“The paper doesn’t tell the whole story.” That’s what we were told on a tournament day at Chickamauga when 30 of 94 pros weighed 15 or more pounds and it took 18-07 to make the Top 10. On paper at least, it looks like we’re due for another slugfest on the heels of two Century Club belts at Santee Cooper Lakes.
Sandbagging and storytelling aside, in one key respect this tournament is the opposite of Santee Cooper. There, practice started off frigid and the weather gradually got nicer (by Chamber of Commerce standards, at least), and the bass continued their progression to the bank. This week, the weather is far less stable, and we’re going to see some ugly stuff before it’s all over. That will benefit some anglers and hurt others, but in either instance it’s going to require adjustments stacked on top of adjustments.
You Need A-O-K to Spell “Aoki” – Before the year started, I had the opportunity to interview the four Japan-born Elite Series pros and several people adjacent to them. There seemed to be an unspoken consensus among them that Daisuke Aoki was technically the best angler. Obviously he hadn’t shown it much through three Elite events – 94th at the St. Johns, 77th at the Harris Chain, 81st at Santee Cooper. Today he may have exercised his full skill set, fishing in a crowded backwater and bringing in 23-12 of Chickamauga bass. That puts him just a pound behind leader Carl Jocumsen and in position to reclaim his season and restart his bid for a Classic berth.
Long Road to the Top – On a Day when Chickamauga may not have been at its best, past Elite Series winner Carl Jocumsen was, and that’s why he’s leading – but his results also show how far the lake has come. When the late Charlie Reed won the Classic here in the summer of 1986, he weighed in three limits of seven bass apiece that totaled 23 pounds 9 ounces, 1 pound 3 ounces less than Jocumsen had today for his best five. Of course, the glider hadn’t really been invented or popularized in 1986, but somehow I don’t think that explains the delta.
Is Ike Back “In the Community” – Like Daisuke Aoki (above), Mike Iaconelli has struggled in his early return to Elite Series competition – 95th at the St. Johns, then in the money (35th) at the Harris Chain, and back down to 84th at Santee Cooper. Making the money once in three tries is not the usual M.O. for the former Classic champ and Angler of the Year. At the end of Day 1 he’s just outside the cut weight, a mere 3 ounces back.
Schlapping the Bass – As a rookie last year, Pat Schlapper didn’t bomb, but he didn’t distinguish himself, either. He had four money finishes – all between 22nd and 39th place – and five non-money, non-disaster events in which he came in between 61st and 76th. This year started off worse with an 80th-place result, but since then he’s been moving on up like George and Weezy. He finished 33rd at the Harris Chain and then 10th at Santee Cooper. With 18-07 today he’s in position to strive for another Saturday and possibly Sunday cut. He’s even improved upon his big fish mojo. After landing a 9-10 on Day 2 at Santee Cooper (the overall biggest bass of the tournament), he topped it today with a 10-05 beast.
Halftime Report – The morning bite was slow for many pros. At noon, per BassTrakk the cut weight was 6-05, shared by two anglers, one with two bass in the livewell and the other with three.
Cut Weight Math – If we buy into the generally-applicable 2X+1 formula about how to make the cut to Saturday, today’s 13 pound cut weight would put us at a minimum of 27 pounds for a Day 3 appearance. For what it’s worth, at Santee Cooper the 47th-place angler had 15-13 on Day 1, and it took 33-01 to get to fish Saturday. 2X+1 would’ve been 31-10, so they beat the yardstick by over a pound.
Wisconsinites One Short – At Santee Cooper, Wisconsin pro Caleb Kuphall surpassed the century mark despite only weighing in 19 bass over four days, and fell 2-04 short of the win. One more keeper would’ve made it more than interesting. Today, Schlapper (see above) had a 10-plus on the way to 18-07 but weighed only four. That could easily cost him several spots and possibly a cut going forward. Right now he’s tied for 10th with Drew Benton.
The Bell Curve – Seven bags over 20 pounds, 25 bags under 10 pounds.
Random Buddy Gross Fact – He hates yellow flowers.
Buddy Gross on the Weather – “I think the cold weather’s gonna make it tougher.”
Brad Whatley on the Water Level – “If there’s anything in the water, it’s got a fish on it.” He offered the caveat that many of those fish might not be the minimum size.
Year of the Meanmouth – As Ronnie Moore explained this morning, both smallmouth and meanmouth bass must be at least 18 inches to weigh in this week. Combined with the exploits of OH Ivie over the past year-plus, I think that marks more mentions of meanmouth than in the previous two decades combined.
Free Advertising – No single endemic sponsor got even a fraction of the onstage mentions that the band Whiskey Myers garnered. There, I gave them one more.
