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I’m the Guy that will Faint !!!!!!!!!!!!

by admin | Apr 13, 2019 | Fishing Tips, Stage 4 BPT Chickamauga | 0 Comments

If you fish long enough you will end up getting a hook stuck in you at some point! It even happens to top level pros from time to time. Randall Tharp and Cody Meyer (Cody was there for support) help Mark Danials jr out when he found a Rattle Trap buried deep in his finger.

Long Run Produces Lead For Lowen At Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay

by admin | Apr 12, 2019 | Tournament News | 0 Comments

GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Self-proclaimed river rat Bill Lowen found himself right at home in the Cooper River Friday and leveraged his current-born insights to catch a limit of bass weighing 13 pounds, 15 ounces and take the lead on Day 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay.

After catching 13-4 during Thursday’s opening round, Lowen has a two-day weight of 27-3.

Lowen, who grew up fishing the Ohio River, made a nearly 100-mile run south and avoided the broad rice fields that have seen significant traffic this week. Instead, he targeted a 3/4-mile stretch where he focused on creek channels with marsh drains and current that helped optimize his bite.

“Yesterday, they were on the deep channel swings; today they were on the shallow swings,” Lowen said. “It’s either going to be one or the other. You just have to figure it out fast enough which one they’re on. And tidal fish are notorious for — if that’s what they’re doing — every single one of them is doing it.

“It seems like those two hours before the low tide is the real deal. I saw a lot of 2 1/2-pounders in practice, and I haven’t seen very many of those in the tournament, so they’re still hiding in there somewhere.”

With the tide falling upon his arrival, Lowen started catching fish almost immediately. His fortune shifted significantly around 11 a.m. ET when he caught a 5-pounder.

A spinnerbait produced all of his bites. Lowen said presentation speed and covering just the right amounts of water were the keys to his success.

“You have to fish thorough, but you have to fish fast to cover water in that four-hour timeframe (available fishing time after accounting for round-trip travel and fuel stop),” he said. “Some of the guys in the area, I feel, are fishing too fast. They want my spinnerbait up high in the water column and they want it slow.

“If I burn it along, I won’t get a bite. But if I just fish it slow and float it around that grass, they’ll flush it like a toilet bowl. After making that long run, you get over there and for the first hour you almost have to make yourself slow down because you’re going so fast. As soon as I started slowing down is when I started catching them.”

Notably, Lowen cut his day short to allow for the long return and any complications from the increasingly windy weather. The time cushion proved beneficial for Lowen and his Xpress Boats teammate Harvey Horne, who ran out of gas and needed a ride to the weigh-in.

Horne had bounced back from a dismal opening round — one bass for just 1-16 — by catching 15-10 Friday and desperately needed to weigh his fish and gain valuable points in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.

“He was telling me to go on and go, but I wasn’t going to leave him,” Lowen said. “I put him and his fish in my boat and we came in early.”

In second place, Oklahoma angler Luke Palmer added 12-6 to his Day 1 bag of 14-2 and gained one spot with his total weight of 26-8. He ran to the Cooper River and returned to the same spot he fished on Day 1.

Again, slow presentations with soft plastics produced his bites.

“The spot is in a canal and it’s just a ridge with hydrilla that has 4 feet of water on one side and 7 on the other,” Palmer said. “I’m still trying to figure if fish I’m on are coming or going.

“This may be a spot they’re hitting on their way out of the creek. We still have fish spawning because I caught one off a bed today. Hopefully, that ridge will reload and I can get one more day out of it. If I can get lucky and catch 12 pounds out of it, I’d be tickled to death. I’d lay up and go fish another area on the final day, but I’m going to swing on them tomorrow.”

In third place, Lee Livesay made a big move from 44th place on Day 1 by catching 17-3 and pushing his two-day weight to 24-14. The Texas angler ran to the Cooper River and targeted alligator grass and hyacinth inside the hydrilla lines — a scenario many were overlooking.

Two different reaction baits produced his fish.

“There are some guys catching them out of hydrilla, but the bigger ones are suspended under the mats of gator grass and hyacinth,” Livesay said. “There might be 8 to 9 feet of depth where the mats are, and the bass are 6 inches underneath them. The winning fish are in there because I’m seeing them every day.

“I had a bunch of big ones miss my bait (Thursday). I should have had 20 pounds, but they were missing it. Today, I had three big ones eat it.”

Rounding out the Top 5 are Jason Williamson with 24-6 and Jesse Tacoronte with 24-5.

Florida angler Koby Kreiger leads the $1,500 Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award competition with a 6-8 largemouth.

Daily takeoffs will occur at 7 a.m. ET out of Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex, and weigh-ins are scheduled at the same location beginning at 3:15 p.m. ET each day.

2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia, Berkley

2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Carhartt, Lowrance, Mossy Oak Fishing, T-H Marine, Academy Sports + Outdoors

Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay Host Sponsor: Georgetown County

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 510,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Open Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

                      2019 Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay 4/11-4/14
                              Winyah Bay, Georgetown  SC.
                           (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN          10  27-03  100
  Day 1: 5   13-04     Day 2: 5   13-15
2.  Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK            10  26-08   99
  Day 1: 5   14-02     Day 2: 5   12-06
3.  Lee Livesay            Gladewater, TX          10  24-14   98
  Day 1: 5   07-11     Day 2: 5   17-03
4.  Jason Williamson       Wagener, SC             10  24-06   97
  Day 1: 5   15-11     Day 2: 5   08-11
5.  Jesse Tacoronte        Kissimmee, FL           10  24-05   96
  Day 1: 5   10-14     Day 2: 5   13-07
6.  Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR              10  23-13   95
  Day 1: 5   11-06     Day 2: 5   12-07
7.  Hunter Shryock         Newcomerstown, OH        8  23-09   94
  Day 1: 5   15-08     Day 2: 3   08-01
8.  Bill Weidler           Helena, AL               9  23-04   93
  Day 1: 4   08-10     Day 2: 5   14-10
9.  Cory Johnston          Cavan CANADA            10  22-14   92
  Day 1: 5   11-02     Day 2: 5   11-12
10. Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ              10  22-12   91
  Day 1: 5   12-06     Day 2: 5   10-06
11. Clent Davis            Montevallo, AL          10  22-00   90
  Day 1: 5   12-14     Day 2: 5   09-02
12. Matt Herren            Ashville, AL            10  21-11   89
  Day 1: 5   09-10     Day 2: 5   12-01
13. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS        10  21-10   88
  Day 1: 5   09-11     Day 2: 5   11-15
14. Koby Kreiger           Alva, FL                10  21-06   87
  Day 1: 5   08-11     Day 2: 5   12-11
15. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC         10  21-04   86
  Day 1: 5   11-04     Day 2: 5   10-00
16. Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA          10  21-02   85
  Day 1: 5   07-11     Day 2: 5   13-07
17. Rob Digh               Denver, NC              10  20-14   84
  Day 1: 5   09-13     Day 2: 5   11-01
18. Jake Whitaker          Fairview, NC            10  20-14   83
  Day 1: 5   10-14     Day 2: 5   10-00
19. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA               10  20-12   82
  Day 1: 5   11-13     Day 2: 5   08-15
20. Tyler Rivet            Raceland, LA            10  20-07   81
  Day 1: 5   09-15     Day 2: 5   10-08
21. Chris Johnston         Peterborough Ontario CA 10  20-05   80
  Day 1: 5   07-01     Day 2: 5   13-04
22. Jamie Hartman          Newport, NY             10  20-03   79
  Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 5   09-10
23. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO        10  20-01   78
  Day 1: 5   07-05     Day 2: 5   12-12
24. Mark Menendez          Paducah, KY             10  19-11   77
  Day 1: 5   08-10     Day 2: 5   11-01
25. Yusuke Miyazaki        Forney, TX              10  19-08   76
  Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   07-07
26. Scott Canterbury       Odenville, AL           10  19-00   75
  Day 1: 5   11-15     Day 2: 5   07-01
27. Shane LeHew            Catawba, NC              9  19-00   74
  Day 1: 4   07-05     Day 2: 5   11-11
28. Mike Huff              Corbin, KY              10  18-15   73
  Day 1: 5   07-06     Day 2: 5   11-09
29. Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC           6  18-11   72
  Day 1: 1   03-01     Day 2: 5   15-10
30. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        10  18-07   71
  Day 1: 5   10-07     Day 2: 5   08-00
31. Dale Hightower         Mannford, OK            10  18-07   70
  Day 1: 5   09-05     Day 2: 5   09-02
32. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL             10  18-01   69
  Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 5   07-08
33. Ray Hanselman Jr       Del Rio, TX             10  18-00   68
  Day 1: 5   10-11     Day 2: 5   07-05
34. Garrett Paquette       Canton, MI               7  17-15   67
  Day 1: 5   12-08     Day 2: 2   05-07
35. Brandon Card           Knoxville, TN           10  17-15   66
  Day 1: 5   09-09     Day 2: 5   08-06
36. David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN           10  17-09   65   $5,000.00
  Day 1: 5   09-09     Day 2: 5   08-00
37. Drew Benton            Panama City, FL         10  17-07   64   $5,000.00
  Day 1: 5   09-05     Day 2: 5   08-02
38. Seth Feider            New Market, MN          10  17-07   63   $5,000.00
  Day 1: 5   08-13     Day 2: 5   08-10
39. Drew Cook              Midway, FL               9  17-06   62   $5,000.00
  Day 1: 5   08-05     Day 2: 4   09-01
40. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL           10  17-06   61   $5,000.00
  Day 1: 5   08-14     Day 2: 5   08-08
41. Keith Combs            Huntington, TX          10  17-04   60   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   09-15     Day 2: 5   07-05
42. Micah Frazier          Newnan, GA              10  17-04   59   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   07-11     Day 2: 5   09-09
43. Matt Arey              Shelby, NC              10  17-04   58   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   08-15     Day 2: 5   08-05
44. Harvey Horne           Bella Vista, AR          6  17-00   57   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 1   01-06     Day 2: 5   15-10
45. Greg DiPalma           Millville, NJ            9  17-00   56   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   11-01     Day 2: 4   05-15
46. Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT           10  16-12   55   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   08-10     Day 2: 5   08-02
47. Brett Preuett          Monroe, LA              10  16-10   54   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   08-02     Day 2: 5   08-08
48. Randy Pierson          Oakdale, CA             10  16-09   53   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   08-08     Day 2: 5   08-01
49. Ed Loughran III        Richmond, VA            10  16-06   52   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-04     Day 2: 5   10-02
50. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland TX AUSTRALIA 10  15-15   51   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-11     Day 2: 5   09-04
51. Rick Clunn             Ava, MO                  7  15-14   50   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 2   04-00     Day 2: 5   11-14
52. Brad Whatley           Bivins, TX              10  15-13   49   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   07-07     Day 2: 5   08-06
53. Derek Hudnall          Baton Rouge, LA         10  15-06   48   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-15     Day 2: 5   08-07
54. Quentin Cappo          Prairieville, LA        10  15-02   47   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-05     Day 2: 5   08-13
55. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN            9  15-00   46   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   09-13     Day 2: 4   05-03
56. Randy Sullivan         Breckenridge, TX        10  14-13   45   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-07     Day 2: 5   08-06
57. Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL          8  14-12   44   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 4   05-13     Day 2: 4   08-15
58. Clark Wendlandt        Leander, TX             10  14-12   43   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-09     Day 2: 5   08-03
59. Jeff Gustafson         Keewatin Ontario CANADA 10  14-11   42   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   07-13     Day 2: 5   06-14
60. Chad Morgenthaler      Reeds Spring, MO         9  14-01   41   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   07-02     Day 2: 4   06-15
61. Brandon Cobb           Greenwood, SC           10  13-15   40   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   08-07     Day 2: 5   05-08
62. Chad Pipkens           Lansing, MI             10  13-10   39   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-03     Day 2: 5   07-07
63. David Fritts           Lexington, NC            9  13-10   38   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-15     Day 2: 4   06-11
64. Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC          10  13-09   37   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   08-03     Day 2: 5   05-06
65. Chris Zaldain          Fort Worth, TX          10  13-04   36   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-08     Day 2: 5   06-12
66. Chris Groh             Spring Grove, IL         9  13-00   35   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 4   04-11     Day 2: 5   08-05
67. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA         10  12-12   34   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   06-03     Day 2: 5   06-09
68. Tyler Carriere         Youngsville, LA          9  11-09   33   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   07-02     Day 2: 4   04-07
69. Gary Clouse            Winchester, TN           6  10-03   32   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 2   04-09     Day 2: 4   05-10
70. Jay Yelas              Lincoln City, OR         7  09-10   31   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 5   05-12     Day 2: 2   03-14
71. Robbie Latuso          Gonzales, LA             5  09-09   30   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   09-09
72. Frank Talley           Temple, TX               7  09-06   29   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 4   06-01     Day 2: 3   03-05
73. Shane Lineberger       Lincolnton, NC           5  07-07   28   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 2   03-03     Day 2: 3   04-04
74. Kyle Monti             Okeechobee, FL           3  05-01   27   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 1   01-09     Day 2: 2   03-08
75. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL               3  04-05   26   $2,500.00
  Day 1: 3   04-05     Day 2: 0   00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1        62       342       631-04
 2        60       347       674-12
----------------------------------
         122       689      1306-00

Martens Pours it On; Lucas, Wiggins, Elam Escape Elimination on Lake Chickamauga

by admin | Apr 11, 2019 | Stage 4 BPT Chickamauga | 0 Comments

DAYTON, Tenn. (April 11, 2019) – As has become the standard for the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Elimination Rounds, you didn’t have to look far to find a multitude of storylines on Day 3 of the Econo Lodge Stage Four Presented by Evinrude.

Aaron Martens gave notice that he’s onto a strong pattern on Lake Chickamauga, and is going to be a handful for the rest of the competition as he finished atop the 40 Group A anglers who competed in today’s Elimination Round. And joining him in the 20 moving on to Saturday’s Knockout Round are three anglers – Justin Lucas, Jesse Wiggins and James Elam – who had not previously advanced past an Elimination Round.

The way Chickamauga is producing scorable bass this week, all Group A and Group B Elimination Rounds’ survivors are likely to find squeezing into the Top 20 at the end of Knockout may be harder than it ever has been.

Martens Makes the Most of His Day

Martens picked up where he left off in the Shotgun Round, weighing in 13-5 in the first hour of competition, and connecting with a 7-pound, 6-ouncer. That fish was the anchor of his 36-13 weight for the day, and helped Martens to 94-0 overall in the Shotgun and Elimination Rounds.

That weight surpassed the previous Elimination weight record of 93-4 set by Kelly Jordon at the Stage Three event in Raleigh, North Carolina, and gave the Alabama pro enough of a security blanket that he could mix up his patterns, and survey some of his best spots ahead of the Knockout Round.

“I had some time to check my best spot today, and there are some big ones there,” Martens admitted. “I don’t know if any of the guys in the other round have fished it, but I’ve had it to myself the whole time I’ve fished it. It’s just one of the few areas I’m fishing that really has something to it. It’s a good spot, I hope nobody else finds it.”

Lucas, Wiggins, Elam Advance

Coming into Stage Four, Lucas, Wiggins and Elam had not made it out of the Elimination Rounds. Lucas was the last man out in his Elimination day on Texas’ Lake Conroe, but all three anglers had found themselves outside the Top 40 in the three previous Bass Pro Tour events leading up to Stage Four.

In the Thursday fishing though, all three finished well above the Elimination Line: Lucas weighed in 36-13 for a combined weight of 87-10 (fifth), Wiggins added 37-7 to boost his two-day total to 84-4 (ninth), and Elam caught 28-13 for a total Elimination weight of 75-3 (14th).

“Chickamauga fishes a lot like Guntersville this time of year, so it’s familiar to me from living in northern Alabama and fishing Guntersville the past several years,” Lucas said. “I just feel comfortable. I’ve caught almost everything this week on a spinning rod. Those first couple of events were out of my element a little bit: shallow pre-spawn largemouth just isn’t my thing.

“That’s always kinda been an Achilles heel of my fishing, but when I get out of that phase and can throw swimbaits and topwaters and fish with a spinning rod, that’s what I like to do.”

Justin Lucas fished his way into his first Knockout Round of the season.

The Second Elimination Battle Begins

With the first half of the Knockout Round now set, the 40 anglers from Group B get their next shot at Chickamauga Friday for the second Elimination Round of Stage Four. They can expect some weather: The National Weather Service is calling for sustained winds of 20 mph and rain on Thursday night, and possible thunderstorms throughout competition.

That’s likely of little consequence to Cliff Crochet, who posted 69-9 in his Shotgun Round, spent the final two periods of that day running new water, and barring an epic meltdown, is probably comfortably safe from elimination. Ditto the five other anglers (Edwin Evers, Zack Birge, Fletcher Shryock, Michael Neal and Gary Klein) who weighed 47 pounds or more on Day 1.

Neal, for one, is nonplussed about more rain.

“I don’t know if it’ll really matter much,” said the Chickamauga veteran. “More rain isn’t going to change the conditions much more than it did the last day of practice, things should mostly stay the same. It’s not going to affect what I’m doing”

Expect the anxiety to be much higher in the middle of SCORETRACKER

, where the battle to escape elimination is tightly bunched as usual. But unlike previous elimination days, where big movement has been the norm in the first three events, Chickamauga’s prolific productivity may make it tougher to climb up from the bottom of the 40-man standings.

“We had so much movement inside the Top 20 (on Wednesday), but even after all that, we only had one guy fall out and one guy sneak in,” said MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone. “If you think you can just duplicate your day from the Shotgun Round and be safe, guess again – you’re going to get left behind. If you’re below Jacob Wheeler (in 20th), you’ll probably need to have a great day to get inside that Elimination Line.”

Looking Ahead to Knockout Saturday

The Top 20 anglers from each of the two Elimination groups will advance to a 40-angler Knockout Round on Saturday – weights will be zeroed, making the Knockout a one-day scramble. The Top 10 anglers in the Knockout Round will advance to the Championship Round on Sunday, April 14.

When, Where & How to Watch

Competition begins daily at 7:30 a.m. ET, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! Live Stream starts at 10 a.m. ET, with live, on-the-water coverage and analysis provided by Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone and Natalie Dillon until lines out at 3:30 p.m. The Berkley Postgame Show – hosted by Steven “Lurch” Scott – will start at 5 p.m. daily.

The Day’s Results

To see all results from today’s Elimination Round, and to keep up with cumulative results throughout the week, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click “Results.”

###

About Major League Fishing

Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). New for 2019, the Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV. MLF uses the entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format where every scorable bass counts and the winner is the angler with the highest cumulative weight. For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more in-depth coverage, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.

Tyler Rivet – Work Your Way Up

by admin | Apr 11, 2019 | Tournament News | 0 Comments

If you are a young angler with aspirations to fish at the next level but you’re not real sure which route to take to get there, look no further than Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie Tyler Rivet. Rivet grew up fishing in the back of the boat in local clubs near his home in Raceland, LA before attending Nicholls State University for a college education.

There, Rivet joined the bass fishing club and began an extremely fruitful college fishing career, qualifying for the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship every year he competed. It had always been a childhood dream, but the success and the platform Rivet found fishing in Carhartt College B.A.S.S events was what propelled him to pursue becoming a professional fisherman.

The B.A.S.S. platform provided a myriad of opportunities, so Rivet registered for the Bassmaster Opens and began competing at the next level. Taking his share of licks while cashing two checks a year during his first two Bassmaster Opens campaigns, just enough to keep him financially able to continue chasing his dream. In 2018, Rivet set the hook on that dream when he qualified for the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series through the Bass Pro Shops Central Opens.

Jason Williamson Takes First-Round Lead In Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay

by admin | Apr 11, 2019 | Tournament News | 0 Comments

GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Forgoing a long run to the presumed big-bass “promised land” of the Cooper River, South Carolina’s Jason Williamson remained close to the takeoff site and found the right bites to amass a five-bass limit of 15 pounds, 11 ounces which leads Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay.

While over half the field committed to a hour-plus run south along the Intracoastal Waterway, through Charleston Harbor and into the Cooper River and surrounding waterways, Williamson stayed in the Waccamaw River and played his time-management strategy to perfection. Essential to his plan was a thorough and persistent approach.

“A lot of guys are running the bank and flipping. You have some fish that are spawning supershallow. You have some postspawners that are done. And you have some that haven’t spawned yet,” Williamson said. “What I’m doing is trying to get the best of all three worlds in one area.

“I’m fishing shallow, I’m backing out and fishing deeper and I’m doing some midrange stuff too. A lot of guys are buzzing through an area, catching what’s aggressive and then going. I caught what was aggressive, then I backed out and got a few more bites. Adjusting throughout the day was key for me today.”

Williamson threw a mix of flipping baits, topwaters and finesse baits. The right area, he said, was one with greater depth than surrounding backwater spots. This allows the fish comfortable postspawn habitat, which keeps them in the area longer.

“Some of these backwaters have 12 to 15 feet of depth, and those fish move up and down with the tide; they adjust throughout the day,” Williamson said. “I was able to move with them in one area.”

The area Williamson fished had a mix of lily pads, docks, wood and some rock. This diversity ensured significant forage to hold quality fish.

Williamson’s catch included a 6-10 largemouth that leads the $1,500 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award competition. BASSTrakk had reflected a 5-pounder on his catch record, but Williamson admits the thrill of the moment caused him to underestimate.

“I caught her this morning pretty early and I was so excited I put her in the livewell and didn’t really realize she was that big,” Williamson said. “I thought she was 5- to 5 1/2 pounds, so it was a pleasant surprise.

“You look at the weights here through history and you think ‘I don’t know if it’s possible to catch that kind of weight fishing where I’m fishing. But after today, I have a lot more confidence that there are some bigger fish that live here than I thought.”

In second place, Hunter Shryock also stayed local, committing his day to the Santee River and securing a limit that weighed 15-8. He caught his bass by flipping a Berkley Havoc Pit Boss around cypress trees.

The problem he faced was recent releases from Santee Cooper Lakes pushed a tremendous amount of water into the river and raised the level about 3 feet since his last day of practice. This eliminated many of his spots, but he was able to dial in one viable area.

“The good thing about this one area is that the higher water has the fish penned into one spot where I can reach them,” Shryock said. “If the water gets much higher, it will push them too far into the (shoreline cover), and I won’t be able to reach them. I might end up running to the Cooper River tomorrow.”

In third place, Luke Palmer made the run to the Cooper River and returned with a limit that weighed 14-2. Palmer is using an undisclosed mix of reaction baits and slower presentations. For him, the day’s stiff east wind created a challenge for his preferred game plan.

“I wish the tide would have gone out a little more than it did,” he said. “I really like for the tide to come on out and get down that drain so I can pinpoint them a lot easier. I’m staying in drains with hydrilla, and that’s the difference.”

Rounding out the Top 5 are Indiana pro Bill Lowen with 13-4 and Alabamian Clent Davis with 12-14.

The tournament will resume Friday with takeoff at 7 a.m. ET from Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex. Weigh-in will be held at the same location at 3:15 p.m.

Only the Top 35 anglers will advance after Friday’s second round.