Category Archives: BASS Tour

Kenyon Hill Wins at Clarks Hill

Fish Harder’s
Kenyon Hill Wins at
Clarks Hill

Kenyon Hill - Clarks Hill

Kenyon Hill, Bassmaster Elite Series professional, bagged 68 pounds of bass over four days to take the gold at the fifth, 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series event held on Clarks Hill Lake in South Carolina, May 1-4, 2008. For his efforts Hill earned $100,000.

“Most of my fish were caught with a Carolina rig. I used plastics rigged with a ¾-ounce Peter T Finesse Carolina Weight & a

Peter T Force Bead,” he says. “It was a dynamite combination for postspawn bass. I targeted hard points where the bass were roaming looking for food. It worked for me all four days.”


Baby Steps

Baby steps refer to the slow process of getting my boat and my gear ready for fishing this year, much in part to our new baby girl.  Saturday, I went to Gander Mtn to get my WI & MN fishing license, plus a map of Winnebago Chain for this summer and a new Red Eye Shad in a Neon Shad (Chrome/Blue Back with Red Stripe).  Its very similar to my favorite color Rat-L Trap which is Lake Fork Special.
  Image of Original Rat-L-Trap Crankbaits
Today, I was out in the garage removing all the boxes and other stuff that was being stored on top of my boat.  I also did some maintenance on my trolling motor, batteries and other boat stuff.  Felt good to he out there and tinker around.  My tackle needs some major organization, not likely to happen before the first club tourneys.

My plan is to get out on Lake Marion here in Lakeville next weekend to make sure the motor is running well and she is sea worthy.

I did find time to watch the live weigh-in on Bassmasters.com from Clarks Hill and it was great to see Kenyon Hill get an Elite Series victory.  Here is a snippet from an article on how he caught them:

“Hill’s big bass Sunday hit a shad-colored Sebile swimbait. He also caught fish this week on a chrome-colored Cordell Pencil Popper topwater lure. But Hill said his go-to lure by far this week was a Carolina-rigged Zoom Trick Worm. He fished it on a 3/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten slip sinker paired with a Tru-Tungsten Force Bead, which Hill claims creates a fish-attracting sound as they click across the bottom.

Like almost everyone else in this Elite Series tournament, Hill was targeting shallow flat points where post-spawn largemouth bass were coming to feed on spawning blueback herring baitfish.

Peter T, who finished 8th used a very similar Tru-Tungsten setup and Zoom plastics as well.

Few more email subscribers signed up lately, we are up to 68!!

Rich
RichLindgren.com 
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Falcon Lake exceeds the Hype!

Just in case you live under a rock.  The Bassmaster Elite Series visited famed Lake Falcon near Zapata, TX this past week and caught bass beyond what words can really describe.  YES, Bass are really bigger in TEXAS!!  They broke every Bassmaster record but one, Dean Rojas’ single day catch some how survived by a few ounces and by all accounts, it was a bad set of batteries by Aaron Martens on Day 1 (maybe he should get an All Charge unit) and a bad break for Big Show on the last day.

In the end Paul Elias, old Mr. Reel & Kneel himself, came out on top with 132lbs 8oz of fish over 4 days.  Some quick math for you that is 20 fish over 4 days that averaged 6lbs 10oz a piece!!!  And “Big Show” Terry Scroggins came in just 4 ounces back.

Above is what 44-04lbs looks like for 5 fish!!!

I have dropped a few pictures in and I intend to do a more in depth break down once all the reports of patterns and baits get published.  But you would be a fool not to watch or record the Bassmasters television broadcast next Saturday morning, you will not want to miss it!!

Here is the top 12 standings below, notice they all broke the 100lb mark!  The top 6 anglers all bested Steve Kennedy’s previous record of 122lbs from Clear Lake last April.

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Paul Elias — Laurel, MS — 20, 132-08 — 305 — $100,000.00
Day 1: 5, 28-05, — Day 2: 5, 39-01 — Day 3: 5, 27-07 — Day 4: 5, 37-11

2. Terry Scroggins — San Mateo, FL — 20, 132-04 — 295 — $42,000.00
Day 1: 5, 33-01 — Day 2: 5, 25-01 — Day 3: 5, 29-14 — Day 4: 5, 44-04

3. Byron Velvick — Del Rio, TX — 20, 131-15 — 290 — $26,000.00
Day 1: 5, 34-14 — Day 2: 5, 41-11 — Day 3: 5, 25-03 — Day 4: 5, 30-03

4. Aaron Martens — Leeds, AL — 20, 129-07 — 300 — $19,000.00
Day 1: 5, 42-00 — Day 2: 5, 37-13 — Day 3: 5, 29-11 — Day 4: 5, 19-15

5. Mark Davis — Mount Ida, AR — 20, 128-15 — 280 — $18,000.00
Day 1: 5, 35-04 — Day 2: 5, 33-09 — Day 3: 5, 33-04 — Day 4: 5, 26-14

6. Scott Rook — Little Rock, AR — 20, 125-10 — 276 — $15,500.00
Day 1: 5, 35-12 — Day 2: 5, 24-09 — Day 3: 5, 35-04 — Day 4: 5, 30-01

7. Scott Campbell — Springfield, MO — 20, 120,-01 — 272 — $17,000.00
Day 1: 5, 33-15, — Day 2: 5, 25-06 — Day 3: 5, 29-15, — Day 4: 5, 30-13

8. Jason Williamson — Aiken, SC — 20, 118-02 — 268 — $14,500.00
Day 1: 5, 33-04 — Day 2: 5, 27-09 — Day 3: 5, 27-08 — Day 4: 5, 29-13

9. Ben Matsubu Hemphill, TX — 20, 114-13 — 264 — $14,000.00
Day 1: 5, 24-14 — Day 2: 5, 30-03 — Day 3: 5, 34-00 — Day 4: 5, 25-12

10. Casey Ashley — Donalds, SC — 20, 113-03 — 260 — — $14,500.00
Day 1: 5, 28-02 — Day 2: 5, 28-04 — Day 3: 5, 34-01 — Day 4: 5, 22-12

11. Michael Iaconelli — Runnemede, NJ — 20, 112-06 — 257 — $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 34-11 — Day 2: 5 31-10 Day 3: 5 25-12 Day 4: 5 20-05

12. Rick Morris — Virginia Beach, VA — 20, 108-07 — 254 — $13,300.00
Day 1: 5, 25-07 — Day 2: 5, 29-10 — Day 3: 5, 36-01 — Day 4: 5, 17-05

Big Bass

> Day 4: Terry Scroggins — San Mateo, FL — 10-06 — $1,000.00
> Day 3: Casey Ashley — Donalds, SC — 10-05 — $1,000.00
> Day 2: Mark Davis — Mount Ida, AR — 11-00 — $1,000.00
> Day 1: Scott Campbell — Springfield, MO — 13-02 — $1,000.00

All I can, say is, why are you still reading this and not calling your buddies to hitch up the boat and get down there yourself???????

Kenyon Hill Catches a Big One – 10lbs 3oz on Kissimmee Chain

Kenyon Hill
Photo: Courtesy of BASS

Kenyon Hill Catches a Big One
D.B. Jackson

Day 2 of the Elite Series Citrus Slam on the Kissimmee Chain was a memorable one for Kenyon Hill.

“I knew she was big but I really didn’t know how big. When I saw her on her bed she looked like a submarine,” says the Norman, Oklahoma professional angler. “It was a thrill to catch a fish like that to say the least. Her weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces didn’t really surprise me.”

Hill caught his giant – the biggest bass of the event – with a watermelon Picasso Ish Tube rigged with a ¾ ounce Tru-Tungsten weight and a 12/0 Ish Pro X Hook.

“The Ish Tube is a great bait for bedding bass. I don’t know exactly what they think it is but they eat it, that’s for sure. Maybe they think it’s something attacking their nest or maybe they just want to get it out of the way,” he explains. “But the real key to fishing it on beds is to use the Tru-Tungsten weight.

“The Tru-Tungsten weight is heavy but it’s small because it’s made out of tungsten. That lets you shake and move it in place without dragging it out of the bed. It’ll really stay put with a lot of shaking and jumping. That’s important because if it leaves the bed they loose interest.”
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Hill caught 20 bass, totaling 54 pounds, 4 ounces, in the four day  tournament. He finished 4th behind Kevin VanDam, Ray Sedgwick and Scott Rook.

Great Bassmaster Tournament Video

This has been around awhile, many of you have probably seen it, if you have, watch it again, if not its definitely worth 4-5 minutes of your time!

This is a must see for anyone who has every fished a bass tournament or ever would like to.  If it does not fire you up or give you chills, its time to trade your rods & reels in for golf clubs!

I told you it was worth it!!!

Also, thanks to the recent email subscribers, we are now up to 63!

Rich
RichLindgren.com 
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Final Classic Summary

Here is my summary of the 2008 Bassmasters Classic from Lake Hartwell.  As you may have noticed many patterns figured into the top finishers, but only one could win!  The following is a break down of info that I gathered from other websites as well as what I saw by watching & rewatching the Classic coverage.

From the sounds of the reports, it didn’t take Alton Jones long to find the fish he exploited to win the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. It did take him awhile, though, to figure out how to catch them after his morning bite died.

Practice
On the first of the 3 official practice days the week prior to the tournament, Jones discovered quality fish holding in creek channels along the inside edges of flooded timber. He could catch some, but only early in the morning and only on a Cotton Cordell CC Spoon.  Once that initial activity period was over, his fish would shut down. They didn’t go anywhere, but he couldn’t make them bite.

It wasn’t until the last practice day (2 days before the event) that he discovered their affinity for jigs. They’d occasionally take a prototype Booyah Pigskin football jig or an AJ’s Go2 model.  “I didn’t have a plan B,” he said. “I had one type of location and two types of baits, and I knew it was going to be a grind.

Competition
> Day 1: 5, 17-05
> Day 2: 5, 18-11
> Day 3: 5, 13-07
> Total = 15, 49-07

Cold & Rainy Day 1 unfolded just about perfectly for Jones, with the notable exception of a kicker bite. He caught 15 keepers on the day, but none reached the 4-pound mark.  He’d pinpointed 10 areas from practice, but visited only three on the first day. He caught a quick limit with the spoon, and then methodically worked the jigs after that action died out.

He was in 10th place after the initial weigh-in – a little more than 3 1/2 pounds behind leader Charlie Hartley – and he was confident he could back up that bag with another good one on day 2. The sun emerged a few hours into the second day.  He had to alter his plan a bit when he found ‘Peter T’ on his spooning spot first thing in the morning (both had discovered it in practice, and luck of the boat draw determined who got to it first on the tournament days).  This turned out to be a good thing, as it forced him to his jig fish earlier which were better quality fish.  He left his primary area at about 10:30 and didn’t know whether it had enough fish left for him to close out the win on the final day. The channel was so steep and narrow that he couldn’t see the fish on his graph.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors

Jones didn’t catch his fifth keeper on day 3 until mid-afternoon.

Day 3, which brought clouds and temperatures in the high 50s, got off to a slow start for him. Probably making Alton wonder if he should have stopped at his spoon spot?? He went fishless at his first two stops, and then finally caught a 3 1/2-pounder at about 9:30. He hit a couple more places that paid no dividends, but caught two on back-to-back casts at his next stop.

He picked up a 3-pounder off a ditch near Portman Shoals Marina early in the afternoon, and then went awhile before finishing off his limit with a small keeper. He didn’t get another bite the rest of the day.

His confidence wasn’t soaring as he headed back to the launch. With only 13lbs most of the top 5 would have beat him with just a 15-18lb bag.  His 13 1/2-pound bag, however, was bigger than any of the rest of the Top 6 from day 2 could manage, and his victory margin was greater than the weight of his best fish.

Pattern Notes
Jones focused primarily on creek-channel trees in 28 to 35 feet of water.  “I wanted to be fishing as shallow as I could, but still be fishing in the deep timber,” he said. “From zero to 35 feet was a moonscape, and then there’d be a big, flooded forest. That’s where I spent most of my time.

“I had little drains that were full of timber and I’d move to the shallowest edge, and then go even a little bit shallower and maybe find one or two extra trees, and there’d usually be fish there.  “I had to be fishing in the bottom of the ditches and I had to bring the bait right down the middle of the channel,” he continued. “When I’d feel it come across a piece of wood, I’d get ready, because that’s when the strikes occurred.”

He said that stealth was important, and part of that was making casts that were as long as possible.  He ended up culling the vast majority of the spoon-caught fish in favor of jig-eaters.

Photo: Booyah

Jones’ primary Classic-winning baits: the 3/4-ounce Booyah Pigskin jig (top) and the 1/2-ounce Booyah AJ’s Go2 jig with black/blue flake Yum Chunk trailer.

Winning Gear Notes
> Jig gear: 7′ medium-heavy Kistler Magnesium TS rod, Ardent XS1000 casting reel, 14-pound Silver Thread fluorocarbon line3/4-ounce Booyah Pigskin or 1/2-ounce Booyah AJ’s Go2 jig (various colors, but primarily Ozark Craw, which features a mix of brown and purple strands), 3 1/2 Yum Chunk trailer(black/blue flake).
Click to Close 

> Spoon gear: 6’6″ medium-heavy Kistler Magnesium TS rod, same reel, 17-pound Silver Thread fluorocarbon3/4-ounce CC spoon

> He felt that jig color was unimportant for the most part, but the black/blue flake chunk trailer made a difference.

The Bottom Line
> Main factor in his success – “Outside of the equipment and baits, it was just sticking to my game plan and understanding how the fish were positioned. Figuring out that they were at the very bottom of the ditches was really the key.”

The other anglers who finished in 2nd through 5th place at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic at South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell possess a wide range of pedigrees.  Dominant super stars to relative unknown qualifiers for the Elites Series & Bassmaster Opens. 

2nd: Cliff Pace
> Day 1: 5, 18-10
> Day 2: 5, 14-11
> Day 3: 5, 11-00
> Total = 15, 44-05

Mississippi’s Cliff Pace, who was in his second Classic, worked out a pattern that was very similar to the one Jones used. He fished the bottoms of ditches that featured standing timber. He came out of practice with a fair amount of confidence, but, like Jones, he didn’t know if he had enough fish to get him through 3 days.

“It’s hard for me to rate a practice when I was fishing so deep,” he said. “I knew I had a good pattern, but I just didn’t know how many bites it would produce. “I could make one drop and catch one, and then make another drop and catch another one, but if I’d stayed there, who knows if I could’ve ended up catching 100 or three? The quantity was actually better than I’d anticipated.”

He had fish in depths that ranged from 30 to nearly 50 feet, but his best spots were between 40 and 47 feet. For some reason, most of the fish moved to much shallower depths on day 1, but he made the necessary adjustments and weighed his best bag of the tournament. They were back where he’d originally found them on days 2 and 3.

He caught weigh-in fish on both jigs and dropshot rigs.
> Jig gear: 7’3″ medium-heavy Castaway XP3 Grass Master Braid rod, Shimano Curado D casting reel, 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce V&M Cliff Pace signature football jig (moneymaker), unnamed twin-tail grub (green-pumpkin).  The jig color is basically a natural green with strands of several different colors mixed in.

> Dropshot gear: 7’10” medium-heavy Castaway Jeff Kriet signature spinning rod, Shimano Symetre spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, 3/8oz tungsten dropshot weight, 1/0 Gamakatsu Round Bend hook, 4 1/2″ V&M finesse worm (green-pumpkin or green-pumpkin/blue) or 6″ V&M Pork Pin (green-pumpkin).

> Main factor in his success – “When you’re fishing that deep, it’s concentration. I didn’t even feel a lot of the bites unless they were small fish, and a 5-pounder just felt mushy.”

> Performance edge – “I’d have to give it to my jig. When you’ve had the luxury of designing and building something and everything’s just the way you want it, it gives you a lot of confidence.”

Photo: BassFan

Kevin VanDam threw two Strike King crankbaits – a Series 5 (top) and a Flat Shad.

3rd: Kevin Van Dam
> Day 1: 5, 20-03
> Day 2: 5, 11-14
> Day 3: 5, 11-07
> Total = 15, 43-08

Two-time Classic winner Kevin VanDam had never fished Hartwell prior to the official practice days in the week preceding the tournament, so he approached it like a couple of other lakes in the region that he had some experience on.

“I’d fished Russell and Clarks Hill, and I knew Hartwell would be at least somewhat similar,” he said. “I went out looking for patterns that fit my strengths.”

It wasn’t long before he got into some good crankbait action, just as he had a Clarks Hill a few years back. He had action in the backs of creeks on the upper end of the lake, and on points and humps on the lower end near the dam.  

He caught a 20-pound bag from the lower end on day 1, but couldn’t connect with those fish again and had to settle for bags that weighed a little more than half that the rest of the way.

“I guess those (lower-end) fish just pulled out and suspended,” he said. “Stubbornness probably hurt me more than anything – after as good a practice as I had and that first day, I was thinking I could go down there and get well in a hurry.   KVD admitted that he spent way too much time near the dam trying to make those bigger fish bite.  Still, he ended up with his fifth straight Top-5 finish in the Classic.

> Cranking gear: 7′ medium Quantum Energy PT glass-graphite composite cranking rod, Quantum PT Energy casting reel (5:1 ratio), 12-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, Strike King Flat Shad (Tennessee shad) or Series 5 (Modified Sexyshad) crankbait.

> Bait customizations were key for KVD:  He customized the paint job on the Series 5 a little bit in an attempt to better imitate Hartwell’s blueback herring. Also, he used a 1/8oz clip-on weight to suspend the Flat Shad at his desired depths.  KVD also changed out the stock hooks on both baits for Mustad Ultrapoint 1X strong.

> Main factor in his success – “I tried to have a game plan that would hold up to whatever the weather conditions might bring. I came close.”

Photo: BassFan

Bobby Lane caught three consecutive solid sacks in his first Classic.

4th: Bobby Lane
> Day 1: 5, 15-00
> Day 2: 5, 14-13
> Day 3: 5, 12-10
> Total = 15, 42-07

Bobby Lane, know primarily for his shallow water prowess, would not have been made many of most pundit’s short lists of favorites, but he made the most of his first Classic appearance.

“My practice was horrible the first day, then the next day it was real good,” he said. “Then the day after that I picked up the crankbait and figured something out with that.  “I figured I could catch about 15-16 pounds a day.”

He adjusted nicely with the changing conditions – he caught all of his weigh-in fish on a spoon on day 1, on a dropshot rig on day 2 and on a crankbait on day 3.

> Spoon gear: 7′ medium action Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia Revo SX casting reel, 14-pound Berkley Trilene Maxx (main line) and 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon 1 1/2-foot leader, 1/2-ounce spoon.

> Dropshot gear: 7′ medium-heavy Fenwick Techna AV spinning rod, Abu Garcia Cardinal 802 spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (green tint), unnamed 5/16-ounce tungsten dropshot weight, 2/0 Owner dropshot hook, various 4- and 5-inch finesse worms. “Not much seemed to matter with the worms or colors,” he said. “I’d find a bag of them and pull one out, and it would work.”

> Crankbait gear: 7′ medium action Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia Revo SX casting reel, 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, Berkley Frenzy 7cm Flicker Shad (crawfish). Of the Flicker Shad, he said: “It’s a good bait for this time of year. It has a skinny wobble.”  Lane also used a Shad Rap to catch a few fish as well.

> Main factor in his success – “Fishing the deepest pockets off the main lake I could find that had dirty water. I ran 40 or 50 of them in 3 days, and I only needed 10 to 20 minutes to hit each one.”

> Performance edge – “The Flicker Shad. It’s a good bait for this time of year because it has a nice, skinny wobble.”

Photo: BassFan

Greg Hackney used Strike King Flat Shad crankbaits to catch fish that were feeding on blueback herring.

5th: Greg Hackney
> Day 1: 5, 16-02
> Day 2: 5, 14-09
> Day 3: 5, 10-12

This was Greg Hackney’s best performance by far in six career Classics. He was 19th in 2006, but 30th or worse in the other four.

“I was cranking channels where the (blueback) herring were balled up,” he said. “There was no one depth or type of structure – I fished anywhere I graphed bait balls, whether it was 5 to 6 feet of water or 15 to 20.

“I didn’t make any mistakes and I wouldn’t have changed anything that I did. I fished a good tournament and I’m happy with the results.”

His most productive spots were located in the Seneca River at the upper end of the lake.

> Cranking gear: Quantum Energy PT casting reel (6.1:1 ratio), 12-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, Strike King Flat Shad (sexy shad) or Series 3 (splatterback) crankbait.

> Main factor in his success – “Probably just moving and fishing any of those places (with herring) that had wind. Without the wind, I couldn’t get the bites because the fish weren’t on cover and I didn’t have anything to deflect the bait off of.”

As you can see, Crankbaits made up for some good finishes but the top two anglers predominantly fished jigs & finesse tactics in the end!!  Note that others that had good tournaments like Ike, who had a football jig btie like Alton & Scott Rook was in the mix with a cranking pattern (shad rap) similar to that of Hack & Bobbly Lane.  I think the biggest key to Alton’s win was managing his fish and sticking with his game plan even when he was only getting 5-8 bites on days 2 & 3.  I also want to mention Charlie Hartley, as he really did have a great Classic, he fell off on day 3.  I think that was largely that he took some gambles to win the classic on day 3 and that cost him to fall out of the top finishers, you have to respect that.  Hartley had some really good fish located, but ulitmately, I believe those fish ran dry as they seem to be on a few key docks.  I think he needed more spots or an alternate pattern to carry him the distance.

Well, now its time for the anglers to head to Florida and for us to get our Fantasy lineups ready for the rest of the Elite Series, should be another great season to follow.  Let’s see who carries momentun from the Classic….

Rich
RichLindgren.com 
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Alton Jones welcome to Bass Fishing Immortality

Winning the Bassmasters Classic is equal to instant Bass Fishing Immortality.  I take my hat off to Alton for getting it down, because he had the guts to stick to his plan even when bites were slow to grind out a fairly decisive victory.  Many other anglers may have chose to move or try a different pattern when it was slow, but he stuck to his Booyah Football Jig.  So his great decision making, was actually deciding not to change!!!
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I will likely do a more comprehensive Classic summary when I have a bit more time, but I wanted to get my congrats out to Alton in a timely manner

Here are some good links:
AltonJones.com
ALTON JONES’s Boat Design

Rich
RichLindgren.com 
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Rich’s Day 2 Classic Summary

Well Day 2 did not disappoint.  A bunch of movement and a few of the leaders caught them again.  To essentially give us a 5 angler race with another two that have a decent shot and about 6 more that would be real dark horses at this point.  They would need 22lb plus bags and a bunch of guys to have sub-standard days.

It is great to see Greg Hackney being relevant on the 3rd day of the Classic, I am not sure but this may be his best finish in a Bassmasters Classic regardless of his catch today.
Classic

I think Alton Jones has many things going in his favor that may make him hard to beat on the final day:
1. Obviously a 1lb 3oz lead is positive
2. His catch went up while places 2-4 catches decreased.
3. He has not fished his best areas past 10:30am either day, so he should be able to work those areas really hard today and maybe catch his biggest bag of the tourney.
4. Lastly, his & Ike’s deep Football Jig bites are probably least effected by weather changes & boat traffic.  Alton says he is locked into one bait and that is a Booyah Football Jig with a Yum Trailer.

I am sure Ike is using the new Berkley Gripper Football Jig that just came out or is just about to launch.

Hartley’s catch dropped quite a bit on day 2, not sure if it was the weather, the additional spectator traffic or if he does not have enough docks and the fish are running out.  Either way I am sure he will soak that jig around those docks all day today & find out.

Not sure what happened to Scott Rook’s shallow crank(Shad Rap) fish, because KVD ended up leaving his deep crank fish and switching to what looked like a Series 2 or 3 crankbait and caught them in a similar fashion to how Rook caught them & Bobby Lane was doing the same.

But it sounds like we will have a mix or sun & clouds today so I would expect most of the guys to catch them pretty good, so I should be a great show tonight on ESPN2.  Look for Jeff Kriet to make a move, because he is catching big fish and is also moving in the right direction.  He had the biggest bag of Day 2.

I have only posted the top 13 results, that is where I draw the line in my mind for who has a chance, but I really think its down to the Top 5.

Place Angler City, State Day One
(Fish/Weight)
Day Two
(Fish/Weight)
Total
(Fish/Weight)
Total $$$
1 ALTON JONES WACO, TX 5    17-5 5    18-11 10    36-0 $0.00
2 CHARLIE HARTLEY GROVE CITY, OH 5    21-1 5    13-12 10    34-13 $0.00
3 CLIFF PACE PETAL, MS 5    18-10 5    14-11 10    33-5 $0.00
4 KEVIN VANDAM KALAMAZOO, MI 5    20-3 5    11-14 10    32-1 $0.00
5 JEFF KRIET ARDMORE, OK 5    12-15 5    18-12 10    31-11 $0.00
6 MICHAEL IACONELLI RUNNEMEDE, NJ 5    18-5 5    12-14 10    31-3 $0.00
7 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 5    16-2 5    14-9 10    30-11 $0.00
8 BOBBY LANE LAKELAND, FL 5    15-0 5    14-13 10    29-13 $0.00
9 EDWIN EVERS TALALA, OK 5    18-7 5    11-2 10    29-9 $0.00
10 AARON MARTENS LEEDS, AL 5    12-15 5    15-14 10    28-13 $0.00
11 KOTARO KIRIYAMA MOODY, AL 5    16-11 5    12-0 10    28-11 $0.00
12 SCOTT ROOK LITTLE ROCK, AR 5    20-13 5    7-12 10    28-9 $0.00
13 SKEET REESE AUBURN, CA 3    11-5 5    17-2 8    28-7 $0.00

I am also really suprised how bad Casey Ashley stumbled on Day 2, guess the hometown pressures that get most home town Classic favorites got him as well.

Rich
RichLindgren.com 
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

My Day 1 Classic Summary

So I spent most of yesterday bouncing around the internet, reading reports, blogs, etc.  Watching for updates, watched the live weigh-in and also have watched yesterday’s coverage on the deuce twice this morning.

Here are my takes & thoughts:
Looks like fish are being caught several ways, and both deep & shallow.
Charlie Hartley got it done with a jig in mid-depth areas, hopefully he can keep it up, he would be a great Classic Champ.
KVD is the man and always a thread if you have not figured that out.  He said he is sticking with his Strike King Series 5 crankbait, in a modified Sexy Shad, more of a Sexy Herring!
Sounds like Kotaro Kiriyama caught all his fish with a Wacky Jig and a Jackall Flick Shake worm.
Scott Rook & Bobby Lane looked to be both using an old reliable Shad Rap.
Ike appeared to get his bites on what looked to be a Football jig, which is surprising because McClelland & Remitz pretty much bombed on day 1.

I think tonights TV coverage will be much better, because they will better know who to follow.  Look for about half the guys on top to repeat and be the main contenders, while the rest of the field will flip flop a bit, but we will likely be down to less then 10 guys that have a legitimate shot at the crown going into Sunday and it may be less than that.

Other things I noticed:
Bobby Lane is running dual Power Poles on his Skeeter, never seen that before.  That may be a sign of a guy that really likes his shallow water.
Lot of guys said they wanted the Sun, so lets see if those guys make a move today, as reports are that the sun is bright in SC toady.

If you are bored today, waiting for updates on the Bassmaster Blog, bounce over to My eBay sellers page & check out the goods I am selling.  Got some great Lucky Craft Baits, Shimano Reels NIB, BassTrix, & more!

Tight Lines,
Rich

How to get your Bassmasters Classic Fix…

Hey all,

Done a little digging, here are the best places that I found to get your Lake Hartwell Bassmasters Classic updates through out today and the weekend!!!

ESPN Has a Classic Blog with updated every few minutes here – http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/news/story?page=b-tourn-bass-blog-day-one

BassZone.com has on the water chat with a scrolling leaderboard across the top & live on the water pics updated here –
http://www.basszone.com/2007livechat/mainclassic2.html
These guys also have video webcasts with anglers updated through out the weekend on their main page

At 3:30 CST, tune in head to watch the live weigh-in!
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/live/
They also have live feeds from the ramp & expo periodically right now they are showing some guys getting rained on by the docks….

Between live updates, check out the photo galleries here –
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/gallery?page=index_2008_classic#
They do have the launch photos up already

Last of all, catch the ESPN2 delayed coverage in the morning tomorrow & Sunday as well as Sunday night

If any of you got better sources, drop some links in my comment area!

BTW, rumor has it that KVD has already sacked a 6lb’r this morning & Scott Rook has 2 – 5lb’rs!!!