New Iberia’s Bassmaster Elite Series pro Caleb Sumrall will be fishing with a chip on his shoulder when tour action resumes Thursday.

Sumrall’s performance in the first two Elite tournaments of the year left a bad taste in his mouth because the results left him in 75th place in Angler of the Year standings going into the last seven tournaments of 2023. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room in his quest to regain a Bassmaster Classic berth that he missed due to a 46th place overall finish in ’22.

Sumrall gets his first chance at redemption this week in the Bassmaster Elite tournament at Lake Murray in South Carolina. It’s an opportunity to add to the 77 points he has amassed following a forgettable opening tournament at Lake Okeechobee but a somewhat more palatable outing the following week at Lake Seminole.

“I don’t like it, I tell you that much. I tell you, I can’t miss … I can’t have another bomb. I’ve got to get after a Top 10 to erase Okeechobee. I had an OK tournament (at Lake Seminole). Still, I lost a lot of points the third day,” he said.

Lake Okeechobee’s 98th-place finish still haunts him. He had 19 pounds, 1 ounce, to show for his two days on the water and didn’t come within sniffing distance of the cut.

At Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia, he made the cut but finished 35th overall with a total of 44 pounds, 14 ounces, and won $10,000.

Now he’s focusing on the future. He was scheduled to leave for South Carolina, Xpress X21 Pro in tow, on Wednesday.

“You know, it’s behind us. I’ve just got to get it together and get it done. We’ve got a lot of fishing left. I’ve just got to avoid all the bombs,” he said. “Oh, man, I’m thinking about how I’ve got to catch them. There’s stiff competition … I’ve just got to catch them. I can’t slack off on them.”

His extended break between the tournaments at Lake Seminole and Lake Murray included a bystander’s role at the recent Bassmaster Classic out of Knoxville. He was there for three days while working the Bassmaster Classic Expo for Xpress Boats, Power-Pole and Halo Fishing Rods.

Otherwise, that break from the last week of February through mid-April was put to good use and definitely “much-needed,” he said. He spent quality time with family — his wife, Jacie, daughter, Clelie, and son, Axel.

Nevertheless, he said, “I’m exciting to get back after it. It’s been a long break. I’m ready to get back out there.”

“Out there” is a lake he’s never been to before, one of four such lakes on this year’s tournament schedule. That’s OK with the all-around outdoorsman as he looks to get the ball rolling in the right direction.

“I haven’t been on Murray, no. I won’t have any preconceived notions. I just need so much practice to figure it out, that’s all,” he said.

Monday marks the first official practice day. Because he arrived in the region at midweek this past week, he planned to go to a nearby lake, Lake Hartwell, and fish to get a feel for what the fish are doing. He’s tried to do that “prefish elsewhere” routine before tournaments since he joined the Elites in 2018.

Sumrall has done his homework on Lake Murray, often called the Jewel of South Carolina. The approximately 50,000-acre lake near Columbia is 131 miles southeast of Lake Hartwell.

“It’s got a lot of fish in it so I’m excited. A lot of good largemouths,” he said about Lake Murray.

He got a look at many of those good largemouths when he watched some of the recent Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour tournament at Lake Murray. There were beaucoup 4s and 5s during the week, a lot of them by Anthony Gagliardi, who dominated the Top 10 on Championship Day on April 7 at his “home lake” with 26 pounds, 13 ounces, for a two-day total of 47 pounds, 12 ounces.

“I’m sure it’ll change by the time we get there but it’ll still be good. You ought to be able to catch any way you want to,” he said.

Many Elites are hopeful the blue herring spawn is still happening somewhere on the lake.

Other Bassmaster Elite tournament sites Sumrall has seen or is seeing for the first time this year included the opener Feb. 16-19 at Lake Okeechobee and Feb. 23-26 at Lake Seminole as well as the upcoming fifth stop of the year May 11-14 at Lay Lake in Alabama. He’ll get his first-ever look at Lake Murray on Monday.

Sumrall said he is looking forward to the next stop after Lake Murray when the Elites travel for the April 27-30 tournament at Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. He has fished and caught there before.

“Oh, Santee’s a good one. It’ll be fun, that’s for sure,” he said, noting he’ll be staying in the region for the next few weeks.