Elite

Dock Talk: St. Johns River

In one of the quickest turnarounds in Bassmaster Elite Series history, the 103 pros traveled the 90-minute drive from Leesburg, Fla., to Palatka for the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Craig Lamb
In one of the quickest turnarounds in Bassmaster Elite Series history, the 103 pros traveled the 90-minute drive from Leesburg, Fla., to Palatka for the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River. Photo: Craig Lamb
Practice got cut short one day after the postponement of Day 1 at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain. From my river view hotel room, I’ve observed boats leaving at safe late and returning at sundown, a practice day of about 13 hours. Photo: Craig Lamb
With miles of river, connecting lakes, manatee protection/idle zones and locks this week will come down to several factors. 
Among those are tidal ebb and flow and time management. Committing to an area is a given on any given day. 
What did we uncover as the anglers returned to Palatka City Dock and Boat Ramp? As always, we report. You decide. Which is it? Truth or dock talk? 
John Garrett
“Experience helps in a place like this. The river undergoes change every year. The shell beds get moved by the current, so someone knowledgeable about that has an advantage.”
“I’ve never been here and the tides aren’t in favor of our tournament hours. I love tidal fishing and especially running an outgoing tide. We’re going to have an incoming tide until noon, and then a very limited outgoing tide up to weigh-in times.”
“This isn’t my kind of tide and I don’t know the locations of the shell bars and how they line up with the tide. I did the only thing I know to do, and that’s fish in an area unaffected by all those factors.”
Tyler Rivet
“I go with my history and what I like to do here. I avoid straying out and instead stay in one area and break it down, hoping it will be sustainable for the four days.”
“I checked areas outside of where I’m going to fish but didn’t get anything going.”
“With a place this big with so many variables going on; the tide, river, connecting lakes make it challenging to make multiple different patterns in different areas.”
“There are a lot of postspawn bass that are on the move.”
Clark Wendlandt
“I’m fortunate to have experience here, so I’m able to match up areas with the conditions.”
“I was happy for the short practice. I didn’t feel like I needed to run all over the place, run to Rodman, down to George and beyond, and then up above Palatka” 
“I knew coming in here what I wanted to fish. It took me a day-and-ahalf to lock it in.”
“I don’t envy the guys who are coming here for the first time.”
Wes Logan
“It’s virtually impossible to pick this place apart in three days due to its size and the running times considering it’s not a wide-open lake.” 
“You’ve got to instead pick what you want to do; there’s only so much variety in tactics you can use anyway, and go with your instincts.”
“it’s really easy to get spun out in a place like this. You have to be on guard about doing too many things that might never work at all.”
“That’s why I’m just breaking down an area where I can expand there instead of running and gunning.”
Tyler Williams
“I have no clue what I’m doing (laughs, of course). I just hope I land on something right.”
“I’ve fished a lake and now the river. I’m going to treat tomorrow like my first day of practice, even though it’s the first day of the tournament. In this case, it’s like practice can be the first day of the tournament, because you are always looking for fish anyway.”
“I’ve never been here before, and didn’t get to pre-practice, so I spent the first day just learning how to run the river, the lakes, the locks. Here you’ve got to know to do that otherwise you’ll blow your day.”
“It’s been interesting. It’s actually going alright. Just keeping an open mind, and having never been here helps me avoid locking into history that might not work.”
John Soukup
“I’ve never been here before, so it’s about managing expectations for how you want to fish.”
“I did research and looked at two or three areas that are known to produce given the conditions.”
“I did well enough to start shaking off fish in one of those areas.”
“”Today I just taste tested some other like areas to see if there might be something I’m missing. I’m going to just maintain my patience, not get spun out mentally.”
Frank Talley
“We’ve been so many times in the last five years that I’m one of those guys in the tournament how can reliably fish history.” 
“I’m going to run familiar areas doing what I like to do. I’m sure I’m not alone.”
“I’m not a shell bar expert so I’m going to do what I do best, which is flip shallow water.”
“I’m planning on staying in key areas where I know there are postspawn fish.”
Clent Davis
“If there is one thing we do know, it’s that the bite is mostly postspawn.”
“This place is huge and even with it being postspawn, there are specific areas that you need to concentrate and eliminate the spawning habitat. 

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