By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Brent Ehrler’s in a familiar position at Lake Conroe – leading after day 1. His work is far from over, though, especially if he wants to produce a different outcome than what transpired the last time he competed there.
Ehrler used a strong first period and a solid final 30 minutes today to seize the lead following the Shotgun Round for Group A in the second MLF Bass Pro Tour event of the season.
Ehrler tallied 15 fish for 33-14 with eight fish and 23-03 coming in the first 2 1/2 hours alone. He relinquished the lead to Wesley Strader in the third period before overtaking his former FLW Tour and Elite Series counterpart with a 1-03 bass in the closing minutes.
Strader was the only other angler to top the 30-pound mark, finishing with a group-leading 18 bass for 33-00. Just 10 other anglers caught at least 10 bass as the 40-man field attempted to decode Conroe’s cool, dirty water that got churned up by a stiff northwest breeze.
Ehrler’s a long way from hoisting the trophy, but his strong start sends a message to the rest of the field that he’s not going to allow any lingering bitterness over his 3rd-place finish in the 2017 Bassmaster Classic at Conroe to alter his plans this week.
“I had a couple areas where I was able to catch some, then I tried to expand and find some new areas, but didn’t catch anything,” he said. “That part wasn’t exciting. I still have a few areas I have not fished yet, so we’ll see. I hadn’t been catching them, so I’m excited for what I had, but not excited that I didn’t find something new that I can run later.”
Jason Christie needed just 10 bass to rack up 29-11, which has him in third. Bradley Roy carded 12 bass for 29-04 and Adrian Avena is two ounces back in 5th after catching 15 bass.
The big fish that most believe will have an impact on this week’s event were not a major factor today as just three of the 310 fish caught weighed more than 5 pounds (only 35 weighed 3 pounds or more).
Following a soaking rain Monday night, a steady breeze in the 15 to 20-mph range put a considerable chop on the main lake. Many anglers retreated into the protected canals and coves dotted with boat docks and sea walls while others headed up the lake to the undeveloped section known as the Jungle.
Ehrler put together the only 20-pound period of the day early on, thanks to a 4-12 and a 5-05. He carried a lead of nearly 9 pounds into the second period as he tried to explore other parts of the lake.
“That was amazing,” he said. “I caught a couple random ones here and there, but it gave me the opportunity to relax and fish new water, but that didn’t pan out. It was kind of a waste, but at the same time I didn’t burn through some other areas I have.”
Wesley Strader combed Conroe's shallow water all day and hauled in 33 pounds.
Despite carding just one fish in the second period, Ehrler’s lead was still almost 5 pounds entering the final period. He added a small fish to start the third, then went nearly 90 minutes without a bite. He connected with five fish totaling 6-12 over the last 35 minutes to recapture the top spot.
“Finishing first did not matter to me,” Ehrler said. “I just want to make the cut. What’s tricky now is I have 30 pounds, so theoretically I cannot catch a fish (Thursday) and still advance. And any fish I catch off my prime areas won’t actually help me. It might actually hurt me. I don’t know how to play out my next day. I’m tempted to fish all new water or go to my prime spots and catch a few and then move on.
“The fishing is not very good. It was windy today and it’s supposed to be windier on Thursday. Today, it blew out of the north and it’s supposed to be out of the south Thursday so the areas we caught them today we won’t be able to catch them there.”
Strader was consistent throughout the day, targeting skinny water in some of the remote sections of the lake. His weight increased each period and he caught one more fish per period as the day progressed. One thing he lacked, though, was a big fish. Of the top 12 finishers, he was the only one without a 3-pounder on his scorecard. Everything he caught weighed between 1 pound and 2-09.
“I had my opportunities today, but I lost quite a few,” he said. “I don’t understand because I was doing something you don’t usually lose ‘em on, so I had to put that up and move on.”
After getting roughly a dozen bites over two days of practice, Strader was pleased with the number of bites he had today. He knows he can’t rest on today’s success, though. He’s experienced how tough it is to put two good days together at Conroe. On day 1 of the 2017 Classic, he caught 19-09, then zeroed the next day and missed the top-25 cut. At the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes two weeks ago, he caught 13 fish in the Shotgun Round, but only one in the Elimination Round, dropping him below the cut line.
“I’ve had fast starts before, but this place is notorious,” he said. “The conditions we have … the lake just isn’t fishing the way you’d think it’d fish in the early spring. I thought there’d be more fish on the bank. There are fish off the bank, but they’re not catchable because it’s muddy. When they set up where they should be, though, they’re pretty aggressive.”
He said he’s committed to the skinny water the rest of the way.
“It’s the only way I can get bit,” he said. “I had some (bites) off the bank, but it’s still shallow, target-specific stuff.”
Christie seems to be in his element in these conditions. He caught at least one 3 1/2-pounder in each period and only one of his fish weighed less than 2 pounds.
Jason Christie was hoping to rack up more weight today, but he's pleased with he sits after day 1.
“It went about as planned, meaning I couldn’t get bit in areas that I didn’t get bit in during practice,” he said. “Anytime I got around areas where I got bit, I got bites. It could’ve been a dynamite day, but it wasn’t. I wish I could’ve had a dynamite day because it would’ve given me Thursday to go look for new stuff. I’ll have to catch a few now and then maybe go looking.
“This lake is 22,000 acres and I feel like the fish live in about 1,000 acres, but I’ve only found 20 of those acres,” he added. “What looks the same is not the same. You can’t run the lake and pick it out. You have to fish it. It’s weird because I’m not sure if it has to do with bottom composition or what.”
Still, he’s pleased with the good start and hopes to build on it Thursday because as he learned at the Kissimmee Chain, where anglers in the other group were fishing in the same areas he was, he knows the stretches he hit today will likely get hit Wednesday and/or Friday.
“A fast start is very important because (at Kissimmee), I thought I was fishing an area that I had to myself, but I noticed the second day I was out there that the fishing got tougher because on the top-40 day there were three other boats in there fishing,” he said. “That’s going to happen again. There will definitely be guys fishing areas I fished today tomorrow. I don’t know how many fish are there and I don’t have enough places to run around. That’s why I wanted to smoke ‘em so I could spend Thursday looking.”
Notable
> Day 1 stats – 40 anglers (First period: 86 fish, 186-14; Second period: 103 fish, 216-05; Third period: 121 fish, 230-03; Total: 310 fish, 633-06)
Weather Forecast
> Wed., Feb. 13 – Partly Cloudy - 65°/51°
- Wind: From the SE at 9 mph
> Thurs., Feb. 14 – Mostly Cloudy - 75°/58°
- Wind: From the SSW at 15 mph
> Fri., Feb. 15 – Mix of Sun, Clouds - 72°/44°
- Wind: From the NW at 12 mph
> Sat., Feb. 16 – Mostly Cloudy - 65°/47°
- Wind: From the ESE at 6 mph
> Sun., Feb. 17 – Mostly Cloudy - 66°/51°
- Wind: From the ENE at 9 mph
Day 1 Results
1. Brent Ehrler -- 15, 33-12
2. Wesley Strader -- 18, 33-00
3. Jason Christie -- 10, 29-11
4. Bradley Roy -- 12, 29-04
5. Adrian Avena -- 15, 29-02
6. Bobby Lane -- 13, 28-05
7. Boyd Duckett -- 17, 27-00
8. Jeff Kriet -- 13, 26-03
9. Kevin VanDam -- 14, 25-12
10. Gerald Swindle -- 7, 21-03
11. Alton Jones -- 7, 18-06
12. Jonathon VanDam -- 7, 18-03
13. Todd Faircloth -- 11, 17-13
14. Mark Rose -- 10, 17-12
15. Jeff Sprague -- 10, 17-07
16. Greg Hackney -- 8, 17-02
17. Fletcher Shryock -- 7, 16-12
18. Justin Atkins -- 8, 16-01
19. Mike Iaconelli -- 8, 15-15
20. Alton Jones Jr -- 8, 15-06
21. Cliff Pace -- 9, 14-10
22. Anthony Gagliardi -- 5, 13-02
23. Shaw Grigsby -- 7, 12-14
24. Dean Rojas -- 6, 12-14
25. Jacob Powroznik -- 6, 11-10
26. Cliff Crochet -- 6, 11-07
27. Aaron Martens -- 5, 11-02
28. Britt Myers -- 7, 10-14
29. Josh Bertrand -- 3, 9-04
30. Marty Robinson -- 5, 8-14
31. Luke Clausen -- 4, 8-14
32. Brent Chapman -- 5, 8-11
33. Skeet Reese -- 5, 8-02
34. Terry Scroggins -- 4, 7-11
35. Brandon Palaniuk -- 3, 7-03
36. Paul Elias -- 5, 7-00
37. Scott Suggs -- 3, 5-15
38. Dustin Connell -- 3, 5-08
39. John Murray -- 1, 4-12
40. Jesse Wiggins -- 0, 0-0
