CONROE, Tex. – Boyd Duckett is plenty successful off the water as a businessman, and the co-founder of MLF. However, during the first Shotgun Round of the MLF Bass Pro Tour Huk Stage Two presented by Favorite Fishing, Duckett was equally successful on the water.
“Great day on the water,” Duckett said with a grin. “I got more bites because I slowed down today and that helped a lot. There were more fish in the area than I thought there were.”
Duckett finished the round on Lake Conroe in seventh place with 17 fish for 27 pounds. It wasn’t a day of big bites for Duckett — his biggest fish weighing in at 3-2 — but it was a day of consistency as he reeled in the second-most fish out of the 40-angler group.
“I just didn’t get any big bites today,” Boyd confirmed. “However there’s a lot more fish to be caught than there were in practice.”
It was a good bounce-back for Duckett after he missed the cut in the Elimination Round of Stage One in Florida two weeks ago.
“My game is completely different here than in Florida,” Duckett said. “In Florida I was fishing for schoolers and here I’m fishing for bedders I can’t see. Most of the fish I’m catching are males and I’m hoping some females roll in once the temperature warms up.”
Duckett prides himself on his ability to focus on being both a businessman and a professional angler. However, during his time in Kissimmee, it was tough for Duckett to focus on just fishing.
“I’ve always worked and always fished so I’m pretty decent at changing gears and focusing on one thing at a time,” Duckett said. “With MLF it’s tougher for me, because this has been my baby from the beginning. I felt like I won Stage One even though I didn’t catch anything, because everything else went so well.”
One of Duckett’s Duckett Fishing pros, Dean Rojas, finished the Shotgun Round in 24th place and is 2-8 from being in the Top 20. He was impressed with Duckett’s day.
“I watched him catch a couple so I knew he was in the right area,” Rojas complimented. “He did a good job, and I’m pumped to see him do well. He’s in a good place right now, he just needs a good day on Thursday and he’ll move on.”
Speaking of moving on, Duckett knows exactly what he needs to do to punch his ticket to the Knockout Round.
“I think the Elimination Line is going to be at about 30 pounds,” Duckett predicted. “I’m thinking if I could bring in about 8 more pounds, I’ll feel a lot better. I’m looking forward to Thursday.”
Duckett and the rest of Group A will compete in the Elimination Round on Thursday, where only the top 20 anglers will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. Watch Group B’s Shotgun Round on the MLF NOW! live stream starting at 10 a.m. CT on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF app.