We have LIVE cameras with the top contenders this morning, and we’re getting some interesting insight.
Canadian rookie Cooper Gallant caught them good yesterday, sitting in 4th to start the day with 22-14. He talked this morning about how he’s easing around looking for bald or bare spots on the bottom, amongst the otherwise blanketed lake bed. Then he focuses in on his forward facing sonar to locate fish and pitch to them. He mentioned how there are bass hanging around in and near the short grass on the bottom as well, but that they are harder to single out on his electronics, as they blend in with the cover.
Day 1 leader Shane LeHew had 24-3 yesterday, but is off to a relatively slow start this morning with only one quality fish pushing 4 pounds and a couple small keepers.
“It picked up yesterday at 10,” said LeHew. “Couple of my other buddies I’m staying with said the same thing. So I’m not concerned, yet. Probably won’t get concerned. It’s just fishing.”
This likely wasn’t as flippant of a comment as it may have seemed by LeHew, more likely a subtle reassurance to keep his nerves calm as he pitches his Max Scent Flat Nose Minnow rigged on a dropshot around at fish that seem disinterested.
Moving over to 3rd place contender Bryan Schmitt, we find that he’s having a hard time getting them to bite too.
“I’ve had a couple go down and look at it and not bite,” said Schmitt. “But we’re just going to mill around out here. At some point we’re gonna stumble into a zone where they’re firing.”
This optimism was short lived for Schmitt, as he encountered more fish moments later that also wouldn’t bite.
“I’ve seen a few right here and they’re not aggressively trying to go after it either. I don’t understand. That was three in a row right there that I know were bass that did not bite.”
LeHew mentioned having pitched at 10 to 15 bass the first hour this morning, and only having caught a few of them. The fish seem to be responding poorly to the amount of boat pressure and electronics to start Day 2.
