NEENAH, Wis. – Several different bodies of water surround the Neenah, Wisconsin area, and the Bass Pro Tour field will be fishing three of them this week for Stage Eight (with a fourth possible if needed due to high winds).
All of the bodies of water are close in proximity but will fish different, and this week the field of 79 anglers had to decide how to spend their two days of practice as they prepared for the event.
Lake Winnebago is the host of the Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, Butte de Mort will be the site of the Knockout Round, and the Championship Round will be on Green Lake. Add in the wind alternate of Lake Poygan and Lake Winneconne, and you have quite a few different fisheries in play.
At over 130,000 acres, Winnebago is by far the biggest body of water in the bunch, and it is connected to Butte de Mort via the Fox River, but the WI Trunk 44 bridge serves as the off-limits boundary for those respective rounds.
Lake Poygan and Lake Winneconne are accessible through Butte de Mort, but it is not open to competitors during the Knockout Round. These lakes will serve as the alternate if high winds are predicted as Winnebago can get rough in a hurry.
Green Lake, where the Stage Eight champion will be crowned, is not connected, but anglers have the opportunity to spend four hours strictly riding the lake without rods on deck during one of their off days.
So with several different bodies of waters in play, practicing for this event became a game of strategy. Do you spend time practicing for a round you haven’t yet qualified for? Both Adrian Avena and Justin Lucas said yes and took the risk.
For Lucas, the decision on how to spend his two practice days was an easy one, and he spent one day on Winnebago and one on Butte de Mort.
“I know that I’m going to need a Top-5 finish during this event to have a chance to qualify for the REDCREST,” he said in reference to his 44th spot on the 2019 Bass Pro Tour standings. “There’s no way I would be able to finish that high if I didn’t at least get a look at Butte de Mort, and I’m glad I spent time there. They’re very different lakes.”
After seven events, Adrian Avena sits in 32nd, place just four points behind Cody Meyer who currently holds down 30th place and the final spot for the late-August REDCREST.
Because of this, the New Jersey pro knew he wanted to see as much as he could during practice.
“I’ve never been here and didn’t want to be in the dark about anything,” Avena said. “The first day I fished half of a day in Winnebago and then drove and rode around in the other lakes.”
Avena spent the second day of practice entirely on Winnebago.
His assessment of the lakes was similar to Lucas.
“Winnebago is a little deeper, and there are some big shoals,” Avena said. “Butte de Mort, Poygan, and Winneconne are different, and have more bays and plenty of good largemouth habitat.”
Each of these anglers hope their decision was the right one, and that they can move inside the REDCREST qualifying line this week.