Sumrall 2nd after Day 1
RIDGELAND, Mississippi — While most everyone else focused on catching bass in various spawning stages the opposite held true for Clark Reehm. On Ross Barnett Reservoir he intentionally avoided spawning bass and took the lead at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open.
Reehm’s limit weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces, leads over the second-place catch weighing 19-8 caught by Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia. Fred Roumbanis is third with 18-8, and Brad Whatley is fourth with 18-5.
Most impressive is what Reehm is not doing. Normally, playing the spawning card is a wise move. Bigger fish are shallower and easier to catch. Those same fish can be unreliable under suddenly changing weather conditions. Both scenarios have panned out so far.
“I am looking for largemouth that are unaffected by the weather,” said Reehm, of Elm Grove. “A cold front like we had this morning can completely change a spawning bite.”
Actively feeding fish are his target. That is a smart move for obvious reasons.
“If they are hungry they will bite,” he continued. “Twelve months of the year fish will be hungry, so why bother chasing those doing anything else?”
Reehm proved the point after catching the big bass of the day weighing 8-1 on his third cast of the morning, and he did so fishing in a crowded area.
“I’m not at all concerned about the fishing pressure, because I’m using something different,” he admitted.
What that something different is remains a mystery, although a reaction lure capable of triggering strikes is a logical assumption.
Searching for new water is a daunting task when beginning a tournament, but that forced move paid off for Sumrall. Incoming cloud cover made the gamble worth the risk.
“The clouds turned on a big bass bite for me as I moved along,” said Sumrall, who qualified for the Bassmaster Classic by winning the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship in October. “I’m fishing what I know because it’s my first experience here.”
Moving along meant using a lure capable of covering water, stimulating a reaction bite along the way. That changes tomorrow with the weather, and Sumrall plans to be ready. Fishing with an open mind, as he did today, is the game plan.
“Hopefully, I can take what I found today and expand on it tomorrow, given the adjustments,” explained Sumrall, who also earned paid entry fees for the Opens after winning the B.A.S.S. Nation Championshp.
While cloud cover benefited Sumrall, it hindered Roumbanis.
“It made it worse, scattering my fish,” he admitted. “I’m running a lot of areas and the change forced me to figure their next move as I went along.”
Anticipating where his fish will move next and remaining confident in the lure choice is his focus today.
“The water is dropping and that has the fish on the move, so I plan to adjust accordingly,” said Roumbanis, of Russellville, Arkansas.
The sudden wave of rain and falling temperatures triggered good thinking by Whatley.
“When the front came through at 9 o’clock this morning it changed my presentation, and it will again tomorrow,” said Whatley, of Bivins, Texas.
“Slowing down was all it took to stay in the game,” he added. “After I slowed down my day got better.”
Whatley also has a good idea of where his chosen fish are in the spawning cycle. Tomorrow he will adjust to the changing conditions. That is an ideal scenario because Whaley is confident the same lure will produce again tomorrow. Slowing down even more might be necessary.
That made the weather another headline for Day 1 and it likely will again tomorrow. Yesterday’s high of 85 plummeted to a temperature of 55 degrees by weigh-in. With the chill came more rain, adding to abnormally high precipitation in previous days. Sunny skies and much cooler temperatures are forecast on Day 2.
Justin Leet of Memphis, Tennessee, leads the co-angler division with a 3-bass limit weighing 13-4. Larry Savell Jr., holds down second with 12-11, and Bob Burgess of Millington, Tennessee, is third with 9-13.
This season’s Opens circuit features the Central and Eastern divisions with four tournaments apiece. The season concludes with an Opens Championship that will be held Oct. 18-20 at a location yet to be announced.
The Championship field will include the eight winners from the Opens tournaments. Joining them will be the Top 10 anglers in the point standings from each division. The 28 competitors will fish for invitations to the 2019 Elite Series and Classic.
Takeoff time is 6:15 a.m. from Madison Landing/Pelican Cove Restaurant with weigh-in beginning at 2:15 p.m. today. The Day 3 championship weigh-in begins at 3:15 p.m. Location is Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in the Jackson suburb of Pearl.