The wind did not blow on Lake Oahe today, which, to put it mildly, is atypical. Not quite “Human Sacrifice! Cats and dogs living together! Mass hysteria,” but close enough to pinch ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming.
“It’s a brand new tournament,” Dave Mercer said. “It was almost like a rebirthing.”
One might think that the lack of wind would allow the competitors to move around more and employ a wider range of techniques. One would be wrong. For example, rookie Alex Redwine had a great topwater day in the swells yesterday and could not buy a bite on the surface today. “Honestly, I think I needed 3-footers,” he opined.
Indeed, the limited constants this week have been unpredictability and change, not just in weather but also on the leaderboard.
Chris Johnston and Patrick Walters are the only anglers who have inhabited the Top 10 after all three weigh-ins, but after rising into the lead yesterday, Johnston fell back two places today. Meanwhile, Walters saw his catch decrease by almost 4 pounds from Day 1 to Day 2, and then by nearly another 4 today. He fell out of the three-spot that he’d inhabited for two days, but only by one place. Austin Felix may have been a forgotten man after Day 1, when his 14-2 had him in 34th place, but heading into Day 4 he has a lead of nearly 3 pounds over his nearest challenger.
It’s still wide open, and subject to change. Here’s what got my mind rocking today:
The Learning Curve – There were days when a tour angler could have a specialty – say, flipping a black and blue jig or burning the bank with a spinnerbait – and hope to be reasonably competitive. It just meant they had to kick butt when an event was in their wheelhouse and survive when forced to compete outside of their comfort zone. Those days are clearly over. Several of today’s notable anglers were on camera and in contention because they’d chosen to become lifelong learners. Taku Ito (6th place, 49-7), for example, hadn’t caught a smallmouth just a few years ago and now he’s one of the best brown bass fishermen in the world. Patrick Walters (4th place, 50-1) likewise attacked his smallmouth weaknesses during his short Elite Series tenure to round out his game. Tyler Rivet (8th, 48-0) made the long haul to South Dakota last year not to replace his Louisiana roots, but to supplement them. And of course forward-facing sonar has required even the most tech-averse competitors to learn to use it ASAP or get left behind.
Twenties – On Thursday three anglers topped the 20-pound mark. Yesterday, there were three more, including a remarkable 23 pounds from the Austin Felix. Today there were none. No one has weighed in over 20 more than once, and indeed four of the six anglers who topped that mark will not be fishing tomorrow.
Blondes Have More Fun – Roommates Seth Feider and Matt Robertson weighed in 19-5 and 19-0, respectively, on Day 3. With those weights, Robertson held onto his spot in the Top 10 (moving up to 2nd) and Feider vaulted into the cut (7th). Recent Elite champion Jay Przekurat topped them both with 19-10 but finished 13th and missed the cut.
I Don’t Think He Meant That The Way It Sounded – “I can’t wait to watch LIVE tomorrow,” Drew Cook said. Obviously he’d rather be fishing tomorrow, but he’ll still learn what he missed and bring that back to South Dakota next time. After catching 20-6 on Day 1, he followed it up with 11-7 yesterday and 6-14 today to finish 28th.
The Big O – Oahe is not the only lake on the tournament trail that starts with “O.” Over the years the pros have visited fisheries including Okeechobee, the Ohio River, Lake Ontario, Oroville, Oneida and Onondoga. There’s also Okoboji and Oconee, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but the letter “O” occupies both vowel spots in “Johnston,” with Cory having a total of three to his brother’s two. Today’s Live graphic showed that Chris is from Otamabee, Ontario, so that’s two more.
Old Wine In New Bottles – For all of the modernity associated with forward facing sonar, it was great to see multiple competitors – including youngsters like Tyler Rivet and Marc Frazier – go old school with the Carolina rig. Rivet even caught one dragging a soft plastic while sitting on the deck of his boat. Austin Felix used it, too, and stated that Lee Livesay had tipped him off to the ball and chain’s effectiveness. Davy Hite pointed out that one huge advantage of the cannonball rig is its high hook-to-land ratio.
Jack Chancellor Would Be Proud – Jack Chancellor famously earned a Classic win by Carolina rigging a “Do Nothing” worm. Chris Zaldain reported that he got two bites this week by literally doing nothing, hanging his drop shot over the side of the boat while taking care of another task. While it may have worked out for Chancellor, it proved rather Zaldaingerous for Chris – he lost two rod and reel combos to overaggressive smallmouth.
Fashion Note – If you combined Jeff Gustafson’s Kenora Dinner Jacket with Austin Felix’s pajama pants (which were conspicuously replaced by shorts during the coverage I saw) you’d have a remarkably facsimile of the interior of a vintage Volkswagen beetle.
Words To Live By – Darold Gleason: “If you’re going to suck, suck on Day Three.” He had a limit that weighed 9-6 today and finished 34th.
On ’Em Even When Moving – “He David Frittsed it,” said Matt Robertson, referring to a smallmouth that ate his Carolina rigged bait while he was reeling it in.
This Week’s Winning Weight – In 2018, Mark Daniels Jr. caught 20 bass for 69-9 over four days to win here. His smallest bag was 13-3 (Day 4) and his largest bag was 20-4 (Day 2). Felix has 55-6 right now. His smallest bag was 14-2 on Day 1. Add another bag that size and he’d finish an ounce shy of the 2016 winning total. A win is a win, but 70 just sounds cleaner.
