Calling all clouds
Anglers rejoice as clouds roll in on Lake Hamilton - clouds that could reverse a bad case of lockjaw
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – As the sun rose over Fish Hatchery Marina before the day-two launch of the Forrest L. Wood Championship, anglers found themselves looking at the rain clouds looming in the opposite direction. They did not gaze in fear or dread, though, but rather relief, as the cloud cover is said to be the only thing that could help the bite on Lake Hamilton this week.
The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with thunderstorms in the afternoon, but the rain could throw another wrench in the anglers’ plans, for it was rain during pretournament practice that resulted in a 4-inch rise in water levels, thus scattering the fish. That, according to Zell Rowland, is one of the reasons why Hamilton bass are so tough to catch.
“We’ve got a little cloud cover, which is really going to help the fishing,” Rowland said. “The last day of practice, we got quite a bit of rain, and the lake rose about 4 inches. A lot of fish are caught out of manmade brush piles, but the rain made the fish spread out more, and that makes them harder to catch. With the overcast skies, it’ll make them easier to catch. Trust me – I’ll catch more than I did yesterday.”
Indeed, Rowland’s day-one catch of 1 pound, 8 ounces was miserable even by tough Hamilton standards, but he trails bracket-mate Dwayne Horton by only 4 ounces.
Rowland echoed what several pros commented on yesterday, which is that Hamilton locals tend to fish the lake only at night during the summer months. Though the daytime fishing here can be a struggle this time of year, that doesn’t mean the fish aren’t there.
“We’re here at a very tough time,” Rowland said. “Most tournaments they have here are at night. You can see all the fish on your depth finder – there are a lot of fish here. But the fish have to relate to some type of cover in order to catch them.”
Three anglers in particular locked into a pattern that produced quality fish yesterday – Matt Herren, who caught 12 pounds, 15 ounces, and John Murray and Tracy Adams, who also caught more than 12 pounds. With a few 8- and 9-pound sacks caught here and there, it seemed most of the field brought in weights in the 5- to 7-pound range.
Whether the cloud cover helped or not will be determined at today’s weigh-in, and the stakes are high. After today, only one angler from each bracket will advance to the next round in an ongoing pursuit to win the tournament’s $500,000 top prize. The co-angler field will also be cut to the top 24 based on two-day weights. Currently leading the co-angler race is Russell Burroughs of Jacksonville, Ala., who caught 6 pounds, 14 ounces on day one.
Today’s weigh-in begins at 5 p.m. Central time at Summit Arena, adjacent to the Hot Springs Convention Center. The championship’s boat and outdoor show features more than 140 exhibits, fishing seminars by Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, Guido Hibdon, Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends, as well as free daily giveaways. The boat and outdoor show runs from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
For bass-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action live at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. Show time starts at 5 p.m. Central.
Thursday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 6:10 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 78 degrees
Expected high temperature: 89 degrees
Wind: from the west-southwest at 6 mph
Maximum humidity: 63 percent
Day’s outlook: partly cloudy early with scattered storms in the afternoon