Marbut snatches 27-1 to lead on Chick
DAYTON, Tenn. – Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division event on Lake Chickamauga was loaded with action. Pros caught fish offshore on ledges, on shad spawns and off beds – if you have some way to catch a bass in mind, the odds are good it’ll work right now on Chick. The best performer early was Hayden Marbut. The winner of the season-opener on Guntersville, Marbut bagged 27 pounds, 1 ounce for the early lead.
In second, young Fisher Anaya weighed 25-15, and Banks Shaw sacked up 23-11 for third.
On the Strike King co-angler side, Charles Huggins Jr. tallied 15-8 for the early lead.
Offshore game plan works for Marbut
Back in the winter on Guntersville, Marbut became the sixth-youngest pro to win a Toyota Series event, and he ran a masterful offshore game plan. This week, he’s looking good again, but it was not really expected.
“It was a big surprise; honestly, I was worried about catching a limit,” Marbut said. “I’d caught a couple 3- or 4-pounders in practice, but hadn’t caught a 5 all week, and today just happened. I pulled up to a place I’d caught a small one in practice. I was just trying to get a limit for points. I caught a limit and a 5.60, and that got the day started good. I kept the ball rolling from there and got the right bites.”
Fishing isolated targets offshore for the most part — deep enough that he’s sure bass aren’t spawning on them — Marbut tried to make shallow work in practice.
“I looked around shallow in practice and I couldn’t find anything,” he said. “I fished the bank in practice, looked for a shad spawn, some fish up shallow spawning. I could never make it happen. I knew if I was going to catch them any way, I was going to have to catch them how I like to fish.”
At least early, it worked out really well.
“I’m just going to have to go fishing tomorrow, I don’t know how it will work out,” Marbut said. “At Guntersville, I was excited for the next day. I knew what I was going to do and had a bunch of places. I’m just going to go fishing tomorrow and have fun.”
Anaya also goes big deep
Just 18 years old and not out of high school yet, Anaya has been hanging with the adults with ease this year. Sitting at seventh in the Central Division points, he’s also leading AOY in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division.
To start this tournament off, he blasted them on his first stop.
“I was going to start on a spot, and another boat was on it, so I decided to go on down,” he said. “I pulled up to a spot, I thought it had a handful of fish, and I caught them in five casts this morning. My first five casts were almost 26 pounds, and I never made another cast the rest of the day. I just rode around, fished the bank a little, tried to find some bedders.”
Fishing deep, and with some company, Anaya is committed to the offshore game, which theoretically should be getting better by the day.
“There ain’t no telling how many hours I put on this boat in four days,” Anaya said. “I never picked up a rod in four days. Just like a guy that’s going to catch them sight-fishing, I committed deep, and I’m going to live or die by it.
“They’re hard to get to bite, but I would put money there’s a school of 1,000 down there. I’ve got two schools like it, one shallower, and one deep one,” he said. “I’m going to try to run straight to them in the morning and see what I can get out of them again.”
Top 10 pros
1. Hayden Marbut – 27 – 1 (5)
2. Fisher Anaya – 25 – 15 (5)
3. Banks Shaw – 23 – 11 (5)
4. Dillon Falardeau – 22 – 4 (5)
5. AJ Barnes – 21 – 12 (5)
6. Brian Hatfield – 20 – 0 (5)
7. Jack Daniel Williams – 19 – 10 (5)
8. Ethan King – 19 – 6 (5)
9. Lucas Black – 19 – 2 (5)
10. Andrew Nordbye – 19 – 0 (5)
Fishing Clash AOY
The Toyota Series Plains Division pros are competing this week for the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year award and its $5,000 payday. Fishing Clash – an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s been downloaded by more than 80 million people worldwide – will reward the pro AOYs in all divisions of the Toyota Series, and is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League.
Download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.