With apologies to Caleb Sumrall, who is going to get plenty of coverage today anyway – and who seems like a pretty mild-mannered guy when he’s not wrestling Lee Livesay over checkers grudges – I want to talk about the extremes that sometimes define the sport of bass fishing.
You can excel KVD fast or Greg Hackney slow. You can be JWill tall or vertically-challenged. You can rely most heavily upon Amart’s 5-pound test fluorocarbon or 65-pound braid.
But until recently, I’ve always assumed that anglers are at their best in middle age, the point when the X axis of experience intersects the Y axis of physical abilities. The former is on the way up, the latter, presumably, is on the way down. That may be the case for many if not most of them, but it’s far from universal.
While some of the naysayers may believe that BASS is cramming too much of Rick Clunn’s longevity down their throats, I believe the opposite is true. The extremes that this sport allows should be celebrated even more. The ability to get out there at his age, and still want it so badly, while also serving as a competitor, mentor, sage and living embodiment of the sport’s past and future is unprecedented in any sport. What first-in-class major league athlete has had a greater impact over such a long haul? Maybe Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? The late Jim Brown? I can’t think of one.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Trey McKinney (6th, 20-14) continues to get it done. It feels at times like he’s trying to surpass Clunn’s accomplishments all at once, some sort of Benjamin Button exercise where he starts with all of the wisdom in the world and then works backwards. The only thing that has held him back, so far, are the no wake zones that slowed his long run today. Even then, he showed the patience of an old bull, rather than the impulsiveness of a young one.
Before I get into more general notes about Day One, I want to make a few comparisons between the oldest pro in the field and the youngest. This is not a critique, or an opportunity to mock, but rather a celebration of one thing that distinguishes our sport from all the rest.
Clunn vs. McKinney I – Clunn fished his first tournament on the St. Johns 30 years before McKinney was born.
Clunn vs. McKinney II – Clunn has fished more Bassmaster tournaments on the St. Johns River than McKinney has fished with B.A.S.S. in total.
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Now let’s get on to the meat of the column. The weights were higher than I expected today, but there’s still a lot of fishing to be done. Here’s what I think I thought, saw and speculated:
Talkin’ Bout My Generation – I’ve spilled plenty of justifiable ink on the young guns this year, so it warms this old guy’s heart to see the following anglers doing well so far: Mark Menendez (7th place, will be 60 years old later this year); Greg Hackney (10th, 50 years old); Bill Lowen (11th, will be 50 in December); Steve Kennedy (12th, turns 55 tomorrow); Koby Kreiger (17th, 55); Ray Hanselman (20th, 51).
Caleb Sumrall — “I’m not trying to get too excited because the job’s not finished,” said the tournament leader. Based on the cut weight math, he could probably sleep in tomorrow and still compete on Saturday, but no doubt he will not do that. He has three Top Ten finishes in Elite competition – 4th at Guntersville in 2019, 7th at the Sabine in 2022 and 9th at Champlain in 2021. Last year his best finish was a 16th at the Sabine. His best finish in four prior attempts at the St. Johns was a 15th in 2022.
Short Turnaround — While it’s impossible to say just how much Championship Monday and the quick hop up to Palatka hurt the top ten from the Harris Chain, it certainly doesn’t seem to have helped them. “I only got one day of practice because I was so sore,” said Tyler Williams who was 4th at the last event and sits in 84th today. Trey McKinney was the only one to get into the top ten again, and Jordan Lee (40th, 14-2) and Ed Loughran (42nd, 13-15) are the only others inside the cut. John Garrett fell from 1st to 78th, but that wasn’t the biggest plummet, as JT Thompkins dropped from 2nd to 103rd and KJ Queen dropped from 3rd to 97th.
Big Bait, Big Bass, Big Dreams – This marks the second straight tournament where we’ve seen an oversized glide bait play a role, not necessarily as a primary tool, but as a means of getting an extra big bite or two. When was the last time that happened? One of the California swings? I don’t recall them getting much play at the Delta. I’m kind of liking that aspect of tournaments down south after the primary thrust of the spawn.
Rookies – As noted above, McKinney continues to excel and ends the day in 6th place. His fellow rookies fell off their previous pace, though. Wesley Gore (16th, 17-15) and Ben Milliken (44th, 13-11) are the only others inside the cut. Six of them are in 76th or below.
Florida Home Cooking – After Day One, Koby Krieger is the top-ranked Floridian, in 17th with 17-14.
Gratuitous Bed Fishing Bait Mention — Kreiger’s Gambler Why Not.
Betting on the Bounceback – Onstage JT Thompkins (103rd) looked demoralized by his lightweight catch of 4-6. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had one of these days,” he told Chris Bowes. Indeed, for many of these young phenoms who’ve thus far experienced little other than success, the test is not going to be whether they can catch ‘em – they’ve proven that they can. The test will come when they have a bad day or bad event and need to get back on track. It might come in salvaging some points, moving from 103rd to 75th, or, more optimistically, to 50th or better.
Past St. Johns Winners – This week’s field includes four past St. Johns River Elite Series tournament champions – Rick Clunn (twice), John Crews, Paul Mueller and John Crews. Mueller is the only one inside the cut, in 38th. Clunn is in 63rd, Crews is in 89th and New is in 92nd.
Cut Weight Math — Today’s 50th place angler, John Cox, weighed in 13-7. Using the traditional 2X+1 formula, that would peg the weight needed to get to Day Three right at 27-14.
Limits Aplenty — Four of the 103 competitors failed to weigh in a limit. Gerald Swindle in 35th was the highest-ranking angler to turn in fewer than five fish. He had four for 14-4. Another fish of that average size would’ve pushed him up near the top ten. The smallest limit weighed in was Justin Hamner’s 5-9. There were five limits under 8 pounds.
Mark Zona on the AOY Chase – “We’ve got some Jordan Lee tournaments coming.” Specifically, the Elites will next turn their attention to Lake Murray, Wheeler and Smith Lake. Lee was in third place in the AOY race heading into the tournament. He’s currently in 40th in this event. The two anglers directly ahead of him, Trey McKinney and Tyler Williams, are in 6th and 84th, respectively. The two directly behind him, Justin Hamner and JT Thompkins, are in 102nd and 103rd. Thus, he gained ground (at least temporarily) against all but the lead dog.
Breakfast of Champions – Kyle Patrick’s (70th, 10-12) Sour Patch Kids. Just don’t mix them with Kenta Kimura’s (62nd, 12-13) Red Bull or you might end of with an urban legend Pop Rocks disaster.
John Cox (50th, 13-7) – “We’ll probably throw the General around some.”
David Mullins (98th, 7-11) – “I actually culled to get to 7-11.”
Jamie Hartman (30th, 15-12) – “It is a straight-up grind.”
Jason Christie (67th, 12-1) — “I love the back-to-back events. It gives me more time to deer hunt.”
Clunn’s Legacy – “I grew up reading about him in Bassmaster Magazine,” said Hall of Famer Davy Hite.
