JASPER, Ala. — Patience is a virtue and David Winters proved it Wednesday on Day 1 of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Southeast Regional at Smith Lake.
The 35-year-old angler found a great spot early in practice and then made himself wait a full two days before racing back there Wednesday morning to open the tournament.
And as he said, “magical things happened” when he returned.
Winters caught a five-bass limit that weighed 18 pounds, 9 ounces, including a 6-8 largemouth that was the big bass of the day. The haul gave him the early lead in an event that features 200 anglers from 10 different states.
“I went to the spot first thing this morning,” said Winters, who hails from Rock Hill, S.C., but qualified for this week’s event through the North Carolina B.A.S.S. Nation. “I left with a limit about 9:15 and upgraded twice later in the day.
“But that 6-8 made the day. I caught it on a buzzbait about 9 a.m. It was a really good fight … I had to sit down for 10 minutes afterward just to regroup, to breathe.”
Winters’ bag included two largemouth and three spotted bass, and he caught both varieties in his shallow-water spot. He said 12 pounds or more on Day 2 should get him past Thursday’s cut, but he’s leaving nothing to chance.
“(Having the lead) makes it harder for me (to relax),” he said. “You have to replicate. If not, you look like a one-hit wonder. But I’m very pleased with today. It was a lot better than I thought it would be.”
South Carolina’s Jason Moyer is second in the angler division with 15-7 and Kentucky’s Craig Lonkard is third with 13-14. Bradley West, who qualified through the West Virginia Nation, is fourth with 13-13 and Georgia’s Bryan Asay is fifth with 12-15.
Bailey Madere, who qualified through the Mississippi Nation, leads the nonboater division with a three-bass limit weighing 9-7. His 3-10 was the heaviest fish caught in the division on Wednesday. Fellow Mississippi qualifier Heath Willard is just behind with 9-3 and West Virginia’s JJ Dickens is third with 8-6.
Teams of 20 (10 anglers and 10 nonboaters) are competing in the regional, hailing from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The winning boater in the three-day event will win a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Skeeter, and the leading nonboater will win $2,500 cash from Yamaha.
The Top 20 anglers and nonboaters (40 competitors in all) will collect cash prizes and will also qualify for the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship to be held Nov. 9-11 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.
West Virginia leads the team standings through Day 1 with 68 bass weighing 145-10. Kentucky is second with 70 bass for 138-14, and Alabama is third with 63 bass for 133-4. The team with the most cumulative weight after Thursday’s weigh-in will win $6,250, second place will collect $3,750 and third place gets $2,500.
The Top 20 in the boater and nonboater fields will advance to compete Friday, as will anyone among the Top 2 from each state division who’s not in the Top 20 overall.
Day 2 begins from Smith Lake Dam Access at 6 a.m. CT. Weigh-in will start at the same location beginning at 2 p.m.
Complete coverage can be found at Bassmaster.com.
The Chamber of Commerce of Walker County is hosting the event.