2020 FLW Pro Circuit Lake Martin Day 1: Barron Adam Scores 17-2lbs for Lead!

Canadians Sim 71th & Lucak 126th

By Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Big bass and overall lead, Adam finds a great way to start a tournament.
(Photo: FLW)

A 4-pound kicker on Lake Martin is like an 8-pounder in Florida. And if that’s the case, Barron Adams’ kicker was like weighing in a marlin.

Tipping the scales at 8-13, Adams’ kicker blew away the Berkley Big Bass award on day one of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event and weighed more than nearly a third of the field’s limits by itself. Needless to say, the Georgia rookie had THE fish to anchor what was the day’s heaviest bag at 17-2.

The scary part is, he could’ve had a megabag over 25 pounds if everything went right.

“I had [the kicker] by 7:30 a.m. this morning,” says Adams. “After that I went trying to catch a megasack with some other ones I had marked on beds, but it just didn’t happen.”

Pros were already having to adapt on the fly for this event with the actual start being moved up a day and not having Marshals, all as precautions to combat the spread of COVID-19. With no day off between practice and the start of the event, many pros hoped their banner practices would extend into today. Yet, for many, falling water levels had the bite a bit off.

Of course, the lack of an off day certainly helped Adams. He found the big girl locked on a bed yesterday evening, and when he found out he was boat No. 4 today, he knew exactly where he was going.

“I actually pulled in and couldn’t see her,” says Adams. “It was too dark, so I went to the back of the pocket and came back out, and there was just enough light for me to see she was still there. Within 5 minutes I was screaming and hollering.”

Adams originally had a pattern from practice he planned on utilizing today, but once that kicker hit his livewell, he opted to scrap it and try to see if he could go for two other big ones he had marked on beds.

Whitney Stephens Wins 2019 BASS Eastern Open Harris Chain of Lakes with 57-08lbs!

Stephens wins by 12 pounds!

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Monster 32-12lb Day 1 limit key to win.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Despite changing conditions, Ohio angler Whitney Stephens turned in an impressive catch of five bass that weighed 24 pounds, 12 ounces in the final round of the 2019 Basspro.com Eastern Open at Harris Chain of Lakes. Added to his Friday weight of 32-12, it helped Stephens to an impressive winning total of 57-8 in an event that was shortened to two days by inclement weather.

The full field fished both days. 

The shortened schedule amplified Stephens’ performance; specifically, Jesse Wiggins won the 2017 Open event on the Harris Chain with a three-day total of 59-4 — only 1-12 heavier than Stephens’ two-day total.

Returning to the pattern that yielded his personal-best tournament limit on Day 1, Stephens spent all of Day 2 targeting thick hydrilla beds in Lake Eustis. Fishing in about 8 to 10 feet, he noted that the week’s colder weather worked in his favor by predictably positioning big prespawn fish in the warmer refuges of thicker grass patches.

Stephens caught most of his fish by dragging a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm and a Speed Worm, both Texas rigged on a 4/0 VMC hook. He ended his day by moving to a different area and throwing a custom spinnerbait over the grass.

“I had a 7- to 8-pound cull on my last stop,” Stephens said. “I had high teens and I went to 24 on my last stop. It was just incredible.”

Stephens’ total gave him an impressive winning margin of 11-9. He made it look easy, but the winner said closing the deal was no easy task.

“It was a grind today,” he said. “You catch 24 pounds and you think it’s a lot, but I struggled today. The difference was the weather. We had another cold night, the water dropped a couple more degrees and the sun never came out.”

Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., finished second with 45-15. After placing second on Day 1 with 27-10, his productivity slipped to 18-5 Saturday. Schmitt caught his fish on 1/2- and 3/8-ounce prototype Hyabusa swim jigs. He alternated between Missile Baits Twin Turbo and Shockwave trailers.