Scott Ashmore's failure to make the final cut at the recent Toledo Bend Bassmaster Elite Series was attributable to a phenomenon that has plagued anglers ever since the development of the fish hook. Simply put, some of the fish that got away were bigger than some of the ones he brought to hand.
"I was catching them on a crankbait, and I lost three the second day and three the third day," said the Oklahoman, who nonetheless registered his best-ever Elite finish. "All of them were at least 4-pounders and one was at least 5.
"I was making hail-Mary casts out there in the flooded timber and when you hooked one, sooner or later it would come up and jump. And sometimes when they jumped, they'd throw the baits. It was painful because you got to watch them do it."
His primary bait was a Strike King 6XD.
"The first one I lost I was really upset about because that was the 5-pounder. When that was followed by the two 4s, it wasn't so bad because I'd seen that before. I'd kind of gotten used to it.
"I had the fish on (to make the 12-cut), but those things happen."
The Big Bite Lookback, which focuses on the angler who's first out of the final cut at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great folks at Big Bite Baits.
