GROVE, Okla. – Saying it was a windy day in Oklahoma is hardly noteworthy. Saying it will be windy tomorrow, same. But when the wind goes from 30 mph in one direction the first day to 30 mph in the complete opposite, with a 40-degree drop in temperature … now it’s something worth mentioning.
And for the anglers fishing the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southwestern Division event on Grand Lake, it’s something making even the top anglers a bit shaky.
“Oh, I’m nervous about what the conditions are going to do to the fish tomorrow,” TJ Martin said after Day 1. “I honestly don’t know if I’ll catch a limit.”
Bear in mind, that’s your Day 1 leader talking, as Martin brought 24 pounds, 14 ounces to the scales Thursday, which included an 8-1 kicker that took big bass. That gives him a 2-pound-plus cushion over second-place Charley Slaton (22-10) and puts him nearly 5 pounds ahead of Denton Cooper (20-3) and Rodney Copeland (20-2).
Of course, many pros worry about replicating such big days. Then again, Martin admits that as good as his day looked, it looked far better on paper than in reality.
The local has a pattern in dirty water, throwing a spinnerbait that produced all his weight before noon. The key is a special ingredient he’s holding secret for now, because as great as the quality was for Day 1, quantity was certainly lacking. He says he only caught 10 keepers all day, and the only way he caught them was sheer stubbornness.
“You’ve gotta be hard-headed and keep doing the same thing over and over, and then finally you’ll get rewarded,” Martin said. “It’s just one of those deals where it pays to be hard-headed, but it’s tough because you’ll go a while between bites.”
Making it tougher is that Martin didn’t really get many bites come the afternoon, as he’d made the decision to leave his area and hang closer to takeoff due to the wind.
Slaton made a similar move, leaving his main area early to slowly work his way back towards takeoff with the wind. And also like Martin, one main area produced his biggest bites with a pair of 5-pounders.
But unlike Martin, Slaton caught dozens of fish throughout the day, as his pattern is all about one thing.
“I’m just going down the bank with one, certain bait,” Slaton said. “I’ve tried a few different baits. But every time I pick that one bait up, that’s the one they want. They seem to just eat it up, and it doesn’t really matter the wind.”
Now, will that bait continue to work tomorrow with the drop in temperature? Slaton is unsure. He feels his fish are committed shallow and won’t move far, which gives him hope. In fact, he wondered if he could even do better tomorrow. At the same time, such drastic conditions still have him worried.
“I don’t think (the conditions) will bother my fish much, but who knows,” Slaton said. “I could blank tomorrow, but I hope to do it again.”
Martin feels the same, as he has six Top 10s on Grand between BFL and Toyota events, and he’d love to finally bring home the victory.
“Oh, I want to win this thing bad, but there are two more days to go and everything is changing,” Martin said.
Top 10 pros
1. TJ Martin – 24 – 14 (5)
2. Charley Slaton – 22 – 10 (5)
3. Denton Cooper – 20 – 3 (5)
4. Rodney Copeland – 20 – 2 (5)
5. Chris M. Jones – 19 – 10 (5)
6. Graden Hansen – 18 – 10 (5)
7. Larry Puckett – 17 – 14 (5)
8. Chad Mrazek – 17 – 10 (5)
9. Billy Lemon – 17 – 0 (5)
10. Darrel Robertson – 16 – 14 (5)