Garrett Paquette starts the day seven pounds behind Brandon Cobb, and just about anywhere else it would be a tall order to catch up. But this is Lake Fork, where anything can happen in a matter of minutes, and it already has. Here is what Garrett told me this morning about his outlook for Championship Monday.
“I have a seven-pound deficit but if I can catch 30 pounds I think I’ll have a chance. So far this week when you catch an 11-pounder and two 8-pounders that’ll be hard to do again today. If he (Cobb) does then I’ll shake his hand. Out here you can do it in 20 minutes so there is no reason to get down, just keep trying and don’t give up and be persistent on certain spots. When they fire up you make the most of it.”
Then he dialed into his pattern.
“Timing is key. Mornings are almost impossible to get a bite. Then they pull out mid-morning. If you can let your best areas rest until the latter part of the day, that’s when you can make the most of it. Let them load up until about 2-2:30 and then try to catch them as fast as you can.”
Paquette is fishing near spawning pockets, where the fish are coming going based on where they are in the cycle. On Sunday he caught more postspawn fish than he did all week.