EUFAULA, Ala. — One big bite can do a lot in terms of separating an angler from the field. It certainly did for Kaden Mueck.
With the bass in full postspawn mode, the field for the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division season finale on Lake Eufaula is scrambling to figure out whether to fish shallow, deep or somewhere in between.
Mueck knew he had a solid deep area, but a surprise shallow pattern allowed him to sack up 19 pounds, 8 ounces Wednesday to take a 1-ounce lead over Delano Green Jr. after Day 1. On the co-angler side, Chris Harcrow was the only angler to crack double-digits. His 11-1 limit has him ahead of Alan Bernicky by a pound and a half.
Still, as good as Mueck’s day was, it could’ve been far better.
“I lost two good ones today – one deep and one shallow – that would’ve given me a really big bag,” Mueck said.
Considering he’s leading after a tough practice, he’s not about to complain, though.
Having never been to Eufaula before this event, Mueck didn’t know what to expect. Fortunately, the Texas angler felt at home when he realized running down the lake during practice that it looked a lot like Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn.
“It felt familiar, and that helped me try to figure things out,” Mueck said.
While the fishing was stingy, he did locate one offshore spot that he immediately knew had the big fish he needed. However, given how tough it was to get the fish to bite and with only a three-hour forward-facing sonar window, he figured he’d be happy to leave it with three fish today.
He left with three, but two were a 5-pounder and a 7-2 that took big bass for the day.
“Both those bites and the third big one I lost all came within an hour,” Mueck said. “After that 7-pounder, I kind of stopped and just started looking around trying to expand it, and I found some good stuff.”
The bigger surprise came when he turned off the sonar and stumbled upon a shallow pattern that produced two of his weigh-in fish.
“The big bite I had surprised me and clued me into something,” Mueck said. “I need to do some map study, but I’m excited for tomorrow to see what it can produce.”
Green grinding it out shallow
Green is equally excited for tomorrow, though he couldn’t have been more pleased with how today went.
“Oh, it exceeded all my expectations,” said the Alabama angler. “I would’ve been happy with 15 pounds.”
That’s because Green burned more than 40 gallons of gas running all over the lake in practice, only to catch three fish the first couple days. Fortunately, Monday turned things around.
“Monday, I found an area I knew I could catch 15 pounds,” said Green, who stuck to the shallows. “So, today I went there, put the trolling motor down and covered as much water as I could, because I had nowhere else to go.”
The fishing was “real grindy,” as he only got maybe 10 bites all day, with lulls of more than an hour between them at times. Still, he had a flurry late in the morning that produced some solid keepers, including a 5-plus-pounder that anchored his bag.
Best of all, he originally hoped to bank on a shad spawn pattern that didn’t materialize, as the cold night muted any spawning activity, and he only went through his main area once. With a warmer night and a plan to really pound on his area tomorrow to make the final day, he’s excited about his chances.
“I didn’t think I’d be in this position to begin with,” Green said. “But I figure I have a chance now, and I’m just going to keep grinding it out to make it to Friday.”
Top 10 pros
1. Kaden Mueck – 19 – 8 (5)
2. Delano Green Jr. – 19 – 7 (5)
3. Austin Swindle – 18 – 7 (5)
4. Blake Davenport – 18 – 3 (5)
5. Brody Campbell – 18 – 2 (5)
6. Chase Clarke – 18 – 1 (5)
7. Levi Thibodaux – 18 – 0 (5)
8. Jimmy Neece Jr. – 17 – 12 (5)
9. Tyler Malone – 17 – 9 (5)
10. Michael M. Smith – 17 – 4 (5)