Gary Klein fished similarly on all 3 days he was in the field at the Lake Guntersville Bassmaster Elite Series. The bag he caught on the middle day was far heavier than what he brought to the scale on either of the other 2, but it was simply a case of connecting with quality.
He was in 102nd place after sacking 11-13 on day 1. Then he popped a stellar 25 1/2 pounds the following day to make the initial cut in 32nd. He managed just two keepers or 6-11 on day 3 and slid back to 50th.
"I didn't do anything different – I fished the same area with the same technique," he said. "But on day 2 I ended up getting three of the big females that I didn't get on the other days."
Those three bruisers all came within the last 45 minutes of the day. Two weighed more than 7 pounds and the other was pushing that mark.
He targeted spawning fish in Seibold Creek – the same haunt favored by winner Skeet Reese and 3-day leader Mike Iaconelli. He threw a dropshot rig with a finesse worm on 10-pound fluorocarbon.
"I wasn't sight-fishing, I was blind-casting," he said. "But I did see a lot of fish moving up in pairs.
"On the third day that north wind took me out. It was supposed to blow 5 mph, but it ended up blowing 15 to 20 and it dirtied up the water I was fishing. Those big ones won't set up right under those kinds of conditions."
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