Photo by Gary Tramontina / Bassmaster.com
Kevin Short of Mayflower, Ark., leads day one of the Bassmaster Elite Series event on Pickwick Lake with five bass weighing 20 pounds 3 ounces. He caught fish early shallow and then moved out deeper and upgraded his catch. He said he has a lot of 2 and 3 pound fish in his area but he's figure out how to get the bigger bass to bite. His area isn't receiving much pressure and he feels like he's dialed into what the bigger bass want that his competitors around him have not.
"I've been so discombobulated lately and I knew I just needed to get my brain in the right place to start catching fish," said Short, who scored his first Elite Series victory last year on the Mississippi River. "I needed to get back on track and I needed to stick to what I know best. So far, it's working. I just feel comfortable fishing like this. I'm just happy to get away from that darn swimbait."
Following close behind is Cliff Pace with 19 pounds, 9 ounces of quality smallmouths. While Short is working a largemouth pattern, Pace culled through several smallmouths to get his weight. He's found a few small areas that he feels the smallmouths are roaming on and feeding and he's capitalizing on that.
"Smallmouth generally like to roam and cruise around within their areas," said Pace, who qualified for the Bassmaster Elite Series Postseason in 2009. "So I was playing to their habits in those pockets. I wasn't sure I would stick to this pattern all day when I first got on the water, but I got a couple of good ones early and that really helped."
The warrior this year, Skeet Reese landed in third with 18 pounds, 15 ounces. Reese had a terrible practice for his first trip to Pickwick Lake but finds himself in the driver's seat for a runaway AOY title.
"I had zero confidence this week," said Reese, the 2007 Angler of the Year and 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion. "That weight is certainly not where I expected to be. Coming in this week, I would have been happy with a top 20."
Greg Hackney and Edwin Evers tied for fourth with five bass each weighing 18-9. For full results and more coverage of the event, visit
bassmaster.com.
