Quick Bites: Ranger M1, Day 1
2002 Ranger M1
Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Mobile, Ala.
Opening round, Wednesday
Adapting to the cold … As if fishing in a four-day tournament for a possible million dollars wasn’t pressure enough, today Mother Nature turned up the heat by delivering a nasty cold front that shut down a lot of the fish bite. “When it gets down to 20 degrees at night, it’s hard to catch fish the next day,” said Johnny McCombs (one bass for 1 pound, 14 ounces, 89th place), an Alabama pro who many predicted would do well here this week. The pros caught just 23 five-bass limits and the co-anglers caught none. Still, the limits are out there to be caught as long as competitors have the right approach. Pro Randy Blaukat of Lamar, Mo., placed third on day one with five bass weighing 13-15. “The cold didn’t affect me as much as the north wind dropping the tide,” he said. “I’m committed to the technique that I’m fishing, which is slow and methodical (with crankbaits and by flipping). I know I’m not going to get a lot of bites, so I’m just going to go out there and stay focused on the fishing.”
Just count them. If you still have five, you’re fine … While many competitors professed that Wednesday’s sub-freezing conditions didn’t hinder their fishing as much as it kept the fish from biting, a few admitted that it did affect their mental game a little bit. “Typically, you’re out there thinking about making the right cast or using the right bait, but now you’re just worried about being able to feel your fingertips,” said pro Carl Svebek of Sam Rayburn, Texas. Svebek caught three bass weighing 4-12 to place 44th today and said he “feels really fortunate” that he was able to boat that many.
He’s on a roll … One person who embraced the cold today was pro co-leader Keith Williams of Conway, Ark. “The weather really helped me out,” he said. Williams caught his five-bass, 14-pound, 7-ounce stringer in extremely shallow water by throwing a jig into thick cover. He said that, while the cold shut down the fish at other anglers’ locations, “I knew it wouldn’t change my fish.” Watch out for Williams. He’s fresh off a fifth-place finish at the FLW Tour event at Lake Wheeler earlier this month in northern Alabama and looks like he’s just as confident fishing the southern end of the state.
Flipping out … Prescient pro Dwayne Horton (77th place) of Knoxville, Tenn., said it would be the pros using the flipping technique who would come in with the fish this week. The two pros he said to look out for were Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., and Charlie Ingram of Santa Fe, Tenn. Biffle (10th) notched five bass weighing 10-10 and Ingram (sixth) weighed in five for 12-8. Both caught their fish by flipping.
Sound Bites
“I’ve been doing this for so long; I’m just focused on one bite at a time. It doesn’t really do you any good to waste energy on thinking about the money.”
– Randy Blaukat, responding to the pressures of fishing for a million dollars.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it ran through my mind three or four times. You get to thinking: If I could only get just one big fish.”
– Carl Svebek, also responding to the question of money this week.
“Frozen plastics.”
– Pro Jim Short, describing the bait he used to catch his two bass today. Short said the cold often caused his plastic baits, which are infused with salt, to stick to the wood of a log or brush when he hit them with his cast – like a tongue on a flagpole.
“The most difficult points to get are the first ones, just like the fish.”
– Co-angler Dennis Green, applying his football coaching philosophy to his first day of fishing in a national tournament. He zeroed under the tough weather conditions Wednesday.
Quick Links, Day 1: