Onstage at Day 2 of the 2023 Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray, time and again anglers reported having a minimal catch, or even nothing at all, late into the morning before suddenly getting healthy.
“It was a near disaster today,” Bernie Schultz said after putting 16 pounds of Lake Murray bass on the scale, echoing the comments of so many who came to the stage before him. Schultz had seven spaces of cushion to make the cut with nine anglers left to weigh in. Depending on how you look at it, he turned out to be either really safe (finished in 44th), or just a herring or two away from living that disaster (beat the 51st place angler by 7 ounces).
Indeed, one man’s perceived nightmare is another man’s opportunity.
Tomorrow is a new day for 50 pros, and playing catch up for valuable points and dollars is not out of the question for anyone who remains in the field. Despite the monster weights, we’ve yet to see a 7-pounder come to the scales yet. There’s a 30-pound opportunity for greatness swimming out there.
Like a blueback herring, however, opportunities are fleeting.
Here’s what I saw, heard and thought today.
Consistency Matters – 2+2=4, but so does 1+3, or 0+4. It doesn’t matter how you get there, the weights in Elite Series events are cumulative. Nevertheless, looking at the Top 10, we see some remarkably consistent performances. Drew Benton (1st), Hunter Shryock (2nd), Kyoya Fujita (3rd), Brandon Cobb (7th) and Brock Mosley (8th) all caught within a pound of their Day One weight on Day Two. Of that group, Fujita was the most consistent, notching 22 pounds, 6 ounces both days. Of the top ten, half saw their daily weights improve the second day.
Chaos Theory, Part I – On LIVE, Davy Hite and Dave Mercer opined – in the politest way possible – that the reason Matt Robertson (9th) wasn’t panicking when the wheels might’ve seemed to be falling off was because it’s a position he’s been in before. In fact, some of his greatest career successes may have come on the heels of apparent disasters. Mercer referred to him, or perhaps the situation, as “a beautiful mess.” Indeed, it highlights one thing I’ve always believed about the most successful anglers: They blaze their own path. Steve Kennedy would not do well if he approached the game like Brandon Palaniuk, nor vice versa. Rick Clunn’s mental strategies have served him well, but they might throw anyone else into a tailspin. To thine own-self be true.
MacGyver Speaks — Robertson, who said he did some “Ricky Bobby stuff” on his boat today, is hoping to get a loaner to fish out of tomorrow. He reported that he spent a substantial portion of his day building creative wiring solutions. “I don’t even know how I got back in today,” he reported. As noted above, though, that’s par for the course and his standard operating procedure. He admitted that “If everything works tomorrow, I’ll catch about 3 pounds.”
Chaos Theory, Part II – One of the best fish landings we’ve seen in a while came when Hunter Shryock’s near-4-pounder grabbed his bait, ran around a dock pilling with it, and came back toward him. He was in a tight spot and didn’t panic, and eventually got the fish, even thanking the dock owner for use of his “pet”. It wasn’t quite as dramatic or confounding as Lee Livesay’s high wire act at the St. Johns in 2019, but that fish kept him in position to win. He’s 11 ounces out of the lead.
Speaking of Shryock – Who doesn’t love a Choppo bite? I’d love to see someone not associated with either company break down when to use a Choppo and when to use a Whopper Plopper.
Cut Weight – Based on Day One weights and the historical and occasionally reliable formula, we expected the cut weight to Saturday to be 35-10. It turned out to be 34-03. Anyone who achieved the predicted mark would’ve found himself in 34th.
Twenties — Six anglers hit or surpassed 20 pounds both days, and three of those six topped 22 each day. After yesterday’s 16 bags of 20 or more, today the full field weighed in 15 more. Darold Gleason (56th) was the only angler to weigh in a 20-plus bag this week and miss the cut.
Brandon Card – Despite suffering from viral meningitis and Bell’s Palsy over the offseason, Brandon Card continues on one of the best stretches of his career. It looked to be at least temporarily over yesterday when he weighed in 11-15, just enough to sit in 95th place. Then today he brought 22-10 to the scales and jumped up to 45th. He also had the big bass of the day. This marks his seventh straight Elite cut. The last one he missed was at Lake Fork, just under a year ago. If he’s competing for AOY at the end of the year, today may be the reason why.
Do You Remember Your First Time – If Hunter Shryock (2nd), Kyoya Fujita (3rd) Jake Whitaker (6th) or Brock Mosley (8th) wins this week, it’ll mean that the first three Elite events of the season have been won by anglers who’ve never won B.A.S.S. events before. That’s never happened in the history of the Elite Series, which spans back to 2006.
Brandon Cobb, neat freak — “I made figure eights around the lake today trying to find a clean spot.”
Matty Wong, channeling Hawaiian ahi — “Sure enough, there were those green tunas just going mental.”
Steve Kennedy, ever the contrarian — “I haven’t caught a herring fish yet. Maybe tomorrow.”
Mike Iaconelli, the world’s most interesting man – Unlike on Thursday, Ike did not register any “Low T” complaints today. A 20-pound bag and a third straight cut would make anyone feel especially virile.
