The chances of Jim Dillard leaving Lake Chickamauga with more than $10,000 in his pocket seemed extremely slim after day 1 of last week's FLW Tour event. He'd boated just three keepers for 6-05 and was tied for 135th place in the 147-angler field.
Day 2 was a different story for the Louisiana pro, however. He nearly quadrupled his haul from the previous day, bringing a 23-07 sack to the scale that catapulted him all the way to 55th place. That put him within the paycheck cutoff and he picked up an additional $500 for catching the largest fish of the day.
That fish was an 8-09 bruiser that came off a bed.
"I was fishing shallow, swimming a jig, and I was keeping an open mind that I might find (a spawner)," he said. "I'd found some at BASSFest last year and I broke off an 8-pounder.
"After a little while I'd just about ruled it out because I was seeing quite a few bream beds and I thought (the bass) were further along than they were at this time last year. Then I saw a 4-pounder sitting on a big white bed, and it left and came back.
"Then I saw the big one swim across it."
He caught the male first – a process that took about 30 minutes. The big female bit shortly thereafter.
He fished both deep and shallow on day 1, but found little success in either direction.
"I tried some of the crowded deep stuff and some places I had to myself, but it just didn't work out. My co-angler caught a 4-pounder up shallow. It was just one of those days."
As was day 2, although from the other extreme.
"My co-angler (on day 2) said it was almost like those fish were put there for me to catch that day. It was a God thing. The Lord was taking care of me is the only way I can describe it."
The Sunline Strong Performer, which focuses ons the angler who makes the most significant single-day move in the standings at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great people at Sunline.
