Canadians Gustafson 12th, Gallant 41st, Evan Kung 45th, Chris Johnston 70th & Cory Johnston 80th
BASS Press Release
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Brock Mosley never caught a 2-pounder in practice for
the Lippert Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin, but all the ingredients came together
for a magical Day 1.
The Collinsville, Miss., pro landed 15 pounds, 7 ounces to take the lead at the Tallapoosa River impoundment, anchoring his bag with a 4-pound largemouth. In total, Mosley brought three largemouth and two spotted bass to weigh-in, which were 12 ounces heavier than Drew Cook’s second-place limit.
“I didn’t have a great practice, but I didn’t have a terrible practice,” the 2023 Sabine River champion said. “At Lake Martin, you are liable to catch 6 or 7 pounds. I didn’t catch but one or two good ones in practice, but I kept an open mind and went fishing today.”
As anticipated, the weights throughout the field are super tight. Fifteen of the 101 anglers caught between 11 and 13 pounds while 30 more caught bags weighing between 10 and 11 pounds.
After last week’s cold spell, water temperatures have climbed several degrees from the start of practice to tournament day, which has the bass moving towards their prespawn and spawning patterns. On Day 1, air temperatures were close to 70 degrees, and Mosley found the prespawners ready to bite on Day 1.
“Several of the bass I caught today were full of eggs and right where they should be before they go up to start the spawning process,” he said. He rotated between four different baits and several locations, mixing in forward-facing sonar techniques as well as traditional tactics.
“I started looking for a certain type of deal, and I caught some offshore and some up shallow,” Mosley said. “I kind of junk fished and put a bag together. I’m putting my head down and fishing for what is in front of me. I may fish a point, I may ’Scope out some brushpile, or I might catch suspended bass.”
Every stop Mosley made during the day, he caught bass, but not always the same quality. Although it was a post-front day, the bright sunshine warmed the water, which Mosley felt was particularly important.
“The sun helped a lot today,” he said. “The last couple days have been cloudy. Things changed today, and for the better for me.”
The forecast calls for more sunshine and warmer temperatures, at least until Championship Sunday, which Mosley believes will have more bass moving towards prespawn staging areas as well as towards the bank.
This could play right into his hands.
“If the sun stays out and it stays warm, I could see myself throwing a buzzbait before the week is over,” Mosley said.
Cook landed 14-11 to open his tournament, a bag made up of four spotted bass and a largemouth.
“I tried to stay away from the numbers game and went for the quality instead of quantity,” the Cairo, Ga., pro said. “I was fortunate enough to get (two) big bites and a couple decent bites.”
He got settled into the day at his second stop by landing a 3 1/2-pounder before rounding up the rest of his limit. No one piece of cover stood out more than another. Cook said he landed a bass on everything from clay banks, brush, docks to rock banks using three different baits. Anything less than 18 feet of water produced good bites.
The bass he caught were aggressive.
“It is March weather, but it is February, and it was freezing last week,” he said. “They are getting warm and starting to move a lot more. I think a lot of fish are going to move as the tournament goes on with the weather we are going to have.
“We are going to keep everything honest.”
Cole Sands used his east Tennessee prowess to land 13-4 and finish Day 1 in third. An area change on the final day of practice keyed the Johnson City pro into his primary pattern.
“In the last hour, I made a move to an area and caught 14 pounds in an hour. I had a decent practice, but I scraped everything I learned before that. It was a swing for the fence type of deal, and thankfully I landed on the right side of it.”
In the morning, Sands noticed the bass in more of a prespawn face, but once the water warmed up, he said the bass started moving towards their spawning areas. In his region of the lake, water temperatures are still between 50 and 53 degrees, but he caught several fish that have indicated to him the spawn is coming.
“I know the water is still cold for it, but I caught some (males) that were actually peeing,” he said. “It is getting close. I will have to change every day this week, but it is a super great start. Consistency is everything on this lake.”
Clanton, Ala., pro Wesley Gore landed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a 4-6 largemouth that earned him a $1,000 bonus.
Carbondale, Ill.’s, Trey McKinney leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 186 points, followed by Cook in second with 182 points and Matt Robertson in third with 178 points. Mosley is fourth with 175 points and Canadian Jeff Gustafson rounds out the Top 5 with 174 points.
Georgia’s Caleb Hudson leads the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race with 146 points followed by Kentucky’s Matt Messer in second with 136 points and Alabama’s Fisher Anaya in third with 124 points.
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