Patrick Walters enjoyed the first day of practice this week when he found a strong topwater bite. He hasn’t seen anything like that since. Alex Redwine caught 4 of his 5-bass-limit on a topwater lure yesterday, despite the wind. With calm winds and intermittently sunny skies forecast today, a topwater bite might become a factor today.
“It might,” said Walters, who started the day in 3rd place, 10 ounces behind leader Chris Johnston. “I will have it on the deck, so we’ll see.”
Redwine’s topwater bite in the strongest winds of the week makes for a good story. Redwine, a rookie from Blue Ash, Ohio, is the youngest angler on the Elite Series. His 23rd birthday is next Saturday. He starts Day 3 in 37th place with a two-day total of 24-2.
“I was fishing a hump, but the top of the hump where it comes up real shallow, maybe two feet on top,” Redwine said. “There’s a bunch of scattered rock on top, and it’s real close to deep water, 30 or 40 feet. At certain times, when the sun pops out, those smallmouth will move to the top of that hump or just off the edge of it.
“Those three- and four-footers made it tough to throw a topwater. I was using a Berkley Cane Walker, bone color, and if I threw it parallel to the waves, they’d hit it.”
When they get there, you can catch them as fast as you can cast, is the way Hackney put it.
