Different day, different start for Michael Frennette and Mark Robinson, who placed third on Day 1 of the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter at Apalachicola Bay.
The second morning saw the duo from Louisiana and Texas, respectively, return to the coastal pass pattern that disappointed them on Day 1, but this time fortune smiled early.
While Robinson measured and weighed a small keeper, his partner uttered the words that ignites a tournament anglers hopes.
“I got a real one.”
No Exaggeration
Having grown up fishing Venice, La’s redfish promised land, Frenette’s seen more big reds than he can count. Suffice to say, he saves the superlatives for legit difference makers.
A few straining grunts later, Robinson netted a thick one that measured just under the 27-inch max and pulled the scale down to 7 pounds, 4 ounces.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Robinson said. “We can get 14 pounds here. If we do that (the other nine teams) are in a world of trouble.”
A little over an hour after the 7:30 takeoff, Frenette and Robinson had taken the lead with a 2-day total of 20-8. The first team to reach 20 pounds, they held a lead of 4-2 over Cody Chivas and Fred Myers III (second on Day 1), as of 10 a.m.
Totals are unofficial until the 3:30 weigh-ins and these anglers are very likely to upgrade throughout the day.
The Feel
Frenette and Robinson are deep jigging in about 22-32 feet of water — a very familiar tactic for the Mississippi Delta passes where they’ve spent many hours.
They employed the same basic routine for Day 1, but after three hours of fishing left them with only a couple of missed opportunities and a bull red over the slot limit (18-27 inches), Frenette and Robinson pulled the plug.
For whatever reason — maybe tidal flow wasn’t just right — they weren’t feeling it and the seasoned pros made a tough, but prudent decision. Scrapping the pass game, they went shallow and caught a limit that went 10-2.
Their hearts probably longed for what they knew was giant potential closer to the Gulf, but their heads steered them toward a strategy that kept them in the hunt.
“After three hours, we looked at each other and we knew, the clock’s ticking and it’s time to get out of here,” Frenette said. “We were patient, but we both know that you can’t die on your sword.
“We were biding minutes, and extra casts, and one more drift, and just one more ‘maybe,’ but it was time to get out of there. It’s a 3-day aggregate tournament and you just can’t afford to go all-in on Day 1 and be willing to sit back the next two days and not have a chance.”
Other Changes
Adaptation is foundational to tournament success and we saw that throughout Day 1. Notably, Chivas and Myers, who won last year’s event at South Carolina’s Winyah Bay, actually stuck with the general area they’d selected in practice, but a key move late in the day delivered a pair of 5 1/2-pounders that put them atop the field.
Elsewhere, Day-1 leaders Ryan Rickard and Patrick Marsonek spent much of their day fishing spoons. Normally a reliable redfish charmer, the flashy wobblers failed to impress.
Switching to artificial shrimp on lead head jigs put two good ones in the box and sent them to the scales with 11-4.
Sometimes, you have to trust your gut. If it’s not feeling right, shift gears and go a different direction.
Chances are, that path leads to a better feeling.
