quickly enough for the 53 angler who will compete in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic. In another, every moment between now and the event -- or at least between now and when various competitors begin leaving home -- must seem precious. The Classic is an all-or-nothing championship event, and it calls for careful planning and serious preparation of tackle.

Day 1 of this year's Classic, which will be held on Oklahoma's Grand Lake of the Cherokees and run out of Tulsa, is one month from today, so competitors and fans alike have officially entered final month countdown mode. The event is close enough that weather patterns could impact what happens during the competition, so several competitors no doubt have a local forecast bookmarked and are tracking temps and rainfall daily (23 degrees in Tulsa right now), along with looking at things like water levels and online reports from local tournaments.

Of course, that varies a lot according to an angler's personality and how he likes to approach a tournament. Some like to know as much as possible about what has been happening and to have a feel for the flow of things upon arrival. Others find that more confusing than helpful and far prefer to arrive with a clean mind.

Pre-practice mindsets are similarly different among various pros. Some fish as much as possible when they visit a venue ahead of time, wanting to get a feel for how the lake fishes and how its fish tend to behave. Others spend all their time looking with their own eyes and with electronics, believing that the fish's behavior in November has little bearing on how they act in February and simply wanting to study structure and cover and to learn as much as possible about the lake's character.

The perspective on the whole event also varies so much from one competitor to the next, as they bring such a wide range of experiences to the event. Still, when the 2013 Bassmaster Classic actually starts on month from today, collegiate qualifier Matt Lee, who is 23 years old, and Kevin VanDam who will be fishing his 23rd consecutive Classic, will have the exact same number of minutes ahead to fish the same waters in search of the winning bag.

Side Note: Bassmaster.com has put together a great slide show that looks at all of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic contenders.

More Classic Places Settled This Week

Tension is sure to be high this morning at Oklahoma's Fort Gibson Lake, where B.A.S.S. pros have launched for the final Central Open of the season. At stake (beyond $50,000 or so and the title) are multiple Bassmaster Classic seats and opportunities for some pros to compete in the Elite Series next year.

The Classic equation is complex, with potential double and triple qualifiers who could provide Classic bids to Elite Series anglers who aren't even competing in this weekend's event.
Quite a few top Oklahoma anglers, including Fort Gibson expert Tommy Biffle, so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Interesting Twist in Bassmaster Classic Plot

Jason Christie of Park Hill, Oklahoma, who won the B.A.S.S. Open out of Detroit this weekend, earned a spot in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, which will be held on Oklahoma's Grand Lake. B.A.S.S. photo by David Hunter Jones.

Of the seven BFL tournaments that Oklahoma's Jason Christie won before he began touring nationally as an FLW pro, five of them were on Oklahoma's Grand Lake, which will be the venue for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic. By winning this weekend's B.A.S.S. Northern Open in Detroit, Christie qualified for the "home waters" Classic.

Christie, who worked grass patches at the mouth of the Detroit River with YUM 2ubes and Salleemanders throughout the Detroit event and brought 20-plus pounds to the scales all three days, has only fished half a dozen B.A.S.S. events, so his name is not super well known on the B.A.S.S. side. In only five years as an FLW pro, though, he has become known as one of the top competitors on the tour.

Oklahoma tournament anglers at all levels know Christie's name very well, and B.A.S.S. pros from all areas who anticipate making the Classic almost certainly have taken note of Christie's Classic qualification. Every qualifier brings unique strengths to a Classic field, and various anglers will be worthy of watching closely for one reason or another. Christie, though, clearly will be a popular pick as favorite to win the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

Of course, Christie can't dwell too much on what he'll do in the Bassmaster Classic a half a year from now. In less then three weeks he will be competing in his fourth consecutive Forrest Wood Cup, and the venue is Lake Lanier, which is only about 50 miles from Lake Hartwell, where he notched his first FLW Tour win last year.

Green Bay Announced

The "Mystery Lake"is a mystery no more. This afternoon B.A.S.S. revealed that the June 28-July 1 Elite Series tournament will be held out of Green Bay, Wisconsin, providing the pros access to a world-class smallmouth fishery in Lake Michigan. Most Elite Series pros agree that the fishing could be fabulous, although winds create a major question mark about how the event will actually play out. It appears the reporters for BassFan are good detectives. They speculated a week or so ago that the tournament would be held in Wisconsin and even listed Green Bay as one of two likely venues.

B.A.S.S. Mystery Solved Today

This afternoon, at 1:00 Central, the B.A.S.S. officials will announce the site of the Elite Series "Mystery Lake" event June 28-July 1. After the announcement, the waters of the venue will immediately go off limits to Elite Series pros until the week of the tournament, when the official practice period begins. Therefore, unless an angler made a very good guess and gambled on that guess or just happened to spend some time fishing in the right place, there was no pre-practicing for this tournament.

BassFan recently speculated that the tournament would be held at one of two venues in Wisconsin, and they had gathered good evidence to back that prediction. We'll find out this afternoon. I had said erroneously in yesterday's blog that announcement would be yesterday. I was simply confused.

The Mystery Lake concept takes a page out of B.A.S.S. history, as the first six Bassmaster Classics were held at mystery destinations, with all the competitors boarding and airplane and not knowing where they were flying. In late June, the competitors will all be driving their rigs from the Mississippi River in  La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they will have fished the previous weekend.

Test Blog

With apologies to anyone who came here looking for a fish story, I'm really just trying to figure out whether I can blog successfully with my new phone. I downloaded a Blogger Ap that I'm just now figuring out. I'm pretty sure it will be easy to add photos just taken with the phone's camera, which will allow me to add much more current material on a lot of my trips.

Unrelated to my new phone or fishing travels, B.A.S.S. will announce the Elite Series Mystery Lake this afternoon.

Ish Monroe, Big Day on the Big O

California pro Ish Monroe took a big lead after Day 1 of the B.A.S.S. Power-Pole Slam on Florida's Legendary Lake Okeechobee. B.A.S.S. photo by Gary Tramontina

A 34-pound 5-ounce bass limit is impressive anywhere and anytime, but what stands out about the giant bag that Ish Monroe brought to the scales yesterday is that he had no true kicker. His biggest fish weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces. To rack up nearly a 7-pound average, he had to have five fish that were all about the same size. Monroe's big bag easily put him in the lead of the B.A.S.S. Elite Series Power-Pole Slam on Lake Okeechobee after one day. Second place is nearly nine pounds behind him.

Monroe is flipping a new bait by Missile Baits called D-Bomb. Apparently it's a big-profiled bait, which is no big surprise. Monroe is a classic California fisherman who works the extremes. He fishes a lot of stuff that would seem too big to even try to a lot of fishermen and connects with a lot of jumbo bass by doing so. However, he's equally adept going total really little, with tiny hand-poured worms and specialized finesse rigs. It doesn't appear he'll need any of that stuff this week, though!

The very fact that Monroe caught such a big bag without weighing in any double-digit fish shows why no lead is safe on the Big O. Someone else might catch the same sort of limit today or tomorrow. That said, if Monroe's pattern or his spot is really special, he could keep stacking it on. We'll find out soon!

Alton Jones' Wins Being Sold Short

Alton Jones with his wife, Jimmye Sue, just after his fish were weighed and he was named champion of the 2012 B.A.S.S. Elite Series opener. B.A.S.S. photo

Virtually every story I've read about Alton Jones winning this weekend's B.A.S.S. Elite Series opener has included mention of Jones' "first Elite Series win," and most have had it in the opening sentence. Technically, that description is accurate, but to state it without qualifiers sells short Jones' B.A.S.S. accomplishments.

To me that description suggests that he's broken a new barrier, finally winning at the Elite Series level -- as if his previous wins had all be opens. However, if you take a closer look at Jones' resume', all of Jones six B.A.S.S. wins have been at the highest level of B.A.S.S. competition. They just weren't called the same thing.

Other than this weekend's Elite Series win and of course the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, Jones victories have included an Elite 50 (exclusive field of only 50 angler and part of a string of structural changes that led to the establishment of the Elites), a Bassmaster Tour and Bassmaster Top 100 (each the top B.A.S.S. tour level of the time) and a Megabucks, another specialized top-tier type of event that no longer exists.

However someone wants to dub the win, Jones got this year's Elite Series off to a great start by targeting big bedding bass on Lake George with a 6-inch YUM Dinger. Congratulations Alton!

Sights Set on St Johns Win for Alton Jones

Alton Jones leads the Elite Series Opener on the St. Johns River after three days. Photo courtesy of B..A.S.S; by Seigo Saito.

The good news for Alton Jones is that he's leading the St. Johns Showdown by more than 9 pounds going into this morning's final day of competition. The bad news is that a single fish could erase that lead on the St. Johns River, and any one of the 12 anglers who qualified for the final day could catch a monster bag today and win the tournament.

Jones is in his element, though. He's one of the best sight-fishermen on tour, especially when the bedding fish are getting hit hard and have gotten fussy -- and that's exactly what is going on at the St. Johns River right now. He's adept at finding fish, moving away from them and then "sight fishing by feel." He's also understands when NOT to catch a fish. In fact, leaving males so that more females would move into the area has been an important part of his strategy this week.

"I've been fishing professionally for 21 years now," Jones said this morning on Facebook, "but I still have a few butterflies this morning. I'm going to go out and give God my very best effort today and leave the results in his hands."

Congratulations Chris Lane, Bassmaster Classic Champion

2012 Bassmaster Classic Champion Chris Lane. Photo by Seigo Saito, courtesy of B.A.S.S.

Only one angler has earned qualification into the 2013 Bassmaster Classic -- and he's done it twice already. Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama first locked up next year's Classic spot in January when he won the season-opening B.A.S.S. Southern Open on the Harris Chain, but yesterday he secured the position of reigning Bassmaster Classic champion in next year's event. Lane's three-day Red River catch of 51 pounds 6 ounces put him more than 3 pounds ahead of second place finisher Greg Vinson and made him the new champion.

Lane, who bowed beside the trophy and prayed and pointed to God before lifting overhead in the traditional manner, was first greeted first with a big hug from his brother and fellow Classic competitor, Bobby. Soon after, his wife and children joined him onstage and the stepped into his boat for the traditional "Victory Lap."

Timmy Horton Goes Old School

Timmy Horton chose the "Old School" look over his modern tournament jersey for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic. Photo courtesy of Lurenet.com.

Plenty of big bags crossed the weigh-in stage on Day 2 of Bassmaster Classic, but the highlight for me was Timmy Horton's throwback uniform. Horton's wife Melanie found and old-style jumpsuit, and his sponsors jumped right in to help by sending him traditional patches. Horton, who attended many Bassmaster Classics as a boy and has always been a huge fan of the sport, wore the "old school" outfit as a tribute to the anglers who paved the way for him and his contemporaries in the sport of bass fishing.

There's something seriously cool about a lifelong fan of any sport ascending to become one of the sport's biggest stars and never forgetting what it was like to be a boy in the stands of a championship event. Just meeting those childhood heroes when Horton first became a pro must have been such a thrill. Now he is friends with many of them and has earned their respect. What a great way to say thank you on the sport's biggest stage.

Oh, and Horton also brought in a big bag. After struggling on Day 1 and finishing the day in the lower half of the field, he caught 17 pounds, 14 ounces yesterday and jumped to 12th place. He's 7 pounds behind the leader, Chris Lane, but found something that worked really well yesterday and seemed very confident on stage. "It could get interesting," Horton said with a big smile on stage.

Want to keep up with Horton? Follow him on Twitter @TimmyHortonBass

Vicarious Classic Day

Keith Poche leads after one day of fishing at the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. Seigo Saito photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

I won't bother spitting back the Day 1 Bassmaster Classic results. Plenty of fishing media sources are already doing a good job of that, and most are on-site and can be timely with the stories. That said, the Classic turned out to be a fairly big part of my day yesterday.

Because I've fished with many of the competitors and work with many other industry folks who are part of the event, it holds a lot of interest to me. I logged on to the Classic Live Blog early the day, and watched it on and off throughout the day. The Live Blog is an ongoing report from numerous writers who are out on the water, watching the competitors fish, and it paints a great picture of the river conditions, the bite, the crowding, the anglers' attitudes and much more. I also kept an eye on BassTrakk, which is a running "scorecard" based on observers' estimates and enjoyed watching the live weigh-in yesterday evening.

It was fun to see the humility of the Day 1 leader, Keith Poche, and his genuine thrill about simply getting to compete in his first Bassmaster Classic and getting to do so an hour or so from where he grew up.

I'll be busy in the yard and doing stuff around the house today, but I'll definitely have the same windows open on my computer and will be peeking at them through the day.

Last Practice Day

Anyone who pays much attention to professional bass fishing knows that Aaron Martens will be someone to watch this weekend. B.A.S.S. Photo.

Well, they're out there right now -- 49 of the nation's top B.A.S.S. pros, all vying for the title of "2012 Bassmaster Classic Champion." The competition itself does not begin until Friday, but today is the final practice day, and what the pros learn today will be critical for devising strategies. They also practiced three days over the weekend, but the Red River is a highly dynamic system and water conditions have changed even since then. It's a large system but is expected to "fish small" because much of the river is essentially unfishable due to current and water color

The local forecast calls for highs in the low 60s and lows in averaging around 40 for the three competition days. Friday's forecast high is 20 degrees lower than tomorrow's so it would appear that a cold front will usher in the actual competition.

More Questions Than Answers?

Eleven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Alabama reported that the Red River fish are healthy but that bites are hard to come by. For live updates throughout the Classic, follow him on Twitter, @TimmyHortonBass

With the first three days of Classic practice in the books, the general word coming from competitors is that a lot of questions remained unanswered. Cold, muddy water made bites somewhat scarce over the weekend, and when the fish are tight lipped it's tough to learn exactly where they are concentrated.

Of course the fishermen themselves are understandably tight lipped when they are fishing for half a million dollars and the title of Bassmaster Classic champion, so some probably learned a little bit more than they want to talk about with too many people.

That said, the Red River reportedly looks very different than it did the last time most pros fished it, and conditions are changing quickly. Most comments I've seen on facebook and twitter and the Bassmaster Classic Live Blog suggest that pros expect the river to "fish small," meaning that the limited amount of legitimately fishable areas will force a lot of anglers to fish close to one another. That means that finding the right lure and presentation and executing well might be the key to this Classic, more so than finding that magical "spot."

The 49 Classic qualifiers got three days of practice over the weekend and will be off the water for the next two days. The final practice day is Wednesday, two days before the competition begins.

Yo-Yos, Rattles & River Bass

Cliff Prince rarely swims a Rattle Bait when he targets offshore bass during the cool months. Instead, he lets the bait sink all the way to the bottom and then yo-yos it back, continually lifting and dropping it but keeping it close to the bottom. The bass may hit it on the lift or the drop. When they do hit, Prince knows he must be ready, because they'll often hit it quickly but not get hooked if he doesn't react with a prompt hook set.

Prince's No. 1 bait for this technique, which is more like working a worm or a jig than a typical hard bait, is an XCalibur Xrk75 One-Knocker. However, he also likes the Xrk50, which is a slightly smaller ounce version of the same lure, and the rattling models of both sizes.

The bass congregate on or near bottom structure during the cool months and feed on winter-slowed or dying shad. The yo-yo presentation of a One Knocker matches the hatch perfectly and delivers big winter catches for Prince, a B.A.S.S. Elite Series rookie from Palatka, Florida, who gets to gets to begin his career of competing at the highest level on his home waters (St. John's River) in about a month and a half.

Florida Tournaments Don't Disappoint

James Overstreet photo; courtesy of B.A.S.S.

No big surprise at the Harris Chain. Chris Lane notched his third B.A.S.S. win at the first B.A.S.S. Southern Open of the season yesterday. All three wins have come in Florida, where Lane grew up fishing. The only angler to bring 20-plus pounds to the scales all three days, Lane saved his best for last, weighing 28 pounds, 5 ounces on day three. Lane used a Lucky Strike RC2, which is a square-billed crankbait, to find groups of fish and then slowed down and worked those areas with various soft-plastic baits.

Meanwhile, farther south, at Lake Okeechobee, Florida pro Brandon Medlock won the FLW EverStart Series Southeast event on Okeechobee for the second year in a row. The biggest surprise at the Big O, which has been yielding great catches this year, was the lack of big bags (only one over 20 pounds) on the first day of the tournament. However, Medlock blew that away on Day 2, when he wowed the crowd with a massive catch of 35 pounds, 7 ounces, which was anchored by a 10-8. Medlock, who used a big, specialized jig made by his father in this year's and last year's win, will be fishing the FLW Tour event on the same body of water in a few weeks, so that should be fun to watch.

Next up is the PAA team tournament at Toho. I'll be traveling to Florida to attend the final day weigh-in and then to sample the Florida fishing for a few days. I'll also post news about the event as I learn it so check back often.

Let the Games Begin

Excitement abounds about now around a couple of famous Florida waterways. Less than two hours from now, the B.A.S.S. Southern Opens will kick off a new season on the Harris Chain of Lakes while Southeast Division FLW Everstart Series anglers blast off at Lake Okeechobee. Rumor has it that Okeechhobee is red hot and that some big bags should show up at the scales this afternoon.

This weekend's concurrent events begin a month or so of major Florida tournaments and really bring a new season of bass tournament competition into swing.

Next week at Lake Toho, the PAA Tour Team Challenge will bring a brand new look to bass fishing, with two-man teams competing together in a major national-level event. The field will pair some of the biggest names in the sport -- Terry Scroggins & Gerald Swindle; Shaw Grigsby & Paul Elias; Mike McClelland & Jared Lintner -- so it should be fun to watch.

A couple of weeks after the PAA's Toho tournament, FLW will return to the Big O, this time with higher stakes, as the Walmart FLW Tour begins its 2012 campaign on Lake Okeechobee.

Then the focus shifts from Florida to Louisiana's Red River and the 2012 Bassmaster Classic!