Del Rio, TX – Is it still a bit too cold in your neck of the woods to be fishing for bass? You say that you’re ready to see some big bass being caught as the Classic at Lay Lake didn’t quite satisfy the urge? Fear not then, because the weather on 56,000 acre Lake Amistad on Texas/Mexico border is just right for bass fishing…and the bigguns are biting!
Case in point – sophomore pro Derek Remitz hauled in a bass that tipped the scales at just over 10 pounds Tuesday, and rumor has it that Terry Scroggins boated a 14-pound sow as well during practice this week. Given that pros try desperately to avoid hooking fish during practice, it’s downright right scarry when you think about what was on the other end of the line all those times they didn’t jerk!
The BASS ZONE is on location this week in Del Rio for the first Elite Series regular season event of 2007. All reports indicate that it’s going to take better than 100 pounds over four days to walk of the stage as the victor. One pro we spoke with Monday was bagging the day he’d had as “mediocre” given that he’d only had around 24 pounds that day. That’s Mediocre?
We tracked down four pros to get there take on the fishing during practice, as well as their thoughts for the tournament. But before getting there, here’s some current data about the lake (courtesy of nps.gov):
Elevation 1107.32
Water Depth at Dam (feet) 207.32
Surface Area (acres of water) 56,402
Water Temperature 54 F - 13 C
Current Release 636 cfs*
* As of Tuesday March 6, 2007
As the graph above indicates, the water is still a bit on the cool side; however, everyone agrees that if the sun stays out this week (as it’s supposed to), look for a site-bite become somewhat relevant. Currently, everyone is catching bass in a variety of depths and on a variety of lures and techniques.
Denny Brauer
You can’t predict the final outcome of a tournament based solely on your practice – as Skeet Reese demonstrated a last month’s Bassmaster Classic. However, according to
Brauer, he would like to have a little more working that he has presently. “I’ve had one tremendous day, and two totally lousy days,” he legendary Missouri pro cautiously admitted.
“I don’t have a lot of options, so I’m going to fish a lot different that one I normally fish. If I get them to bite it’s going to be a really neat deal. If they don’t bite, I’m in bad trouble.”
Not giving away what he’s doing – aside from the obvious jig – Denny explained that he’s working a light-line pattern that could produce heavy results. “They’re going to get a real good look at jig, I can tell you that much,” he said. |
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“I’m not throwing real big string, but if I can get five to bite they’re going to be some real big dogs…that’s for sure.”
Away from his customary target fishing mode with the long rod, Denny apprehensively addressed his on again, off again practice. “I’m on a kind of a different deal, and I don’t really know if it’s going to work or not,” he said. ”Hopefully the weather will cooperate, and the fish will too.
“If it doesn’t work out, I know that I can go catch five little bitty fish, but it’s going to take full-sized grownups to win this deal. I plan on staying on the grownups all day everyday and trying to make it work.”
A bit of sandbagging at play from the veteran? Perhaps, but it’s clear that Denny’s been flushed from his comfortable shallow-water haunts in search of the monsters that a win will surely require. “I’m really worried about this deal, I’ll tell you that for sure,” he said. “It’s the time of the year where the fish want to move in a hurry towards the bank. I’ve always said that I would rather be fishing where they’re going to rather than were they’re coming from.
“I’m doing the exact opposite this week, but hopefully they’ll stay put for a little while so I can hurt
‘em.”
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Boyd Duckett
Coming off a (very) recent Classic win, Elite Series rookie Boyd Duckett isn’t feeling the burn as the defending champ…in fact, it’s quite the opposite. “I feel good,” he explained. “I’m getting some pretty good bites here this week, so hopefully I can keep it going.”
Coming out of Alabama, where the feisty Coosa River spotted bass are the target catch, Duckett is going to have to seek out the behemoth largemouths that the Rio Grande impoundment sports to win. “I didn’t catch any spots this week during practice, so I don’t really know quite what to think,” he jokingly said. “But I do know that I’m going to try and win two in a row.” |
As expected, Boyd (and everyone else) is very tight-lipped about what’s working for them this week; however, he conceded that he’s on the fish to do very well. “I think that 27 or 28-pounds a day is the mark to hit,” he said. “If what I’ve got going on holds together, it could really be interesting.”
Edwin Evers
Evers is a huge fan of Amistad and everything about South Texas – to the point where he would love to be able to convince his wife (and family) to move down to the border town. As it stands currently though, the best he can hope for is to walk away Sunday $100,000 richer, but like most everyone he would like to have had a more stable practice. “It’s been kind of a frustrating practice,” he explained.
“I’ve caught a giant everyday, but then won’t have much else to back it up through the remainder of the day. I’m having to do something different everyday to stay hooked up, and I think that’s going to be the key this week because it’s changing so much.”
Giant bass are literally everywhere at Amistad, and Evers cautioned that the key is going to be patience in what you’re doing. “Big bites are going to come, that’s just a simple fact,” he said. “The guy who wins – hopefully me – is going to be whoever can cover enough water and keep making the right changes along the way.”
Patience is one thing, but looking at less than 20 pounds in the live well with an hour to go is another topic entirely. “If you only have 15 to 18 pounds at 2:00, you’d better be looking for a kicker because that’s not going to be enough to be fishing on Saturday and Sunday,” Evers predicted. “That’s when this thing is going to get really good too, so I definitely want to be there…real, real bad!”
Mary Stone
Stone concedes that he didn’t get the season started right last year at Amistad – largely due to the fact that it was a sight-fishing bonanza. This week while many fish are up cruising, none have committed to a nest – which is good news for him. “I’m glad that it’s not a spawning tournament…I was terrible here last year,” he said.
“I’ve had a real good practice this year though, but one thing about it is that if it keeps bright and warm, they’re going to keep coming and coming. Somebody will figure out a sight-fishing deal, you just wait and see.”
While the forecast predicts a slight chance for winds, the warming trend appears to be set. Stone isn’t ready to pack it in just yet though. “Honestly, I hope the wind blows a hundred and it’s cloudy,” he laughingly said. “Really though, I missed a few pages last year, but I’ve got them turned them over this year, so I’m ready to deal with that too.”
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