COLUMBUS, Miss. — Pundits and competitors alike predicted anglers would be tested in the Bassmaster Open at the Tombigbee River. They weren’t wrong, with only 39 of 155 anglers averaging double-digit weights through Day 2 of the three-day derby.
Trey Schroeder, a 25-year-old from tiny Theodosia, Mo., has fared best, with a two-day total of 10 bass for 30 pounds, 6 ounces. The former McKendree University angler entered Day 2 in second place with 16-4 and leaped into the lead Thursday with a limit that registered 14-2.
He struggled early Thursday, though, and at times doubted he’d manage a limit, much less lead the event with only a day remaining.
“I rode around with four fish until almost noon today,” Schroeder said. “I was sweating. I was nervous … But luckily, we caught the fifth and that took a ton of pressure off. (I) made a couple good decisions after that, too.”
One of them involved pounding an area of clean water off the Tombigbee River that provided some of Thursday’s key bites.
“I have a spot that has a culvert in it,” he said. “The pond is clean but the river section of it is chocolate-milk dirty. When they opened the lock, it pulled some of that clean water out and it made a little pocket I could fish. When I pulled in today to check the spot, there was a fish on a bed in there. I skipped a Senko way up under a tree and a 3-pounder ate it. He jumped out of the water, into the tree and broke the limb off. I had to pull him over a grass mat to the boat. There’s just no reason I should have been able to catch that fish, but it worked out well.
“It really was just one of those days where things went well for me,” he added.
Schroeder said a warm Wednesday evening sparked a shad spawn on the areas he’s fishing, and he was able to take advantage of that on Day 2. He’s covering a lot of water and using traditional power-fishing techniques – not his usual game, he said.
“I consider myself one of the (LiveScope) guys, honestly,” he said, laughing. “I like to fish offshore and get in deep, clean water. But man, the past couple months or so, we’ve had so much rain at Bull Shoals where I live, I started homing in on power-fishing to get my confidence up. Then I power-fished (at the Open earlier this month) on Norfork Lake and I finished fourth there. It’s carried over here.”
Day-1 leader Russ Lane caught 11-5 on Thursday and is second now with 28-15. The 52-year-old veteran from Prattville, Ala., said boat traffic may have hindered his bite some on Thursday, but he’s confident he can catch enough weight to clinch the tournament title on Friday.
“If that area quiets down and those fish get set up on those places I’m talking about, anything is possible,” Lane said. “And I have other options available if I need them.”
Lane competed in the last tournament B.A.S.S. held on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, way back in 2004. He said he circled this tournament on the schedule the moment it was released.
“A lot of the older guys were looking forward to this one,” he said. “It’s more of a conventional-type tournament, with a little less reliance on electronics. It’s exciting when we get to fish our strengths, too. I know I’m doing the right thing in the right area. I’ve just got to keep working hard, get a couple of the right bites.”
Rounding out the Top 10 anglers who made Thursday’s Phoenix Boats Cutline are third, Pennsylvania’s Grae Buck, 28-10; fourth, Alabama’s Matt Adams, 28-8; fifth, Alabama’s Cody Nichols, 26-13; sixth, Georgia’s Byron Kenney Jr, 26-11; seventh, Arkansas’ Stephen Browning, 26-10; eighth, Georgia’s John Duvall, 26-7; ninth, Georgia’s Cody Stahl, 26-5; and 10th, Michigan’s Bo Thomas, 25-14.
Browning was in the 2004 Open on Tenn-Tom, too, and he finished third in that tournament. The 58-year-old veteran said anyone can win in this return to the 234-mile man-made river connecting the Tennessee River with the confluence of the Black Warrior and Tombigbee rivers.
“I remember that tournament was tough, too,” he said. “In fact, I caught more weight in two days here this week than I did in three days back then, and I finished third in that one. So, it’s getting better for me. I’ll just keep throwing that Chatterbait and that squarebill like I do, and we’ll see what happens.”
The winner will earn a spot in the 2026 Bass Bassmaster Classic when it’s held March 13-15 in Knoxville, Tenn., on the Tennessee River. First place also collects $34,502, part of a $229,090 total purse being split among the Top 45 anglers in the field.
Day 3 take-off is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. CT Friday with weigh-in set for 2:15 p.m., both from East Bank Landing.
