The Bassmaster Elite Series Diet Mountain Dew Mississippi River Rumble presented by Power-Pole came into a bit better focus on Wednesday when the pros gathered here for the pre-tournament anglers’ meeting.
The Elite Series has returned to the upper Mississippi River for the second consecutive year and during the same week as in 2012, to boot.
That means that the guys fishing this event have some history here, and they have a pretty good idea of who’s going to do what in the 2013 reboot of the Mississippi River Rumble.
Here’s a sampling of who came to mind when asked who would be a force in this year’s tournament.
BOYD DUCKETT
1. Todd Faircloth – “He won here last time, and he knows where they live.”
2. Tommy Biffle – “There’s going to be some flipping, and he does it as well as anyone.”
3. Kevin VanDam – “The bite is decent on the river, and I feel like someone like him will catch them.”
DENNIS TIETJE
1. Matt Herren – “I just got a hunch.”
2. Cliff Crochet – “This place is right up his alley if he wants to throw the frog.”
3. Dennis Tietje – “I feel like I’m at home here. There’s a little more current, but it’s like home.”
KEVIN SHORT
1. Dean Rojas – “There’s vegetation everywhere here. He’ll cover a lot of water and throw Kermit.”
2. Cliff Pace – “He did something a little different last time, and I’ll bet he’ll do it again.”
3. Kevin Short – “I’m never gonna’ bet against myself.”
BILL LOWEN
1. Dean Rojas – “The frog deal.”
2. Aaron Martens – “What he had going last year was good, and it should work again.”
3. Scott Rook – “He grew up on a river. This should work well for him.”
JASON QUINN
1. Jason Quinn – “I did pretty decent here last year [14th place.]”
2. Todd Faircloth – “He like his river fishing.”
3. Greg Hackney – “He’s just a really good river fisherman.”
ZELL ROWLAND
1. Zell Rowland – “I’m gonna catch them.”
2. Jason Christie – “He’s been on a pretty good roll recently, and he’s doing what I’m doing.”
3. Kevin VanDam – “Because he’s desperate,” Rowland said with a chuckle. “He really wants to win that Angler of the Year title.”
ALTON JONES
1. Alton Jones – “I always believe I’ll do well.”
2. Ott Defoe – “Because he's due for something good.”
3. Todd Faircloth – “Not only did he win here last year, but he’s the best vegetation fisherman on the tour.”
MORIZO SHIMIZU
1. Todd Faircloth – “Last time here, he win.”
2. Dean Rojas – “It’s shallow fishing. He likes shallow.”
3. Aaron Martens – “It’s a tough tournament. He likes tough tournaments.”
JAMIE HORTON
1. Andy Montgomery – “He said he feels good.”
2. Steve Kennedy – “He said he had a good bite.”
3. Cliff Crochet – “I just get a feeling with that frog he can do something.”
SKEET REESE
1. Bill Lowen – “He’s a river guy.”
2. John Murray – “He’s spent a lot of time here.”
3. Todd Faircloth – “He won here last year.”
BOBBY LANE
1. Bill Lowen – “He’s a river guy.”
2. Mark Davis – “He’s a good one at fishing slow and seems to figure it out.”
3. Greg Hackney – “I just think so.”
MATT REED
1. Boyd Duckett – “Because he said so.”
2. Dean Rojas – “The frog is a good choice here.”
3. Cliff Pace – “He’ll do something a little bit different.”
KEVIN VANDAM
1. Dean Rojas – “It's frog country.”
2. Todd Faircloth – “Repeat from last year.”
3. Aaron Martens – “Redemption from last year.”
CHRIS LANE
1. Morizo Shimizu – “He loves to flip grass.”
2. Aaron Martens – “He finished second here last year.”
3. Jason Christie – “Why not?”