COUNCE, Tenn. – Hopes were high for the MLF Invitationals stop on Pickwick Lake, and on Day 1, those expectations were met or exceeded. Leading the way, Banks Shaw, a University of North Alabama student and now the clear Angler of the Year leader, wrangled 26 pounds, 6 ounces for the lead. In second, Jake Lawrence did what he does on the Tennessee River, weighing an 8-pounder together with four other large bass for a 25-07 total.
Behind Shaw and Lawrence, 20 pounds went down to 20th place, which means there’s a deep pool of talent to draw from the rest of the way. Miles Smith, Robby Lefere, Alex Bradley (with a 9-pounder), and Jon Canada all broke 23 pounds, and the overall result was an impressive day on the water and at the scales.
Of course, the elephant in the room is Day 2, during which forward-facing sonar will be turned off for the full field. For some, it may not be much of a hindrance. Some anglers are fishing offshore schools – side scan and a crankbait can do some serious damage there, no ‘Scope required. In the tailrace, it might be hard to even use forward-facing sonar – some smallmouth will definitely be caught old-school on Saturday. However, there are plenty of fish being caught spawning deep or offshore on very isolated cover, which will be a tough nut to crack without good underwater eyes.
While plenty of anglers had trouble locating schools of fish offshore in practice, Shaw figured it out – or, he figured it out enough to do very well on Day 1. Mixing bass on shad-spawn areas and on offshore schools, the young pro shot to the top of the leaderboard.
“Hopefully, I can keep on catching them out of those schools,” said Shaw. “There's not a ton of fish there, but there's definitely fish moving to them.
“I think I can definitely catch some dragging for sure on those same places,” said Shaw, who is an ace with forward-facing sonar and a minnow. “Day 2 is usually a day that I feel I can maybe fish better than a lot of these guys offshore, like for ‘Scoping fish. So, I’m excited about that. I think I can definitely catch a few fish out of my main places that I had today.”
Even if the offshore bite is trickier for Shaw on Day 2, he’s got hopes for more success on some shad-spawn areas.
“If we have cloud cover and some wind, I think it could be really good,” he said. “I didn't burn any of my shad spawn stuff up this morning. I tried it a little bit, but it was too sunny, so I just quit doing it right away. So, I think tomorrow, if we get some cloud cover, it could be really good. That's what I've been mainly catching them on all week.”
With a great performance in the early afternoon, Shaw spent some time preparing for the rest of the week, looking around where the bass should be.
“I spent pretty much the last 2 1/2 hours idling around,” Shaw said. “I scanned probably 20 places where they should be coming to. I found one place that had a decent little wad on it that could be good. And then on my way down, I culled out my 3-pounder with a 4-pounder out of a new place I just found. I hope I can catch 18 pounds tomorrow, and I think I'll be sitting really good if I can get 18.”
Here's a look at the Top 20 after Day 1:
1st: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 26-06
2nd: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 25-07
3rd: Miles Smith, Houma, La., five bass, 23-11
4th: Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., five bass, 23-05
5th: Alex Bradley, Wellford, S.C., five bass, 23-03
6th: Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., five bass, 23-02
7th: Cole Breeden, Lebanon, Mo., five bass, 22-12
8th: Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 22-10
9th: Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 22-0
9th: Carter Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 22-00
11th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 21-08
12th: Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 210-7
13th: Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., five bass, 21-3
14th: Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., five bass, 21-03
15th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 20-14
16th: Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 20-11
17th: Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 20-06
18th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 20-03
19th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 20-02
20th: Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 20-01
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Alex Bradley earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award of $1,000 after bringing a bass that weighed 9-4 to the scale.
Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field competes in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the Top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000.
Anglers launch at 6:30 a.m. CT each day from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop in Counce, Tenn.. Weigh-ins are held at the State Park and begin at 2:30 p.m.
