Posted -  April 3rd, 2008 11:02pm CST

Lost Opportunities Mark Day One

Story by Dru Smith - Photos by Dan O'Sullivan

Jasper, AL – Stories of lost fish and lost opportunities were abundant at the weigh-in stage Thursday. Smith Lake, the site of this week’s Wal-Mart FLW Tour event, presented by Prilosec, acted more like the mythical island showcased every Thursday on ABC than a typical Alabama fishery. Ironically, Sawyer, the fictional character on ABC’s hit series LOST, calls this week’s host city Jasper, Alabama home. This competition may not include plane crashes, giant polar bears or mysterious magnetic fields, but it could be a matter of survival.

Several factors are working together that might make survival even tougher. Spring time is in the air, on the water and just about everywhere else as the local flora is producing pollen. The greenish-yellow airborne powder is hindering the angler’s ability to see beds. Cody Bird, a long time FLW pro was overheard mentioning the possibility of breaking out a leaf-blower to clean the water off.

Storms are forecasted for Friday’s round and that will also hurt the sight fishermen. However, 60 limits were brought in Thursday and just over four pounds separates first from fiftieth. Actually, 100th place is just a mere eight pounds back. The island may have a few tricks left, but as of Friday morning, there are several survivors vying for a seat at the finals. 

Baksay helped by Back Seater
Terry Baksay brought in a five fish limit of spotted bass that weighed 14-14 and gave the Connecticut angler the lead at Smith Lake. His partner for the day, Masahiro Yanase of Japan “started wacking them” and convinced Terry to join in. “It is painfully slow. We are getting bites on the bottom and over 40 feet of water. I feel like am dialed in now and hopefully I will continue to make the right adjustments.”

Terry will take a slim lead, just over a pound, into Friday’s round. He plans to return to the area on day two. “Bait is key. If there is no bait in the area then we didn’t get bit. I have a milk run and might return to the same spot two or three times. I have totally given up on bed fish.”

Terry is using light line and using a stealthy approach. “You have to make long cast. Hopefully, the wind will blow hard tomorrow. It could really help me.”

Coulter Spotted !3-13 on Day One
With boat number 194, Brandon Coulter had to run his Skeeter past most of the field to get to his bedding fish. Targeting spawners only, Brandon boated five fished totaling 13-13, good enough for second. “I didn’t think spotted bass were my strong suit, but I only seem to get a check when the spots are involved. I’m throwing a HBP Plastic wake bait to get them to show themselves, then I’ll go back in with the new Amp Craw. It is the real deal.”

Brandon spent most of the allotted practice time saving waypoints on his fish finder. Unfortunately, his number of hot spots is going down. “Some of the fish are moving off the beds, but hopefully a few more will move up. I had a big one marked, but she left. I still caught two more in the area so maybe there will be more fish there tomorrow.”

Brandon revealed the fish he is catching are real shallow, six to 18 inches deep. He is worried the predicted rain could hurt his chances. “It wont help,” he said about the possible rain. “We had rain on the second day of practice and it turned the water milky. Luckily, I had found these fish on day one and knew where they were.”

Smith Going Large
Although Tour Rookie, Clark Smith, Jr. is from nearby (72 miles) Pell City, he has only been on Smith Lake twice before. Fortunately, the first year pro found enough largemouth bass to finish third on day one. “I found this spot with just two hours left on the last practice day. I lost a big one – probably 7 pounds - this morning and still was able to catch a decent limit.” With 13-10 pounds from Thursday, Clark plans to return to the same area on Friday.

“I know the quality of fish in this area and I’m just going to pound it out. The wind could actually help me.” A self proclaimed shallow water fisherman, Clark is sharing his area with another competitor. “They are fishing about 75 yards away, but I didn’t see them boat a fish. They are out deep and I’m up shallow.” 

Todd Feels Fortunate
Lowrance pro, Mike Todd boated 13-10 to tie for third place on Thursday. “I was really fortunate today. My traveling partner, Chuck Medley, really help me out at this lake. I’m an Oklahoma boy and this clear water is different for me.”

Ironically, some of Todd’s best spots muddied up with the recent rains. “I’m more comfortable with dirty water, but fish that live in clear water don’t like it when it gets muddy.” Todd is covering a lot of area, but slowed down when it counted. “I am moving faster than most guys, but I’m by no means burning up the water.” Todd brought in all black bass and feels like his patterns could hold up. 

“We will see what happens. It was a struggle and hopefully I can make the right adjustments. I hate to keep bringing up the Oklahoma thing but this is really different for me. However, I saw some things late in the day that make feel like the bite could get stronger.”

Shaw Setting his Sights on Win
Smith Lake was off limits to the pros on Wednesday and many worried that fish they had found earlier in the week might move. Alvin Shaw found a quality bedding bass during practice and fortunately he was able to put her in the livewell early Thursday morning in route to a 13-06 pound limit and 5th place. “I caught her and found one more bedder,” he said. “I just went flipping bushes after that.” Shaw’s only career FLW win came on nearby Wheeler Lake and he is hoping conditions play out right this week. 

“The sun was key for me today. It pushed the fish back in the cover. If it storms tomorrow like they are predicting, I may have to give up on the flipping bite and throw a spinnerbait.”

Newby Comes Out Strong
Oklahoma’s Sam Newby brought in 13-05 to sit in 6th place after one day. The veteran FLW angler combined tactics to bring in a limit. “I caught 3 off beds and two other just fishing. I’ve got some more found on beds, but with the weather conditions for tomorrow, I might leave those for the weekend.” 

FLW Tour events start fresh on the third day with the ten remaining anglers starting with zero weight. Sam’s strategy could pay off if he is able to boat another solid five fish limit. “I’ve got a couple of different patterns working. I don’t want to share too much, but I will tell you I’m catching them in pockets and with a Berkley sinking worm.”

THE TOP 100 DAY 1 STANDINGS