Day 1 Classic Notes From Rest Of Field

In yesterday's Bassmaster Classic report, BassFans heard from anglers in the 1st- through 25th-place spots. Here's what the rest of the field had to say about day 1.

26th: Conway Close To Cut

Federation qualifier Joe Conway from Colorado Springs, Co. weighed 14-01 and is currently the first angler out of the day 2 Top 25 cut. He knows he's on the border and wants to at

least duplicate his catch today (day 2).

"I put eight in the boat and left one swimming with my bait. I'm fishing Toho and my biggest fish was 4 pounds."

About his day 2 plans, he said: "I think I can duplicate (my weight), but I'll have to adapt on the fly. With the changing conditions I think I can do it. I'll probably be right on the border for the cut."

He thinks he has his fish figured out, but "it's a matter of getting the big bite. The weather's really pushing them back and tightening them up."

27th: Soley Says Anything's Possible

Bob Soley of Trenton, N.J. is another Federation Qualifier hunting the final cut spot. His 13-15 limit puts him just 3 ounces behind the 25th-plce spot. He fished both Toho and Kissimmee and caught 15 keepers. His best fish weighed 4 1/2 pounds.

"My day went fantastic," he said. "I caught a couple fish off beds, then the rest I caught flipping. I wish I could have caught another good fish. I had one that weighed 1 1/2 pounds that I couldn't get rid of."

He might gamble today and swing for the fences. "On this lake anything's possible. There's some giant fish in this place."

28th: Yelas Was Shallow, Deep

Jay Yelas' day 1 report is located in the BassFan Big Sticks section. To read it, click here.

29th: Wind Hurt Reynolds

Jeff Reynolds had planned to sight-fish all day, but the stiff breeze made that difficult. "The wind hurt me bad," he said. "It didn't blow real hard, but just enough to keep me from seeing."

He caught his 12-10 bag on Toho. He threw worms to isolated grass and fished a Zoom Horny Toad in shallow water. "It was real disappointing," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow – I'm going to have to go think about it. I have to do something else.

"I'll have to catch them real good tomorrow, but anything can happen."

30th: Howell Couldn't Connect

Randy Howell sight-fished all day in Toho, but managed just 12-03. "I'm disappointed when I consider the fish I had around me," he said. "I had 30 pounds looking at my bait. I've never seen a day when it was so hard to make them bite."

His biggest was a 5-pounder. He spotted two others that were over 5 pounds each and tried to catch them for about 2 hours with no results.

Besides the big one, the other fish he caught were small males. "This place is so full of monster fish, but the big females have the bittiest bucks with them," he said.

"If the weather had cooperated, it might have been good. But I'm excited about (day 2). I'm just hoping it'll be calmer with a little bit of sun."

30th: Mize Struggled Early

Jimmy Mize missed his first five bites, but eventually caught a limit that weighed 12-03. "They were biting really funny," he said. "It was like peck, peck, peck seven or eight times, and then maybe they'd finally take it."

He fished both a Yamamoto Senko and a Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnow in Toho and focused on offshore grass. He caught seven keepers and his best was "a little over 5." That fish got hung up in the grass and he had to lie down on the deck and use both hands to boat it. "I just pulled the whole wad of grass up over the side, and he was in it."

His bag fell far short of his expectations. "It was very disappointing. I thought I'd have 20 pounds or over. I was getting 25 bites a day in practice and they were good fish."

He didn't stray far from the launch ramp. "I probably didn't burn 5 gallons of gas. I'll start in Toho again (on day 2) and if they don't bite, I'll go down to Cypress or somewhere else."

30th: Crews Was Sight-Fishing

Virginia's John Crews went looking for sight-fish and never caught a big fish. He weighed a 12-03 limit.

"I worked one that was 5 to 5 1/2 pounds for an hour and a half and had to leave it," he said. "It never left. It stayed right there, locked on, and wouldn't bite. That's only happened one other time for me, at the Eufaula EverStart (now Stren Series).

"I feel like I'm not out of it, but I'm not in the thick of it yet."

He might change things up today. "I'll wait and see what the weather does. I'll probably just go to Kissimmee and go fishing."

> He was struck in the head by a coot while on pad. "I looked back and the thing clocked me. Good thing I was wearing a motorcycle helmet."

33rd: Small Ones for Snowden

Brian Snowden caught 26 keepers, but all were in the 2-pound range. His five best weighed 11-15.

"I had a great day," he said. "I actually had fun, with the exception of not catching any quality fish. That's my only complaint. One or two good bites is the difference between having 17 or 18 pounds and having 12."

He fished a 6-inch Yum Houdini worm (black/blue flake) and a Yum Buzz Frog (black) in Toho. He focused on isolated grass patches in areas with a clean bottom.

"I'll have to get at least 20 pounds (today) to be anywhere close," he said.

34th: Gutierrez Lost Frog Hawg

Greg Gutierrez said he lost a fish that weighed over 6 pounds during the first few minutes of the day. He didn't hook any others over 3 1/2 and had to settle for an 11-13 bag.

"I went out slinging that frog and I got one to take it on my fourth or fifth cast," he said. "I was this far away from the fish (holding his hands about 18 inches apart) and I watched it just slide right off."

He scratched out a limit of bed-fish with a paddletail worm, then culled three of those with a buzzbait. He caught eight keepers.

"It wasn't an unsuccessful day," he said. "I had a lot of blow-ups, but they were kind of shoving the buzzbait and not taking it all the way. I just didn't get the fish to put me where I needed to be. I thought I could get anywhere between 15 and 17 pounds, but that one good one cost me."

36th: Kennedy Was Probed

Federation qualifier James Kennedy, from Lacombe, La., was on good fish. But the unexpected happened. He did weigh a limit (11-03) but had to work to contain his frustration.

"I was fishing a plastic in Kissimmee," he said. "My day was going good. I had 10 bites by around 11:30. My two biggest were a 4 1/2 and one pushing 3. The bite was just getting started and this guy came into where I was fishing."

The "guy" was reading the area for a topo map. "He put a probe in the water and started doing circles around me. We deal with all kinds of stuff, but I was fishing a canal.

"He said, 'Don't worry about me, I'm not fishing.' But he was in there with a big motor all over the banks. I'm catching all my fish on pads in 2 feet of water, and he's running through the pads in his boat."

He fought with the frustration. "You've really got to hold your own and not get too aggravated. When you get in that situation you have to dig deep. I looked at myself and decided I was blessed with what I had."

He doesn't feel he's out of it. "Five bites on this lake can get you 50 pounds. It's been done once before."

37th: Reynolds had Fun

Mike Reynolds' 10-15 bag was lighter than he expected, but he said enjoyed his day.

"I had a lot of fun," he said. "I put the trolling motor down and fished hard all day and I felt good about the way I fished."

He flipped a 4-inch Reaction Innovations tube (green-pumpkin) in heavy cover. "All day I felt like I had the potential for a big fish, but I just never could put one in there."

He'll fish the same spot today. "It's the second day and I don't want to be out there getting in people's way. Plus, I'm in a nice area that has a lot of fish. There's got to be some good ones.

"This is Florida and you can make up 10 pounds on one flip. You're never out of a tournament like this. I understand that I'm not where I need to be, but I can't give up."

38th: Scroggins Impatient

Terry Scroggins was a heavy pre-tournament favorite, but he was no match for his good friend and fellow Palatka resident Preston Clark (2nd with 29-01). Scroggins' 10-14 sack was far below his own – and everybody else's – expectations.

"I'm real disappointed about it," he said. "I made some wrong decisions and I didn't fish well. I got in too big of a hurry.

"(Today) I'll just slow down and focus on what I need to do. Anytime you're in Florida, crazy things can happen. A 30-pound bag isn't out of the question."

He started the day sight-fishing in Toho, then made a run to Kissimmee. He came back to Toho later and caught most of his weigh-in fish.

"I got to running around too much and I was struggling a little," he said. "I caught five or six when I got back to Toho and kind of salvaged the day a little bit."

40th: Klein Under 10

Gary Klein ended up with 9-15 today after boating a couple of limits on Toho. His biggest was only a 2 1/4-pounder.

He sight-fished all day even with the wind, which ruined one of his better stretches. "With the wind blowing on it there was nothing on it," he said, "not up there. Not as shallow as they were."

Even with all of that, Klein said he had a "great day. I had a good fishing day. I just didn't catch any quality fish. I think I fished very well, I executed very well. I did everything that was in my gameplan."

Like practically everyone who didn't do so well today, he feels he's still in it. "I could catch a 30-pound stringer really easily." And if it's windy tomorrow? "I may change lakes," he said. "I've got some other water I'd like to go visit."

41st: Brauer Disappointed

Chad Brauer fished Toho and weighed a 9-12 limit. He didn't catch much – only six keepers and one 4-pounder.

"I was a little disappointed," he said. "I felt I had a little more potential than that. I'm really surprised at the weights that came in. I didn't think they would be that good."

He's 19-10 off the lead and 4-06 behind the cut. Right now, his goal is to make the cut. "You can't rule yourself out. You can always go and catch that big bag tomorrow and make up some ground. I'm probably out of it for a chance to win, but I'm not out of a bad showing yet.

"The year Rojas won (at Toho), I only had 4 pounds the first day, but finished 35th."

> His father Denny is notorious for struggling in Florida. Did he learn anything about Florida from his father? Maybe. "I try to do the opposite of whatever he's done," he said.

42nd: Walker Throwing Blades

David Walker caught at least two limits on Toho but didn't weigh much (9-11). He caught most of his fish on a spinnerbait, which was a departure from his original plan.

"A couple of hours into it, I went through some of my best areas and didn't have any bites – none whatsoever," he said. "I decided I'd start doing something different so I started throwing a spinnerbait.

"I caught one on the second cast, then caught another a couple of minutes later. I spent 3 or 4 hours doing that."

He continued to catch fish, and continued to move around. "I tried to find places with bigger fish, but couldn't get it done. It drove me crazy. I'm out of it.

"I'm disappointed, absolutely," he added. "It's terrible. The Classic's a winner-take-all deal."

43rd: McClelland Eyes Sunday

Mike McClelland caught a lot of fish (14 keepers), but no big ones. He culled six times on Toho to get to his 9-07 limit.

"It's really frustrating to catch that many," he said. "It was one of those days. I wasn't around good ones and I didn't get the right bites."

He stayed on Toho to maximize his time. "There's no doubt there's quality there. It's just a matter of getting around the right fish. There was one section I had that I couldn't fish – it had 2 1/2-foot rollers – and I spent too much time fighting wind."

He caught most of his fish on a Zoom Trick Worm and Zoom Horny Toad. "I thought I could catch 15 pounds without a problem. The Toad bite was just off today."

44th: Wolak Left Fish

Dave Wolak threw rattlebaits and sight-fished on day 1, but his bite never came together. He caught six keepers and weighed 9-05.

"I fished Toho and a little in Cypress," he said. "It was pretty poor. I left a 6-pounder and at least three 4-pounders I couldn't catch on beds. They just wouldn't bite. Overall it was a poor day."

He'll probably focus on flipping today. "I'll flip pads and mats and just change it up. I'm not out of it. The biggest bass of my life was a 10-09 I caught in New York. Here at Toho I've caught a high-10 and an 11-06. They're there."

45th: Horton Mixed it Up

Tim Horton didn't lock into a good bite. He caught five keepers, weighed 8-14 and isn't quite sure what happened.

"I was doing a bunch of things on Toho," he said. "I threw XCalibur rattlebaits and caught a couple on a Yum Dinger. But I flipped mats for most of the day and couldn't get good bites."

About his fish, he said: "They did leave. I don't know what happened there. I tried to keep moving and find them, but I never did.

"I'm not out of it. Two 25-pound bags would bring me back, and the guys who caught 22 might only catch 10 (today)."

46th: Rowland Will Adjust

Zell Rowland's topwater bite never materialized. He caught a few on a Devil's Horse, but he mainly threw spinnerbaits.

"I was on Toho and caught all my fish on a spinnerbait," he said. "Topwater's not going yet. A lot of fish just finished spawning last week. It's tough."

He said his day was "miserable. When you're fishing a body of water like this, you know you need 15 to 20 pounds. I'm going to think about it, look at the map and the weather report and have a totally different plan for (day 2).

"I'm not out of it. Anyone could zero tomorrow. I've seen it happen here many times."

46th: Swindle Ticked Off

Gerald Swindle was downright angry about his 8-10 bag and vowed to take it out on the fish today. "At this point I'm not worried about the tournament," he said. "I'm really ticked off. I don't care about the cut and I don't care who wins.

"It's strictly a self-confidence thing now – I've got to catch them for myself. I'll put two flipping sticks on the deck and fish real slow, and I'll get a 9- or 10-pounder to bite."

He was stunned when he heard about the size of the bags brought in by Clausen and Clark. "I'm one of the guys who doesn't get a lot of help," he said. "I don't talk to a lot of people, and I never knew the fishing would be like this. It almost took my breath away."

He fished a Zoom Horny Toad in Toho, then made a run to Kissimmee at midday. "I stunk just as bad in both," he said. "I had a lot of bites, but I just didn't catch them."

48th: De Villiers Lost Big One

South African Anre' De Villiers, who qualified through the Federation, was disappointed in his 7-09 limit.

"I fished Kissimmee and broke off on a fish just over 8 pounds," he said. "And I had lot of missed bites. They weren't quite taking it properly. It must have been the front.

"You're never out of it," he added. "I just think I have to do something special (on day 2). I'll just change tactics completely."

49th: Wurm Disappointed

Mike Wurm was "real disappointed" in his day 1 limit of 7-04. "In this Classic, that's bad," he said. "But in the last Classic, that would have been good.

"I had a really good area that I had a lot of confidence in. I went to that area first and the fish would not bite. The bait was still there, and it was out of the wind, but I could never get the bite to develop.

"The fish had no reason to leave. There was plenty there for them. They should still be there."

50th: Just two for St. Germain

Rhode Island's Joel St. Germain, the two-time Classic qualifier through the Federation, narrowly missed the cut in 2002 and came into this event with high hopes. He caught just two keepers for 4-09.

"It was just one of those days where nothing went right," he said. "The stars didn't align for me. I think I was fishing with my daughter's Snoopy pole for the first 2 hours, and maybe that was why I couldn't catch them."

He threw a Zoom Horny Toad to start the day, but later switched to a spinnerbait. He lost a good fish on the blade at the end of the day.