Clark's 39-06 Leads The Day 1 Sight-Sack Parade

(Editor's note: At 9:57 p.m. EST BASS issued a statement that Alton Jones had been DQd from the tournament. For the story, click here.)

After 2 days of miserable practice and a day of anticipation, the waters of South Carolina's Santee

Cooper Reservoir began to boil with bass. Like the Battlestar Galactica, giant females led an armada of bass in a massive migration to the shallows.

There are literally big fish everywhere and the field at the Santee Cooper Bassmaster Elite Series took the hurt right to 'em. Sight-fishing specialist Preston Clark caught the biggest sack and leads by 4 pounds. His toad collection looked a lot like a poker hand: two 9s, two 8s and a 7.

To put his total in perspective, consider that the heaviest 1-day, five-fish weight ever recorded in BASS competition was Dean Rojas' 45-02. He caught that in 2001 at Florida's Lake Toho. Clark was 5-12 behind that today. But he's well ahead of the pace to break Rojas' 4-day weight total of 108-12, also set at Toho in 2001.

With his weight today, Clark only has to average a little over 23 pounds each of the next 3 days to break the 4-day weight record. By all accounts, that's more than doable.

Alton Jones, another strong sight-stick, is 2nd with 35-06. Terry "Big Show" Scroggins is 3rd with 33-06. Rookie Bradley Hallman is 4th with 32-05 and Kelly Jordon, who won here in 2004, is 5th with 31-15.

Here's a look at the rest of the Top 10:

6. Skeet Reese: 29-12
7. John Crews: 29-09
8. Bradley Stringer: 27-11
9. Jimmy Mize: 27-08
10. Kevin Wirth: 27-06

Peter Thliveros is 11th with 27-01, but he and Clark are sharing an area, so he could make a big move tomorrow.

Conditions were ideal for sight-fishing today, and they're supposed to hold for tomorrow, with warmer temperatures on the way.

Clark's lead might seem expansive, but it's really not. He's fishing new water, and so is most of the field. Almost anybody could pull up on 40 pounds tomorrow, which makes it wide-open right now.

The field cuts to the Top 50 after tomorrow, then the Top 12 after Saturday. Denny Brauer is 12th right now with 26-06, but 30th place (Gary Klein and Jeff Reynolds) is 21-08 – a difference of only 4-10. It's that tight.

The 50th-place final cut spot is held by Rick Clunn with 18-00. That means it might take 36 pounds just to make a check here.

Clark Had Best-Ever Day

Palatka, Florida is home for Clark, and it's home to some big bass. But he's never had a tournament day like he did today.

"Oh man, it was awesome," he said. "I had three fish that I spotted to go to first thing today, and I was hoping I could catch one. I caught all three on each first cast. I couldn't believe it.

"The first two were at 9 pounds, and the third was a 6 that I had to cull out. Can you believe that?

"This is my best tournament day ever," he added. "I've had two or three 29-pound bags, but I never broke that 30 barrier. Wow. I didn't think I'd almost break 40."

And there's more where that came from. "I was passing up 7- and 8-pounders at the end of the day. If caught an 8-pounder I might gain a half-pound. But I saved them for tomorrow so I can get the full 8 pounds."

And he's even more surprised because his practice started so poorly.

"I had a terrible practice. I caught two fish in 3 days. Then I got out my old magazine where I saw when Kelly Jordon won here and started reading. The weather and moon were setting up identical to when he'd won.

"He made the comment that he knew they were going to move up. So I found an old area where there was activity before, waited on them and they showed up like crazy today."

How many showed up? Plenty, and then some more. "It was like a herd of fish came in there. And I only had one other boat around me doing well. It was Peter T. We have a huge area to ourselves."

He thinks location will be the biggest factor the next 3 days. "I think you'll have to be in the right place at the right time. More fish are moving up and if you happen to be in an area where big fish decide to move up, then you'll weigh a big bag.

"If you're somewhere where 4-pounders move up, then you won't."

2nd: Career Day For Jones Too

Jones was right there in the mix at the Amistad slugfest. He eventually finished 7th. With his big 35-06 sack here – which included the day's big bass (10-01) – he's sniffing a win again.

"This was my career best day in a BASS event – my best day in a tournament ever," he said. "Needless to say, it was just one of those magical days.

"You've heard it said – there are days when you can do no wrong. Every place I stopped had a big set of lips looking at me."

He still had to catch them though. Usually, bait choice for bed-fishing isn't a big deal. A jig, tube, worm, swimbait, Senko – pick your weapon. But he said today was different.

"I figured out a bait to catch the females. There are a lot of ladies swimming around, paired up with males, and they're hard to catch. I found a bait that, when they won't look at anything else, you can catch some.

"It's a Yum bait, I can tell you that."

He also noted: "It's a little bit of an unconventional rig for this particular lure, and it's working on those fish. It's just some extra confidence when you have a deal like that to go to. I don't need to worry about what I'm throwing tomorrow."

He plans to fish a lot of the same water tomorrow because it changes by the hour. "There's constantly more fish moving in. I fished through an area this morning, then made a pass a few hours later and there were different fish on the beds."

3rd: Scroggins Saved 25 to 30

In just about any big-weight contest, expect "Big Show" Scroggins – ranked No. 5 in the BassFan World Rankings – to be clawing around in the Top 10. He's 3rd right now with 33-06.

"I had about 20 or 25 fish (from practice) I thought I could catch today," he said. "But a lot of the fish I caught today weren't fish I found in practice.

"I think I've got 25 or 30 pounds for tomorrow, so I feel pretty good about it."

He's running new water – nothing he fished in previous events here. "You can tell when you get in the right area if you know what you're looking for. Everything I fished the last time I was here is very busy right now. So I'm running more isolated stuff away from everybody."

He noted his biggest today was 7 1/2 to 8 pounds, and his smallest was around 6.

On whether he can win: "Absolutely. Preston's my old fishing partner, and he's hard to beat. He's a very good sight-fisherman, along with a number of other guys.

"I think you have to have a good, lucky break. There's fish moving up, and a lot of boats on top of them. It'll boil down to who has the most fish left going into day 4. There might be a little luck there with fish making overnight moves."

5th: Jordon Suffered Spit-Up

Jordon rocked a huge day 3 site bag here in 2004 and went on to win the event. He's in good position again this time, but might have weighed a little more if one of his fish could have held down its supper.

"My day went awesome," he said. "I had 31-15, and had a 9-02. But I really had about 32-05 because one of my fish – a 7- or 8-pounder – spit up the biggest blueback herring I've ever seen."

He didn't try to stuff the meal back in, but did put it in his weigh bag. He noted he didn't ask BASS tournament director Trip Weldon whether it's legal to put spit-up food back in a bass's mouth.

"Everybody's so on their toes about breaking the rules, but I would have liked to ask Trip if he was there. I brought him in the weigh bag and they threw him out.

"Turns out it didn't matter because Preston had 39."

His best-ever sack was 32-02, which he caught here in 2004. "I came within 3 ounces, but I feel like I beat it with that stupid fish spitting up that stupid blueback herring."

And despite Clark's lead, he thinks he can win again. "Yeah, I do. You'll have to continually fish and look and hope they move up. I saw a lot of big fish today cruising. All they need to do is sit down and you can catch them.

"I caught one 6-pounder on a Mission Fish swimbait today," he added. "That's a little trick Brett Hite showed me. And I know where there's a lot of fish. It's just finding enough of the bigger ones that's the key."

12th: Brauer Elated

Like most, Brauer struggled in practice. So today was a big surprise. And it looks even better since he's coming off a 10th at Rayburn.

"I was elated," he said. "I'd had a really poor practice. I tried several areas where I'd caught them in the past, but the water clarity is so different here compared to other years, those areas weren't working out real good.

"I just went out fishing today, and I'm tickled to death."

He's not normally a sight-fisherman, but that's what he's doing. "A lot of the fish I caught I was actually looking at. That's not the way I like to normally fish, but I don't like to finish last either."

He weighed one over 7 and a couple of 6s, plus two twins he couldn't get rid of.

"Tomorrow I'm going to run some of the same water. I don't claim to be a bed-fish expert, and I don't know if new fish will move in or if I've totally exploited the area. I might not do any good tomorrow."

But he does think past experience could ultimately help him. "I'm fishing (Santee Cooper) a little different than how I normally do it. That being said, obviously when you fish several tournaments on the same lake over the years, you know where there's other options identical to where you're fishing.

"If I make it to day 3 or 4 and get in trouble, I know some areas where I can go duplicate what I'm doing."

101st: McClelland Just Fished

So on a lake where thousands of fish are cruising the shallows, how is that two anglers (Conrad Picou and Charlie Youngers) can blank, and seven more anglers weigh less than 5 pounds?

"I just went fishing today – I didn't look for them," Mike McClelland said. He's 101st with one fish for 3-05.

"I knew after yesterday I was probably going to be in trouble. I really felt like after the practice I had I could go ahead and catch 20 pounds or better. I was just fishing cypress trees and I guess a lot of the fish I was fishing for got on beds."

Why didn't he pull the plug and head to the bank? "I really felt like as the day went on and the water warmed, they'd get more aggressive. They never did.

"I'll definitely go looking tomorrow. That's the only thing I can do and have a chance to possibly come out of here with a decent finish at all."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 104 anglers, 83 limits, 3 fours, 7 threes, 8 twos, 1 one, 2 zeroes.

> Clark may be chasing Rojas' record, but he recently set a new record. At the 2006 Toho Bassmaster Classic he caught the heaviest bass ever weighed in a Classic (11-10).

> Jones sees a trend. When he caught the three heaviest sacks he ever weighed - at Toho in 2001, then at Amistad and Santee Cooper this season – it was never enough to put him in the lead position.

> Brauer noted his back, which had given him serious problems for years, feels good. "There's no issues there at all. I'm feeling as good as I have in 4 or 5 years."

> BassFan Big Stick John Murray is 14th with 26-02. To read his report, click here to go On Tour With the BassFan Big Sticks.

> The field is two anglers short. Kevin VanDam was DQd from the event after he broke BASS Rule 12 during practice (to read that story, click here). Dustin Wilks was forced to withdraw due to severe tendonitis (to read that story, click here).

> BassFan News is brought to you by Rapala.

Day 1 Standings

1. Preston Clark -- Palatka, Fla. -- 5, 39-06 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 39-06

2. Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 5, 35-06 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 35-06

3. Terry Scroggins -- Palatka, Fla. -- 5, 33-06 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 33-06

4. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Okla. -- 5, 32-05 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 32-05

5. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 31-15 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 31-15

6. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 5, 29-12 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 29-12

7. John Crews -- Salem, Va. -- 5, 29-09 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 29-09

8. Bradley Stringer -- Huntington, Texas -- 5, 27-11 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 27-11

9. Jimmy Mize -- Ben Lomond, Ark. -- 5, 27-08 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 27-08

10. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 5, 27-06 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 27-06

11. Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, Fla. -- 5, 27-01 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 27-01

12. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, Mo. -- 5, 26-06 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 26-06

13. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, Ark. -- 5, 26-05 -- 251
Day 1: 5, 26-05
14. John Murray -- Phoenix, Ariz. -- 5, 26-02 -- 248
Day 1: 5, 26-02
15. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu, Ariz. -- 5, 25-09 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 25-09
16. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Texas -- 5, 24-10 -- 243
Day 1: 5, 24-10
17. Gerald Swindle -- Hayden, Ala. -- 5, 23-15 -- 241
Day 1: 5, 23-15
18. Bill Lowen -- Cincinnati, Ohio -- 5, 23-09 -- 239
Day 1: 5, 23-09
19. Jason Quinn -- York, S.C. -- 5, 23-08 -- 237
Day 1: 5, 23-08
20. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Ala. -- 5, 23-06 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 23-06
21. Mark Tyler -- Scottsdale, Ariz. -- 5, 23-03 -- 233
Day 1: 5, 23-03
22. Russ Lane -- Prattville, Ala. -- 5, 23-00 -- 231
Day 1: 5, 23-00
23. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 5, 22-13 -- 229
Day 1: 5, 22-13
24. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Texas -- 5, 22-12 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 22-12
25. Paul Elias -- Laurel, Miss. -- 5, 22-09 -- 225
Day 1: 5, 22-09
26. Bink Desaro -- Boise, Idaho -- 5, 22-08 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 22-08
27. William Smith, Jr -- Somerset, Ky. -- 5, 22-02 -- 221
Day 1: 5, 22-02
28. Darrin Schwenkbeck -- Silver Spring, Md. -- 5, 21-11 -- 219
Day 1: 5, 21-11
29. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 5, 21-09 -- 217
Day 1: 5, 21-09
30. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, Texas -- 5, 21-08 -- 214
Day 1: 5, 21-08
30. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, Okla. -- 5, 21-08 -- 214
Day 1: 5, 21-08
32. Robert Hamilton Jr -- Nashville, Tenn. -- 5, 21-07 -- 210
Day 1: 5, 21-07
32. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Texas -- 5, 21-07 -- 210
Day 1: 5, 21-07
34. Kevin Langill -- Terrell, N.C. -- 5, 21-06 -- 207
Day 1: 5, 21-06
35. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 5, 21-01 -- 205
Day 1: 5, 21-01
36. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, Ala. -- 5, 20-12 -- 203
Day 1: 5, 20-12
37. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 20-11 -- 199
Day 1: 5, 20-11
37. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 5, 20-11 -- 199
Day 1: 5, 20-11
37. Mark Rogers -- Naples, Fla. -- 5, 20-11 -- 199
Day 1: 5, 20-11
40. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, Ky. -- 5, 20-08 -- 195
Day 1: 5, 20-08
41. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, N.J. -- 5, 20-06 -- 193
Day 1: 5, 20-06
42. Byron Velvick -- Boulder City, Nev. -- 5, 19-14 -- 191
Day 1: 5, 19-14
43. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 5, 19-09 -- 189
Day 1: 5, 19-09
44. Dave Wolak -- Warrior Run, Pa. -- 5, 19-06 -- 187
Day 1: 5, 19-06
45. Terry Segraves -- Kissimmee, Fla. -- 5, 18-15 -- 185
Day 1: 5, 18-15
46. Edwin Evers -- Talala, Okla. -- 5, 18-12 -- 183
Day 1: 5, 18-12
47. Jimmy Houston -- Cookson, Okla. -- 5, 18-11 -- 181
Day 1: 5, 18-11
48. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 5, 18-09 -- 178
Day 1: 5, 18-09
48. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, Ala. -- 5, 18-09 -- 178
Day 1: 5, 18-09
50. Rick Clunn -- Ava, Mo. -- 5, 18-00 -- 175
Day 1: 5, 18-00
51. Jarrett Edwards -- Page, Ariz. -- 5, 17-15 -- 173
Day 1: 5, 17-15
52. Mike O'Shea -- Westlake Village, Cali -- 5, 17-12 -- 171
Day 1: 5, 17-12
53. Marty Stone -- Linden, N.C. -- 5, 17-10 -- 169
Day 1: 5, 17-10
54. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, Md. -- 4, 17-09 -- 167
Day 1: 4, 17-09
55. Kurt Dove -- Warrenton, Va. -- 5, 17-07 -- 165
Day 1: 5, 17-07
56. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, Okla. -- 4, 17-06 -- 163
Day 1: 4, 17-06
57. Keith Phillips -- Calera, Ala. -- 5, 17-05 -- 161
Day 1: 5, 17-05
58. Lee Bailey -- Boaz, Ala. -- 5, 17-02 -- 159
Day 1: 5, 17-02
59. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, Texas -- 5, 17-00 -- 157
Day 1: 5, 17-00
60. Vince Hurtado -- Waterford, Calif. -- 5, 16-14 -- 155
Day 1: 5, 16-14
61. Elton Luce Jr -- Brookeland, Texas -- 5, 16-12 -- 153
Day 1: 5, 16-12
62. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 5, 16-10 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 16-10
62. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 16-10 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 16-10
62. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, Calif. -- 5, 16-10 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 16-10
65. Dave Smith -- Del City, Okla. -- 5, 16-08 -- 145
Day 1: 5, 16-08
66. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, Mo. -- 5, 16-07 -- 143
Day 1: 5, 16-07
67. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, Ark. -- 5, 16-04 -- 141
Day 1: 5, 16-04
68. Paul Hirosky -- Guys Mills, Pa. -- 5, 16-00 -- 139
Day 1: 5, 16-00
69. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 5, 15-12 -- 137
Day 1: 5, 15-12
70. Charlie Weyer -- West Hills, Calif. -- 5, 15-07 -- 135
Day 1: 5, 15-07
71. Terry Butcher -- Talala, Okla. -- 5, 15-05 -- 133
Day 1: 5, 15-05
72. Randy Yarnall -- Womelsdorf, Pa. -- 5, 15-03 -- 131
Day 1: 5, 15-03
73. David Gliebe -- Benton, Ky. -- 5, 15-02 -- 129
Day 1: 5, 15-02
74. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, S.C. -- 5, 15-01 -- 127
Day 1: 5, 15-01
75. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, Okla. -- 5, 14-06 -- 124
Day 1: 5, 14-06
75. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 14-06 -- 124
Day 1: 5, 14-06
77. Steve Daniel -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 5, 14-05 -- 121
Day 1: 5, 14-05
78. Joe Thomas -- Milford, Ohio -- 5, 13-14 -- 119
Day 1: 5, 13-14
79. Ray Sedgwick -- Cross, S.C. -- 5, 13-08 -- 117
Day 1: 5, 13-08
80. Pete Ponds -- Madison, Miss. -- 5, 13-04 -- 115
Day 1: 5, 13-04
81. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, Ohio -- 3, 12-05 -- 113
Day 1: 3, 12-05
82. Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, Calif. -- 5, 11-12 -- 111
Day 1: 5, 11-12
83. Ken Brodeur -- Niantic, Conn. -- 4, 11-00 -- 109
Day 1: 4, 11-00
84. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Okla. -- 5, 10-14 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 10-14
85. Frank Scalish -- Cleveland Heights, Ohi -- 5, 10-11 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 10-11
86. Britt Myers -- Mt. Holly, N.C. -- 5, 10-06 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 10-06
87. Brooks Rogers -- Quitman, Texas -- 3, 10-01 -- 101
Day 1: 3, 10-01
88. Greg Gutierrez -- Red Bluff, Calif. -- 5, 10-00 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 10-00
89. Chad Brauer -- Osage Beach, Mo. -- 3, 8-10 -- 97
Day 1: 3, 8-10
90. Jon Bondy -- Windsor, Canada -- 2, 8-02 -- 95
Day 1: 2, 8-02
91. Doc Merkin -- Downers Grove, Ill. -- 3, 7-06 -- 93
Day 1: 3, 7-06
92. Ken Cook -- Lawton, Okla. -- 3, 6-13 -- 91
Day 1: 3, 6-13
93. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, W.Va. -- 2, 5-14 -- 89
Day 1: 2, 5-14
94. Jami Fralick -- Martin, S.D. -- 2, 5-09 -- 87
Day 1: 2, 5-09
95. Morizo Shimizu -- Murrieta, Calif. -- 2, 5-03 -- 85
Day 1: 2, 5-03
96. Mike Reynolds -- Modesto, Calif. -- 3, 4-15 -- 82
Day 1: 3, 4-15
96. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, Va. -- 2, 4-15 -- 82
Day 1: 2, 4-15
98. Chris Lane -- Winter Haven, Fla. -- 2, 4-07 -- 79
Day 1: 2, 4-07
99. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, La. -- 3, 4-01 -- 77
Day 1: 3, 4-01
100.Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, N.C. -- 2, 3-11 -- 76
Day 1: 2, 3-11
101.Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, Ark. -- 1, 3-05 -- 75
Day 1: 1, 3-05
102.Rick Ash -- Pottstown, Pa. -- 2, 1-15 -- 74
Day 1: 2, 1-15
103.Conrad Picou -- Scott, La. -- 0, 0-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 0-00
103.Charlie Youngers -- Oviedo, Fla. -- 0, 0-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 0-00

Big Bass

> Day 1: Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 10-01 -- $1,000