By DEb Johnson
Bass Press release
Zero. By 1:30 p.m. Thursday, that’s how many bass Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas, believed he’d end up weighing in on the first day of the West Point Lake Battle, the fourth event of the Bassmaster Elite Series season. In six hours of casting, he had not had one bite.
Suddenly, “Things just started to roll,” he said.
 |
| Combs catches enough to lead on very difficult first day. (Photo: BASS) |
Combs ended the day leading the tournament after weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces. He was 4 ounces in front of Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala., who turned in 15-10. Behind Combs and Vinson was the 2013 Bassmaster Classic champ, Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who was third with 14-2
“I have some sight fish, I had some flipping fish, I had some fish in the current, I had some cranking fish — and I ran all that stuff and didn’t catch any. I thought I wasn’t going to catch a fish today,” Combs said.
Fishless, he re-ran all the same water, trying all his different techniques again and again. His breakthrough was a largemouth off a spawning bed. Then he moved and was able to fill his five-fish limit with smaller spotted bass for about 7 pounds total, he estimated.
