Quick Bites: FLW Atchafalaya Basin, Day 1

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Athchafalaya Basin, Morgan City, La.

Opening round, Wednesday

Atchafalaya blues … Who says fishing on the FLW Tour is easy? After experiencing a virtual fishing bonanza at Lake Okeechobee last month, anglers quickly found out they were in for a rude awakening on the first day of competition on the Atchafalaya Basin. With pounding rains, rising water levels and a massive fishery confronting them, many of the best pros in the nation found the going as tough as ever. Just how difficult was it? Let’s let the numbers tell the story. After the first day of competition at Lake Okeechobee, anglers reeled in over 2,162 pounds of fish, caught 175 limits and saw all 200 pro competitors bring at least one fish to the scales. By contrast, pros only managed a little over 1,115 pounds of fish and a meager 37 limits in today’s competition. In addition, 37 pros never even made it to the scales. Co-anglers fared little better. By the end of weigh-in, exactly zero nonboaters had recorded a limit and only one co-angler – Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla. – had managed to bring at least four fish to the scales. Not surprisingly, many anglers didn’t hesitate to weigh in on how difficult the fishing conditions actually were. “I expected to get five bites today,” said Team Castrol pro Bobby Curtis. “I just didn’t expect my co-angler to get two of them.” To be sure, he wasn’t alone. When all was said and done, more than 100 pros failed to break the 5-pound mark.

Bird is the word on lure selection … Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, decided to take matters into his own hands before the Atchafalaya tournament. Unsatisfied with the plastic baits available on the market today, Bird decided to create his own bait. “I went fishing with a new bait I designed myself,” said Bird, who parlayed his own invention into a third-place finish in today’s competition. “It took me three months to create it, and it really paid off today.” According to Bird, by the time he was done experimenting, he had a pile of discarded plastic prototypes nearly 3 feet high in his home. “My wife almost threw me out of the house,” he said. Although the bait can’t be found in stores just yet, Bird said he thinks he already has a name: “The Bird Dog.”

King nearly dethroned … As a result of his win on the Atchafalaya Basin at last year’s FLW tourney, pro Paul Elias of Pachuta, Miss., was awarded the regal title of King of St. Charles Parish by area officials at this year’s pre-tournament festivities. Unfortunately for Elias, it appears that he just might have to fork over that new title after turning in a day-one, one-fish catch of only 6 pounds, 3 ounces. “I think I’ll wind up relinquishing my crown the way I fished today,” he joked. Elias ultimately finished the day tied for 77th place.

Anomaly spotted … Although there aren’t supposed to be any spotted bass in the Atchafalaya Basin, that didn’t stop FLW Tour pro Shad Schenck from landing one anyway. In fact, Schenck’s 3 1/2-pound spotted bass contributed significantly to his fourth-place, 14-pound, 10-ounce sack in today’s competition. So, was Schenck surprised by the mysterious bass bite? “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it.”

Quick numbers:

1,115-9: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of fish caught by the pros Wednesday.

331-11: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of fish caught by the co-anglers Wednesday.

456: Total number of fish caught by the pros in today’s competition.

147: Total number of fish caught by co-anglers.

70: Number of gallons of gas burned by pro Dave Lefebre during today’s competition alone.

37: Total number of limits caught by both the pros and co-anglers combined.

27: Estimated number of pounds over two days of fishing to qualify for Thursday’s top-10 cut.

25: Total number of pros and co-anglers who caught over 12 pounds of fish in Wednesday’s action.

Sound bites:

“It took me eight days to find that fish, and I caught him. Thank the Lord.”

– FLW pro Glenn Chappelear of Acworth, Ga., discussing his one-fish, 3-pound, 4-ounce catch in today’s competition.

“I really didn’t catch any fish, but I had a lot of fun trying to speak Japanese today.”

– FLW Tour pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., finding a silver lining with his native Japanese co-angler, Katsutoshi Furusawa, after a dismal day of fishing.

“Nothing. I’m afraid to touch it.”

– FLW Tour pro Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark., responding to FLW Outdoors host Charlie Evans’ question about what he’s done with his $100,000 in winnings from last month’s Lake Okeechobee tournament.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. Central time at the Belle River Boat Launch, located at Highway 70 North in Belle River, La.