After more than 20 Bassmaster Classics, one thing I’ve realized is the final practice day is little more than a series of Rorschach Tests. You can generally learn less from the sparse fish catches than you can from the looks on the anglers’ faces. Today I saw a bunch of expressions that were equal parts consternation and resignation.
Of course, Steve Bowman and I had to get to the water first. The main tournament launch ramp was out of the question as big waves pounded on it mercilessly. Instead, we headed to a secondary option, one that was allegedly more protected. That might’ve been true, but it was only a matter of semantics – the conditions were still ugly.
We therefore chose to resort to what was behind door No. 3 – a ramp between two bridges, protected from the worst alleyways channeling the elements. Even there, the water was moving at an advanced clip. Ten or so trailers dotted the parking lot, and we ended up outlasting nearly half of them.
As we doubled back toward the ramp at a quarter until 10, having seen only Cody Huff actually fishing, we watched JT Thompkins pull away, done for the day. Trey McKinney was next to pull his boat out, and unlike his now-viral unfortunate episode, despite the gusts he was still able to handle the process safely and competently on his own.
“I never give up on practice,” he said, “But staying out there on a day like today is only going to make you wonder and doubt yourself. I’m going home to work on my tackle.”
It seemed that there were at least two main types of anglers on the water today: Those who got out, speared a wave quickly and went to the house; and those who got out, made it to their first spot, got comfortable and then speared several. These are some of the best boat drivers in the world, but sometimes there’s no option but to get a few watery slaps to the face if you want to maximize your practice time.
That’s what happened to first-time Classic qualifier Kyle Austin. The Santee Cooper Lakes expert is certainly not a stranger to running timber-filled waters with tall waves, but he nevertheless still fell victim to Ray Roberts.
“We took a couple over the bow,” he said, while standing in the service yard dealing with a non-rough-water-induced boat malady. “I checked what I wanted to check and now I’m back.”
Oddly enough, the service yard was effectively devoid of competitors during the half hour or so we spent there in the late morning. Austin came and went, and the technicians waited for the next five-alarm fire. There will likely be more than a few of them this week, as anglers push things a little harder on the competition days.
“They’re gonna tear some stuff up,” said Rob Riden of White River Marine. “I’m shocked they didn’t already tear up more stuff than they did. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but in my head I’m preparing for any possible thing that could. When the tournament starts, we’ll have some very late nights and very early mornings.”
I’ve been around the sport long enough to understand that some of the frowns, smirks and grimaces are real, but others are pure theater. The anglers play a role, and some play it better than others. Peel off the mask, and I guarantee you that right now there are at least a couple of them who can’t help but rock a big smile. They know what they’re on, and also suspect that much if not most of their competition has already been taken out of it.
Despite my bold prediction earlier this week that a Texan would not win this derby, at least among those anglers willing to talk about it, the general consensus seems to be that few Classics have ever favored the locals so much. With a limited fish population, and certain sections of the lake arguably out of play, having a proven milk run – full of “spots within the spot” – is a decided advantage. Still, it only takes one ill-advised move, one second of divided attention, to upset a winning game plan completely. Hit a tree, spear the wrong wave, or screw the pooch on an essential fish and it’s game over, a real reason to frown.
All Classics involve a heavy dose of strategy to even challenge for the win, and while it’s not a popular opinion, a little luck tends to help as well. This Classic, however, might come down to strategy more than most. There’s a good chance that the winner will not have a limit every day. If that happens, he might beat someone who does have a limit every day. While the winning weight could be record-setting, so too could the drop-off between the Super Six and the rest of the field.
I can’t say that I learned less today than I have on past practice days. I certainly didn’t see much of the lake, and only witnessed one fish caught, so from a pure fishing standpoint, I probably know as much as those of you reading this at home. Still, I’ve seen this drill before. Face the fact – someone always ends up smiling.
