VanDam Sight Slams 20, Rojas 3 Pounds Behind

Calm winds and hot weather greeted anglers today at Smith Lake, Ala. for the first of four Bassmaster Elite 50 events. The conditions are virtually a complete opposite of last year's Tour event here, when anglers faced some of

the foulest weather in BASS tournament history. Kevin VanDam, who won the E50 points last year, took immediate control today with his 20-02 limit.

Sight fishing guru Dean Rojas sits in 2nd place with a total of 17-03, while Mark Davis is 3rd with 16-12. Kelly Jordan is 4th with 15-03 and Jeff Kriet rounds out the Top 5 with 15-02.

The rest of the Top 12 are:

6. Chad Morgenthaler: 5, 15-02
7. Larry Nixon: 5, 15-00
8. Brent Chapman: 5, 14-05
9. Jay Yelas: 5, 14-01
10. Davy Hite: 5, 13-12
11. Bernie Schultz: 5, 13-11
12. Skeet Reese: 5, 12-09

Tim Horton was temporarily in 4th place after the weigh-in, but was disqualified before weights became official.

There's some wiggle room near the top of the leaderboard, but overall the field is tight and primed for big moves tomorrow. A big wildcard is the weather. A substantial cold front, due to deliver strong winds and thunderstorms, is scheduled to hit Friday, but could arrive sooner (or later). That would all but negate the current sight-fishing bite.

VanDam in Command

VanDam is almost 3-pounds ahead of 2nd place. "It was a perfect day," he said. "The weather was hot and calm – perfect for sight-fishing. I just went out and hit it hard and got into a good bag of fish."

Much like last year's E50 series, VanDam seems to be in control once again. "It was an awesome day today," he said. "I only have to make the cut tomorrow and with my weight today, I feel good about the chances of that.

"I'll try for another 20 pounds tomorrow," he said. "I'll just fish hard and see how it pans out.

"The fish are primarily post-spawn right now but I'm still sight-fishing them."

He's throwing a variety of baits. "I caught fish on jigs, tubes, soft plastics, jerkbaits – pretty much everything I threw at them. You just have to read the fish and give them what they want to eat.

"We'll have to adjust each day for this event," he added. "The weather tomorrow is supposed to be windier than today and that could kill the sight bite. So I'll have to adjust and make do with other patterns as the tournament goes on."

He noted he's rooming with Davy Hite, who's in 10th place.

Rojas Lost Big Fish

"I had a great day today," 2nd-place Rojas said. "The lake is full of fish and they're hungry. This weather really helped out today. But I'm not too worried about the change that's supposed to happen tomorrow. I just want to make the cut and I'm pretty confident I can do that.

"This lake fished so much like a western impoundment," he said. "It's tailor-made for my style.

"I changed today between sight-fish and topwater fish," he said. "The day just went well except for a 6-pounder I lost. If I had that fish, I would have been in the lead."

He said he won't change tomorrow. "Tomorrow I plan to go out and do the same thing. I might not be able to get on my sight-fish if the wind blows, but I'm confident the fish will stay on the topwater bite."

He weighed all largemouths today and noted he caught nine keepers.

Davis Back in the Swing

Bass legend Mark Davis won two of the four E50 events last year, but struggled this season after undergoing shoulder surgery (he finished 88th in the Bassmaster Tour points). The crowd, however, witnessed the real Mark Davis today. He's 3rd (3-06 behind VanDam).

"This was my best tournament day all season," he said. "It's good to get back in the swing of things after a so-so year.

"The lake is real strong right now. The fish are post-spawn for the most part, but they're still in position for sight-fishing."

He caught his first two fish on his first two casts. "I had three spotted bass located on three different areas that I wanted to fish first thing," he said. "I went to the first spot and got a 3 1/2-pounder on my first cast and told my observer we had to go.

"We went to my second spot and I got another about 2 1/2 pounds on my second cast. Again I told my observer, 'we're leaving,' and we hit my third spot. On my third cast, I lost my third fish.

"The weather really helped out today," he added. "There's lots of fish, but it's hard to get the 3-pound-plus fish to eat."

He noted he caught three limits of keepers today.

Swindle Underestimated Fish

Alabama's Gerald Swindle knows Smith Lake well. He's 15th with an 11-15 limit – just 10 ounces behind the cut.

"These fish caught better than I thought they would," he said. "I totally underestimated these fish today.

"They stopped pulling the water on Monday and that kept the shallow fish up there I guess. I'll be impressed if the guys can go out and do it again tomorrow."

He said he started by looking for fish, then changed. "I sight-fished for about the first hour or so and only had two fish by 1:30. After that, I just went fishing. From 1:30 to 3:00, I had a limit in the boat and started culling.

"I went to some deep-water areas that had suspended fish on them. I had to wait on the fish until they came shallow, then throw soft plastics and topwaters before they'd eat. You couldn't get them to eat when they were deep."

On whether or not he feels he can make the cut tomorrow: "I have no clue. It's so hard on this lake. One thing I do know is I can weigh anything between a big zero or 15 pounds. I just want to concentrate on making the cut. I want to fish the course bad."

Horton DQd

Tim Horton had his weight DQd today. "My observer was sitting in the back of the boat while I was fishing and grabbed a branch to get it out of his face," Horton said. "I didn't think anything of it.

"Then I got a call from (BASS tournament director) Trip Weldon and he told me I'd been disqualified for having assistance from my observer. I was just crushed. I can't believe they DQd me for that."

Weldon could not be reached for clarification, but a BASS official told BassFan: "Tim Horton's weight for day 1 was disqualified due to getting assistance from his observer. Tim asked the observer to hold the boat for him while he sight-fished, and that violated a rule that was declared this morning prior to the start of the tournament."

Clearly there's a difference of opinion. Horton alleges his observer was moving a branch away from his face, while BASS claims Horton asked for assistance.

More details on this incident will be reported as information becomes available.

Notable

> "The sight-fish got picked clean today," Rojas said. "That'll make it a lot tougher tomorrow for the guys that don't have a backup plan. I'll go out tomorrow and try to get some sight-fish, but I have a backup plan that'll work well for me the next 3 days."

> Davis wonders whether he can repeat his weight tomorrow. "The lake is fishing really good," he said. "It'll be hard to repeat my weight tomorrow, but I saw a lot of good fish today after I had my limit that I can get to eat tomorrow."

> Most anglers reported the majority their fish are in the 1- to 10-foot range.

> All anglers feel the Top 12 cut weight will be around 25 pounds.

Weather Forecast

Thurs., April 21 – Scattered T-Storms – 76°/58°
> Wind: From the W/SW at 6 mph

Fri., April 22 – Scattered Strong Storms/Wind – 79°/49°
> Wind: From the W/SW at 6 mph

Sat., April 23 – Partly Cloudy/Wind – 64°/35°
> Wind: From the SW at 20 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 5, 20-02 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 20-02
2. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline, Texas -- 5, 17-03 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 17-03
3. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, Ark. -- 5, 16-12 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 16-12
4. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 15-03 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 15-03
5. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, Okla. -- 5, 15-02 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 15-02
5. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville, Ill. -- 5, 15-02 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 15-02
7. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ark. -- 5, 15-00 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 15-00
8. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 5, 14-05 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 14-05
9. Jay Yelas -- Tyler, Texas -- 5, 14-01 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 14-01
10. Davy Hite -- Prosperity, S.C. -- 5, 13-12 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 13-12
11. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 5, 13-11 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 13-11
12. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 5, 12-09 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 12-09
13. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, N.J. -- 5, 12-07 -- 251
Day 1: 5, 12-07
14. Edwin Evers -- Mannsville, Okla. -- 5, 12-04 -- 248
Day 1: 5, 12-04
15. Gerald Swindle -- Hayden, Ala. -- 5, 11-15 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 11-15
16. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 5, 11-14 -- 243
Day 1: 5, 11-14
17. Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 4, 11-12 -- 241
Day 1: 4, 11-12
18. Bud Pruitt -- Spring, Texas -- 5, 11-10 -- 239
Day 1: 5, 11-10
19. Jeff Reynolds -- Platter, Okla. -- 5, 11-08 -- 237
Day 1: 5, 11-08
20. Rick Clunn -- Ava, Mo. -- 5, 11-02 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 11-02
20. David Fritts -- Lexington, N.C. -- 5, 11-02 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 11-02
20. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Texas -- 5, 11-02 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 11-02
23. Luke Clausen -- Spokane Valley, Wash. -- 5, 11-01 -- 229
Day 1: 5, 11-01
24. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, Calif. -- 5, 10-10 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 10-10
24. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Texas -- 5, 10-10 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 10-10
26. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 10-03 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 10-03
27. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 4, 9-11 -- 221
Day 1: 4, 9-11
28. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 4, 9-10 -- 219
Day 1: 4, 9-10
29. Roland Martin -- Naples, Fla. -- 4, 9-08 -- 217
Day 1: 4, 9-08
30. George Cochran -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 9-06 -- 215
Day 1: 5, 9-06
31. Dave Wolak -- Warrior Run, Pa. -- 4, 9-05 -- 213
Day 1: 4, 9-05
32. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, Ark. -- 4, 8-13 -- 211
Day 1: 4, 8-13
33. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, Mo. -- 4, 8-12 -- 209
Day 1: 4, 8-12
34. Stacey D King -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 4, 8-07 -- 207
Day 1: 4, 8-07
35. Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, Fla. -- 4, 8-02 -- 205
Day 1: 4, 8-02
36. Terry Scroggins -- Palatka, Fla. -- 3, 8-01 -- 203
Day 1: 3, 8-01
37. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, Texas -- 3, 7-12 -- 201
Day 1: 3, 7-12
38. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, N.C. -- 4, 7-07 -- 199
Day 1: 4, 7-07
39. Mike Reynolds -- Modesto, Calif. -- 2, 5-15 -- 197
Day 1: 2, 5-15
40. Mark Tyler -- Scottsdale, Ariz. -- 3, 5-11 -- 195
Day 1: 3, 5-11
41. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 2, 5-10 -- 193
Day 1: 2, 5-10
42. Jimmy Mize -- Ben Lomond, Ark. -- 3, 5-09 -- 191
Day 1: 3, 5-09
43. David Wharton -- Sam Rayburn, Texas -- 3, 5-08 -- 189
Day 1: 3, 5-08
44. Marty Stone -- Linden, N.C. -- 3, 4-15 -- 187
Day 1: 3, 4-15
45. Jim Bitter -- Fruitland Park, Fla. -- 1, 4-14 -- 185
Day 1: 1, 4-14
46. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, N.C. -- 2, 4-13 -- 183
Day 1: 2, 4-13
47. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Okla. -- 1, 3-10 -- 181
Day 1: 1, 3-10
48. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 1, 2-08 -- 179
Day 1: 1, 2-08
49. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, Okla. -- 1, 1-05 -- 177
Day 1: 1, 1-05
50. Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals, Ala. -- 0, 0-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 0-00

Big Bass

> Day 1 -- Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, Ark. -- 5-08 -- $1,000