As he fought an estimated 6-pound bass to the boat shortly after 1 p.m., Lester dropped a four-letter word on us: “Gosh,” he said. “That’s the tournament right there.”
That’s about what you’d expect from someone I’d place in the pantheon of the Charlie Hartley/Aaron Martens All-Stars (in other words, an angler everyone likes). He’s workmanlike, he’s genuine, he’s humble. And now he’s an Elite Series winner. You can’t be mad at that, bro. He’s paid his dues and done things the right way.
“Today it’s my turn,” he later said to Dave Mercer on stage.
Indeed, he’s one of those guys who you knew would eventually win based on always nibbling around the Top 10. It was just a matter of another four-letter word: When. He did it with four 20-pound plus bags and after briefly giving up the lead on the afternoon of Day 1, never relinquished it again. In a tournament where the afternoon bite was key, he managed not only to catch big bags every day, but to start building them early.
Here are a few things I noticed today:
Simple but Refined – Much has been made, and rightfully so, about the simple approach John Cox brought to this tournament, and to competition in general. He had two rods on the deck today, with one bait, Berkley’s The General. Just because it’s simple, though, doesn’t mean he doesn’t take his equipment seriously. Today he sang the praises of Abu Garcia’s Zenon spinning reel, a tool that retails for over $500. I’ve been fishing the Zenon for a few months as part of a testing project for a magazine, and it’s a thing of beauty. Not only are they ultra-lightweight (the 20 size weighs 4.9 ounces and the 30 size weighs 5.4 ounces), but everything about them operates like a Swiss watch. For years, I was inclined to buy only low- to mid-range spinning reels, preferring baitcasting gear, but as fisheries get more pressured, that’s no longer an option. My only problem is that I loaned one to my wife (without telling her the price) last weekend and now she won’t give it back.
Twenties – Today the remaining 10 anglers added three bags greater than 20 pounds to the six, three and six from the first three days. As noted above, Lester had four of those 18 big bags. He, Matt Robertson, Cody Huff and Chris Zaldain had 10 of the 18 total.
Against the Grain – John Cox went into the skinny water while everyone else in the Top 10 stayed offshore in some capacity. On Bassmaster LIVE, they discussed any historical antecedents to such behavior, and the two names brought up were Denny Brauer and George Cochran. Both won summertime Classics on southern reservoirs by fishing shallow. In fact, Steve Bowman often reminds me that one of his favorite lines of his career in journalism came when Cochran won the 1996 Classic: “George Cochran was again at his best when the fishing at the Bass Masters Classic was at its worst.” All three of those anglers went shallow when others went deep. Is there someone who represents the mirror image of that situation, someone who invariably looked deep when the main bite was shallow? The only one I can think of from firsthand experience is David Fritts in his prime. I once spent a practice day on the Potomac with Fritts in June when the winning bite was likely to be found in water shallower than 5 feet (or possibly even shallower than 3), and he spent most of his time idling hundreds of yards offshore, looking for one log or rock or piling to crank.
Day 2 Magic – John Cox gained ground on Brandon Palaniuk in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race this week, even if it was just a couple of points. If he ends up winning the title, he may look back on Day 2 in this event as a critical turning point. After catching 15-10 on Day 1 and landing in 33rd place, he weighed in 22-03 on Friday to jump up into fifth, a position he retained the next two days despite never weighing in another 20-pound bag.
The Glue that Holds it Together – We often assume that pros have endless supplies of every bit of gear that they want, but they are of course limited by what they can carry and what they can acquire. Today we saw Chris Zaldain using Mend-It to glue back together one of his prototype Bass Mafia swimbaits. At Fork, he lost two big swimbaits that retail for over $200 apiece. He also said that he’s down to one of his last few oversized flutter spoons designed by former Elite Yusuke Miyazaki. This week’s Top 10 may go a long way toward replenishing his “office supplies” – assuming he can find them anywhere.
Senior Statesman – It hasn’t happened overnight, but Mark Menendez has turned into one of the greatest advocates for the sport and for the anglers. He’s worked tirelessly on issues related to Asian carp and is articulate about the hows and whys of fishing on the Tennessee River. I don’t see Davy Hite giving up his (much deserved) position any time soon, but if he did, and assuming Menendez at some point doesn’t want to compete anymore, he would be a solid substitute.
Supply Chain Issue of the Week – The crew at Dixie Jet better get the assembly line going on their Talon Spoons. Between Jacob Foutz and Cody Huff they got more great advertising than they ever could have hoped for. How many of you had to look up what a Duesenberg was when Tommy Sanders referenced it during LIVE?
Work Ethic – Most anglers would’ve been thrilled with a second-place finish at Lake Fork, but not Brandon Palaniuk. As Ronnie Moore revealed today, BP stayed extra at Fork after the tournament ended to dial in his spots better. He had 17-11 on the final day and “lost” by a bit over 11 pounds. On Monday, he caught 33 pounds. Probably disappointing, but fuel for the fire for if and when B.A.S.S. returns.
Kevin Short Demands Royalties – Chris Zaldain rocked pink shorts and pink shades today. Yesterday he had the day’s biggest bag and today he added another 21-13 to vault up to third.
Daddy to Be – “I’m gonna go home next week and catch me an 8-pounder,” said seventh-place finisher and current AOY leader Brandon Palaniuk.
Historical Throwback – We got to watch Brandon Lester kneeling and reeling. I would love to know what he’d look like with a Paul Elias beard circa 1982.
Zac Brown approves – The Lester family is headed straight to a planned beach vacation. “I’ll have my toes in the sand in the morning, I promise you,” the champ said.
