Vance claims Day 1 lead on fast-rising Eufaula
EUFAULA, Okla. — If anglers thought they knew what to expect when Lake Eufaula made its Bass Pro Tour debut at MillerTech Stage Four Presented by REDCON1, Mother Nature made sure to rewrite the script.
In the days prior to Group A’s first day of qualifying, a series of spring thunderstorms – which included three separate tornado warnings – dumped rain on the Oklahoma impoundment. As a result, the lake level rose nearly 4 feet from the start of practice to the start of competition; the influx flooding a new swath of shallow cover and muddying large stretches of water.
The seismic shift produced a challenging bite for many of the 39 anglers who took to the water Tuesday. But Jason Vance managed to boat 13 scorable bass totaling 28 pounds, 1 ounce. One of three anglers to top 20 pounds amid the changing conditions, the Indiana pro sits atop SCORETRACKER® in Group A, leading second-place angler Dave Lefebre by 5-10.
Full results can be found here.
Vance capitalizes on clean water
Aside from losing his cell phone to the waters of Eufaula shortly after lines out, Tuesday unfolded better than Vance expected. The Bass Pro Tour rookie had sought out clean water during the third and final practice day and found a stretch where he got several bites in a row but struggled to hook up with the fish. When competition began, he figured out how to get those bass to commit.
“I got into some cleaner water, and that’s where I started getting bit, and that was on the last day of practice,” Vance said. “Was I expecting to catch (that total)? No, I wasn’t. But I just got bit really good there.”
One of a handful of anglers in the field with tournament experience on Eufaula, Vance first found his area during last year’s Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event on the fishery. He had to fish around some floating debris, but the water clarity generally held up well amid the lake’s rapid rise – not something that could be said for many areas.
“The water color varied where I was at,” the Bob’s Machine Shop pro said. “There were areas that were dirty and some that were cleaner. But it had a lot of sticks and twigs and stuff that had been blown into the area that I was in.”
Vance centered his strategy on finding the largest population of bass, targeting numbers rather than size. The 13 scorable bass he stacked on SCORETRACKER® were three more than the next-highest total. With bites not easy to come by – only 13 of 39 anglers caught at least five scorable fish – that paid off.
“I’ve been trying to adapt from the five-fish limit to as many as you can catch, so I was just going for as many scorable as I could get,” he said. “That was my whole thought process – I just have to catch keepers.”
With more storms in the forecast, the conditions are sure to continue to change. But Vance is optimistic that his program can continue to produce. Not only did his water stay fairly stable, but he was also able to catch fish behind other anglers Tuesday.
Plus, Vance should have the luxury of getting some in-tournament practice time when Group A returns to the water on Thursday. Seeking his first Knockout Round appearance since joining the Bass Pro Tour, Vance hopes to catch about 15 pounds in the morning then use the rest of the day to explore new water.
“I’m going to power fish in the morning, and then once I’ve got at least 15 pounds, I’m going to lay off of them and go looking for some new areas,” he said. “That’s the strategy. Hopefully it works.”
What’s next for Stage Four
Group A will have Wednesday off as the 40 anglers in Group B open their Qualifying Round. After two days of competition apiece, the Top 10 anglers in each group will earn spots in Saturday’s Knockout Round.
Through one day of competition, the 10th-place mark sits at just 12-5, with Dustin Connell occupying the final place above the cut. He’ll have to stave off plenty of competition, as 12 anglers lurk within 5 pounds of his total.
Keep up with all the action on SCORETRACKER® and watch the competition on MLFNOW! Thursday through Sunday from 7:45 a.m. CT until 4:30 p.m. each day.
Fishing Clash Angler of the Year
There’s still five days of fishing left in the event, but it’s looking like Eufaula could deliver a major shakeup to the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race. Jacob Wheeler, the two-time AOY winner who entered Stage Four with a 17-point lead over his nearest pursuer, caught just two scorable bass for 3-14 on Tuesday. That has Wheeler in 30th place in Group A. Connell and Alton Jones Jr., who entered the event second and third, respectively, in the points, both finished Tuesday among the Top 10.
It’s rare to see Wheeler, who has won back-to-back Bass Pro Tour regular-season events and has logged eight straight Top-10 finishes, below the cut line. The good news is he has another day to try and climb into the Top 10, and he’s only 8-7 behind Connell.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.