BRANSON, Mo. – During Stage Six of the Bass Pro Tour on Table Rock Lake, Andy Montgomery made his living fishing around docks with a heavily populated shad spawn. That strategy proved fruitful in the morning period from 6:30 to 9 a.m., getting him all the way to the Championship Round and a second-place finish.
However, that strategy had to change this week thanks to a later start time. Instead of getting to hit the shad spawn at its peak in the morning, Montgomery would be missing it altogether.
“Shad spawn is what I live for,” Montgomery admitted. “We were at the peak of the shad spawn two weeks ago, and now I’m having to find other ways to get into the next round. I’ve been able to catch some flipping over the past two days. I also have found a lot of fish schooling.”
Montgomery didn’t have to sweat the absent shad spawn too much as he finds himself in the Knockout Round on Table Rock Lake once again due to a 12th-place finish in Group B. The South Carolina pro landed a total of 92 pounds, 7 ounces over the course of two days on the water, which was enough to give him a comfortable ride into the next round.
Still, even though Montgomery coasted at the end of the Elimination Round, he had some ground to make up in the beginning. Montgomery finished his Shotgun Round in 36th place and more than 11 pounds away from the Elimination Line. With eight more hours of fishing in front of him, he didn’t let the double-digit deficit deter him.
“My goal was to win the day, that’s always my goal,” Montgomery stated. “No matter where I am on SCORETRACKER®, I just focus on trying to win that day I am fishing. If you can do that, you can make a big move.”
Moves were made, alright. After a first period in which he caught nine bass for 14-7, he still found himself outside of the Top 20 and needing to make something happen. Luckily for Montgomery, Mother Nature gave him a little push in Period 2.
“When that weather was about to roll in the fish started feeding like crazy,” Montgomery said of the severe weather that made its way into the Table Rock Lake area during Period 3 and caused an 80-minute weather delay. “That’s a really big factor here. When that severe weather rolled in during Stage Six I was able to catch about 80 pounds in two periods. When that wind and current picks up, those fish just start feeding like crazy, and if you’re on top of them like I was, you can catch a lot of them.”
Montgomery caught up quickly to the Top 20 to the tune of 33 bass for 44 pounds in Period 2. The Strike King pro said he found schools of spotted and largemouth bass that he was able to catch in rapid succession.
While the one spot he found on Monday was able to carry him through the Elimination Round, he’s not so sure that the same location will prove as valuable during the Knockout Round.
“I’ve got mixed emotions heading into the Knockout Round,” Montgomery admitted. “I hammered them at one spot today and I’m not sure how many more I can catch off of that spot. I’ll move around tomorrow and try to find me another spot like that. You never know when you’re going to run up on a good spot, and these fish group up so well that when you find a good spot you’ll crush them. If we get some more stormy weather that might help as well.”
Montgomery and the rest of the Top 20 from Group B will meet up with the Top 20 from Group A for the Knockout Round this afternoon. Out of the 40 pros, only 10 will move on to the Championship Round. Weights will reset to zero and competition is set to begin at 12 p.m. CT on Table Rock Lake. The MLF NOW! live stream will be live for all three periods on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF mobile app.