Sight
Fishing a Grind as Topwaters Tempt.
By
Brian Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE
With most of the field sight fishing
for spawning bass, Louisiana pro Greg Hackney took a slightly different
approach during Friday’s second round of the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns
River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels.
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| Hackney mixing blind casting and sight fishing. (Photo: BASS) |
“I’m fishing spawning fish for sure,”
Hackney said. “I’m not necessarily looking at all of them, but I know they’re
bedding or guarding fry or something.
“I caught a couple of rats (small
fish) that I was looking at. But I caught all of the good ones just fishing.”
Hackney, a 13-time qualifier for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro and the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, is one of the more secretive competitors on the Elite Series.
With plenty of fishing left, he
wouldn’t say which lures he’s been using. But he did say he changed areas from
Thursday to Friday — and will probably make another change for Saturday’s
semifinal round.
“Today, I went back to the place I
fished (Thursday) and caught a bunch of fish, but they were small,” Hackney
said. “I’m just having to run new water. I caught them one place yesterday, a
different place today, and I’ve about decided I’m going to do something totally
different tomorrow.”
With the spring spawning run in full
swing, lots of beds are visible in the clear waters of the St. Johns fishery.
The bass are easier to see when the conditions are calm and sunny — and for
that reason, many anglers in the field are hoping for bright sunshine Saturday.
Since Hackney isn’t sight fishing, he
said the conditions won’t matter to him.
“I don’t care one way or another,” he
said. “I would just as soon it be cloudy and windy and rainy. Why not?
“If people can’t see them, it cuts
down on the fishing pressure.”
After getting off to what some
considered a slow start with 16-14 Thursday, Scroggins rebounded Friday with a
nice five-bass limit that weighed 21-10. His knowledge of the fishery and how
it’s influenced by the tidal pull of the Atlantic Ocean seemed to have keyed
his comeback.
Scroggins has been starting south of
the takeoff site at Palatka City Dock and fishing just long enough to let the
tide get right before moving north. He’s been catching big spawning bass on an
unspecified topwater lure.
“When you go up the river, the tide
really affects the water levels,” Scroggins said. “If you go south to Lake
George, it doesn’t affect you that much. But if you go north, it’s got to be a
low tide before you can see.”
Scroggins’ two-day weight of 38-8 was
an ounce better than that of Lee, who finished Friday’s round with a flourish.
He caught his biggest fish of the day — a 6-pound largemouth — with less than 10
minutes left before he had to return for the weigh-in.
“I saw one up there on a bed,
and I thought it was a 3- or 4-pounder,” Lee said. “So I used my push pole and
kind of backed off a little bit.
“I pitched over there a couple of
times and missed it at first. But then I set the hook, and it was on.”
The big fish helped Lee cull a
smaller one that he said weighed only about a pound and kept the 24-year-old
angler within striking distance of his first career win with B.A.S.S.
The field will be trimmed to the Top
51 anglers for Saturday’s second round, with only the Top 12 advancing to
Sunday’s championship finale. The winner will receive $100,000.
Hackney also earned the Livingston
Lures Leader Award of $500 for leading on the second day.
Daily takeoffs will be held at 7:15 a.m. ET from Palatka
City Dock, with weigh-ins set to begin both days at 3:30 p.m. at Palatka
Riverfront Park.
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