Amistad Still Fun, But Big Ones More Scarce

As always, it's going to take 100 pounds of fish – or close to it – to win the Amistad Bassmaster Elite Series. But unlike years past, there probably won't be a whole host of anlgers threatening that triple-digit benchmark.

The big lake on the Texas-Mexico border is still a premier bass fishery – you can catch chunky, hard-fighting largemouths until your hands and arms can't take it anymore. But fish weighing 5 pounds and over are harder to come by than they were during the Series' previous visits in 2006-07.

What's the difference? Probably pressure more than anything. Word on this place has been out for more than 2 years now, and the fish have seen a lot of boat traffic and artificial baits during that period. On a clear-water impoundment such as this, that translates to fewer encounters with the oldest and wisest of the primary target species.

This event also falls a month later on the calendar than the last two, and that creates issues of its own. The prevailing opinion is that the bulk of the spawn is over, but the big post-spawn females are hard to find. There are lots of fish on beds, but they're almost all small bucks, which could be either awaiting the arrival of a wave of females or preparing to assume fry-guarding duties.

In any case, sight-fishing is unlikely to be a huge factor. The road to victory will be traversed with blind casts of the right bait to the right places, and at the right times.

Before getting into more info about the bite, here's more about the lake itself.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake Name: Amistad
> Type of Water: Desert impoundment of the Rio Grande River
> Surface Acres: 67,000
> Primary structure/cover: Brush and grass (hydrilla), plus points, breaks and rocks
> Average depth: Not available
> Species: Largemouths
> Length limit: 14 inches
> Reputation: A premier bass fishery in terms of both numbers and size
> Weather: Sunny skies are forecast for all 4 competition days, with high temperatures ranging from the low 80s to the low 90s. Wind could be a big factor, especially for the first 2 days.
> Water temperature: Upper 60s to low 70s
> Water color/visibility: Clear, down to 25 feet in some places
> Water level: about 7 feet below full pool
> Fish in: All depths
> Fish phase: mostly post-spawn, but some still on the beds and a few stragglers just coming in
> Primary patterns: Blind-casting Senkos, pitching plastics to wood, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, Carolina-rigs, dropshots, big worms
> Winning weight: 95 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 50): 35 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Amistad
> Biggest factor: The big post-spawn females – they've been tough to locate
> Wildcard: A couple of big bites a day, or one really big one

Which Stage are They At?

Several anlgers BassFan spoke with expressed confusion about which stage of the spawn the majority of the fish were at. Occupied beds are easy to locate, but they don't contain the type of fish needed to contend in a tournament here.

Ray Hanselman, who's guided on the lake for the past 15 years, said one more wave of females will migrate in, but most of the lake's larger fish have already completed the reproduction ritual.

"The bigger ones have moved out of the coves," he said. "And a lot of the fish here spawn on the main-lake flats in 18 to 25 feet of water – there's a lot of good ones out there. You can catch some big ones fishing the trees just outside the spawning areas, and in the flatter coves that aren't real steep."

He said the main difference between this year and the last 2 years is the lack of deep grass. Heavy rains last summer rendered the lake somewhat off-color, and the grass couldn't get enough sunlight to prosper.

"That deep hydrilla just kind of laid down, and when that happened, those fish went out even deeper. There's not grass everywhere like there was last year or the year before, but it'll be back this year.

"That makes it a little different, but the lake's still got the same fish."

Beware the Wind

No storms are in the forecast for the competition days – it's nothing but sun all the way through. However, the wind is expected to blow hard today and tomorrow, and that creates problems on a big point like Amistad.

Much of the best structure is a mile – or even 2 – offshore, and the baits of choice to work over it are often relatively lightweight offerings like Senkos. Anglers relying on that type of pattern will be challenged over the first 2 days.

"This lake can be difficult to fish in the wind," said Texan Alton Jones. "There's a lot of real big water, and if you're trying to fish the main-lake grass flats, it really doesn't matter which direction the wind's coming from. It's going to find you.

"If it blows 30 mph, then 6- or 7-foot waves aren't out of the question."

Last Two Winners

Derek Remitz used a 3/4-ounce football-head jig to catch pre-spawners last year en route to victory in his first Elite Series tournament with a 111-07 total. Mike Iaconelli, Steve Kennedy and Todd Faircloth also topped the 100-pound mark.

In 2006, Ish Monroe combined sight-fishing and topwater offerings to weigh 104-08 and edge out Fred Roubanis, who had 101-13. Five other anglers caught 95 pounds or more.

Field Notes

Here are practice notes from some of the anglers in the field.

Todd Faircloth

"I can catch a lot of fish, but not anything of any size. I've been getting a couple of decent ones a day, but it's far from where it was last year. It's later in the year, and that might be part of it, too.

"I'm still pondering what to do. I've had a hard time figuring out how to catch fish in the 4-pound class."

Jared Lintner

"Looking at my practice notes from last year, it was nothing but 3 1/2- and 4-pounders all day. Now a 3-pounder is a good fish. It's a big reversal from what it was.

"I've tried fishing humps and creek channels, and fishing for staging fish and post-spawn fish. In my first 2 days of actual fishing, I only caught three over the 4 1/2-pound class. They seem to be the same size whether they're near the bank or out in 40 feet of water.

"I caught a 13-incher on a 9-inch Osprey swimbait. It's like the smaller fish are beating the bigger ones to the bait. Obviously somebody in this group will figure out where the 4- to 5-pounders are, and they'll catch them."

Derek Remitz

"The numbers are there, but there all 1- to 2-pound fish. It's been hard for me to get even a couple of good bites. On my best day I would have had 18 or 19 pounds, and that was totally at random.

"I checked a lot of stuff from last year, and the fish were telling me they're not going to bite that way again. I've fished everywhere from 10 to 60 feet, and the deeper ones have been a little bit bigger. I don't think sight-fishing will be much of a factor, but somebody might find one big one."

Alton Jones

"I do think it's more difficult to catch a big one right now than it has been in the past. It's later in the year and a lot of the bigger ones have spawned, but they're not set up on the deep stuff yet. Overall you'll see fewer big bags, but there will still be some great catches.

"I'm definitely going to have to do some different things and mix it up, both shallow and deep. The bigger fish are scattered and subject to moving every day. If the main-lake structure stuff develops during the week, I know some of the first places that they get on."

Matt Reed

"It's been pretty tough on me. I've caught a whole lot of fish, but I've been having trouble getting the right bites.

"I've gotten a little better each day, but it's still not where it needs to be. Generally after 1 day I have a good idea of what stage they're in, but what's going on right now is confusing as crud. There are hundreds of small males sitting there on the beds, but I haven't found an area with any big ones.

"It'll still take a bunch of weight to win because somebody will get on a group of big fish. There will be some big sacks, but they just won't go as deep into the field."

Dean Rojas

"I've got five areas right now where fish are either on the beds or just hanging out. It's all going to be about the big bite that separates you from the rest of the group and gets you into the Top 12. It's not going to be like Falcon – everybody's going to catch fish, but the quality won't be as great.

"I don't think there's the quality of fish in this lake that there used to be. I don't know what's happening out deep, but you don't see the big ones cruising around. You used to see big groups of them hanging in the trees, but now they're all pound-and-a-halfers."

Mark Davis

"I've caught a lot of fish, but not very many big ones at all. I'm not real excited about it, to be honest with you.

"There are still lots and lots of fish on the banks, but very few good ones. I'm not going to sight-fish.

"There'll be some big stringers caught I'm sure, but across the board, it's not going to be a whack-fest like we had last week. You could easily catch a hundred bass a day right now, but you could do that and also not have but about 10 pounds (for your best five)."

Top 10 to Watch

Here are BassFan's recommendations for the Top 10 to Watch in this event.

1. Kevin VanDam – He's made the Top 10 here each of the past 2 years, and the 45th he logged last week at Falcon was his lowest finish in the last 11 Elite events. That makes the world's top-ranked angler especially dangerous this week.

2. Mark Davis – There no reason to think that the Angler of the Year (AOY) leader won't keep rolling right along in his return to BASS. He's behind the curve on Amistad experience (he was on the FLW Tour the last 2 years), but way ahead of it in post-spawn acumen.

3. Byron Velvick – His two Amistad finishes are 106th and 73rd, but he lives here now and operates a resort on the lake, so his knowledge of the venue has increased tremendously. Maybe more importantly, he's hot – he was 3rd at Falcon and 15th at Toho, and those finishes constitute two of his three best in the 3-year history of the Elite Series.

4. Skeet Reese – He's right back in the hunt for his second straight AOY (8th), but he's gone about it rather quietly. He might be due to make some serious noise.

5. Steve Kennedy – He loves this place, and for good reason – he's made the Top 5 on both visits. Anytime big sacks are a possibility, he's as likely as anybody to catch them. This is where he became a swimbait convert, and he'll be chunking them this week.

6. Davy Hite – After a horrible start to the season, he picked up some momentum with a 17th at Falcon last week. He had a Top 12 here last year and could negate the two nightmarish Florida events with a similar showing.

7. Terry Scroggins – "Big Show" is coming off back-to-back Top 10s, and he fared pretty well here on his previous visits (15th and 16th). This is one Floridian who has no trouble making the transition to Texas-style fishing.

8. Gary Klein – Versatility will be more of a factor here this time, and who plays that game better than him? Look for him to figure out the elusive post-spawn sows.

9. Dean Rojas – He's on a roll after failing to qualify for this year's Bassmaster Classic, and he's not likely to hit any speed bumps here. If the topwater bite's on, he could be around for all 4 days.

10. Jared Lintner – The ultra-consistent third-year pro from California hasn't finished higher than 20th in the last five Elite events, and that's a slump for him. He's comfortable both in the shallows and on structure, so this event sets up well for him.

Notable

> BassFan Big Stick John Murray has one good finish here (12th last year) and one bad one (88th in 2006). Like a lot of other anglers, he had a difficult time finding quality fish in practice. To read his report, click here.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

Anglers will launch at 8 a.m. CT each day from Diablo East Marina (Highway 90 in Del Rio). Weigh-ins will get under way at 6 p.m. daily at the marina.

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the tournament days. For more weather information, including satellite and radar imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.

> Thur., April 10 - Mostly Cloudy - 92°/57°
- Wind: From the W/NW at 17 mph

> Fri., April 11 - Sunny - 90°/56°
- Wind: From the N/NW at 16 mph

> Sat., April 12 - Sunny - 81°/52°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 9 mph

> Sun., April 13 - Sunny - 84°/52°
- Wind: From the NE at 10 mph