Vinson rockets to Stage Seven lead with 22-6
BAY CITY, Mich. – It didn’t take long for the fish catches to start hitting SCORETRACKER® Tuesday morning at Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Suzuki. The fishing was fast and furious for everyone, but Alabama’s Greg Vinson was in a class by himself, sacking up 22 pounds, 6 ounces of Saginaw Bay smallmouth en route to a Day 1 lead over the rest of Group A.
Vinson leads two of the hottest anglers on the Bass Pro Tour. He holds a 4-2 cushion over Jacob Wheeler, with Dakota Ebare just 5 ounces behind Wheeler.
Vinson finds the 4s
Catching fish at Saginaw Bay has been pretty straightforward so far, as just two anglers in Group A failed to record a limit. Finding the right quality fish is the hard part, though. Bass weighing more than 4 pounds are gold, and Vinson found and caught a whole pot of them on Tuesday.
During a stretch of a little more than an hour Tuesday morning, Vinson landed a 4-4, 4-8, 4-5, 4-10 and a 4-9 to catapult into the lead, which he never relinquished. Roughly an hour later, he culled up 2 more ounces with a 4-6 to cement his massive day before looking for more areas to ply the rest of the week.
“I knew a bag of smallmouth like this was possible after looking at past tournament results, but this place is big and hard to locate them,” he said. “With how much shoreline cover there is and how much water there is, somehow I was able to run across them. I spent 12 hours one day of practice and caught two bass, which is pretty terrible, but one of them had a big group of big ones following it in, and I knew I had to try that area today.”
Vinson described his area as a big shoal, and it proved to be the tournament-leading area, even after a slow start to the morning.
“I started off catching fish right away, but they were nowhere near the size of what I had seen there, and then it changed and seemed like every time I set the hook, it would be over 4 pounds,” he said.
Vinson is a noted fan of forward-facing sonar, but interestingly, it wasn’t part of his Day 1 game plan.
“I don’t know if they’re so tight to the bottom that they aren’t showing up or too close to the edge, but I wasn’t seeing them on the screen,” he said. “I was pitching a drop-shot around, almost like flipping. The key today was reading the areas and pitching it out in front of the boat.”
Vinson is a little concerned about the weather and chances of repeating his Day 1 success. Tuesday was picture-perfect for moving around the massive bay, with light winds and minimal boat traffic. The forecast for Thursday (Group A’s next day of fishing) shows the possibility of scattered thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 21 miles per hour.
“It might not be that bad, but it’ll be more than today, which was perfect,” he said. “I was able to troll around today and fish slower. If we get some big rollers, it’ll be hard, and I don’t know if it’ll work, but I have some other stuff to fish if I have to.”
Coming into the event, Vinson was on the outside looking in for his fourth REDCREST qualification, finding himself in 42nd place in the standings. He knew he needed a solid event, and he’s delivered so far.
“I came into the event just out of (REDCREST), and it’s going to be in my home state of Alabama on Lay Lake,” he said. “I was worried about this one for a while. I put a lot of work in for this one, knowing that if I can get through with a good finish, I’ll have a good chance to make REDCREST.”
Wheeler looming in second
With a shot to win a third-straight Bally Bet Angler of the Year title, Wheeler has some added motivation this week, and he’s in a great spot after one day of fishing. Targeting smallmouth paid off for Wheeler, despite the fact that more than three-quarters of the keepers caught by the field were largemouth. His good day came after a challenging practice.
“I caught five the first day and three the second day of practice, but really honed in on my stuff today,” he said. “It was the typical old smallmouth techniques, and I caught the most on a Rapala B.L.T. Ned Bait. The biggest key here is to be in the right zones. I spent about half the day looking for new areas and caught one bass, so they aren’t everywhere.”
After a day of fishing, Wheeler is pleased with his tournament start and the chance for another AOY title, although he knows he still has work to do.
“I think I did exactly what I needed to do to add a little pressure on some guys,” he said. “AJ (Alton Jones Jr.) and I are good buddies, and I wanted to make him sweat a little, but it’s still too early, even with the day I had today. My No. 1 priority when we get back out here is to make sure I make the cut.”
Points watch
Jones, the current Angler of the Year leader, has yet to make a cast in competition, but he already has some added pressure. He came into Stage Seven just seven points ahead of Wheeler. So far, Wheeler has done his part; now it’s Junior’s turn.
Ott DeFoe entered Stage Seven two points back of Wheeler and had a good start to the event, finishing the day in 10th place. Just a point back of DeFoe is Bass Pro Tour rookie Matt Becker, who also has yet to fish. It’s setting up to be a nail-biter — and might come down to the last period of the Championship Round to decide the AOY.
What’s next?
Group B anglers get their first shot at Saginaw Bay Wednesday, with the 40 anglers kicking off action at 8 a.m. ET. The MLFNOW! live stream will go live at 7:45 a.m. You can follow the action and get live-scoring updates at MajorLeagueFishing.com.