Ike Leads Klein At Amistad, Sight-Fish Spent

A 40-plus-degree temperature drop can wreak havoc on any bass fishery, but at a desert lake like Amistad in Texas, which is chockfull of Florida-strains on the eve of a major spawn, such a degree-drop spells certain doom.

That's all a matter of degree, though, because those who chase deeper fish under such circumstances can typically create bites. And that's what happened today at the Amistad Bassmaster Elite Series. The bed-bite's gone, along with the shallow flipping bite. And the ultra-deep bite isn't that hot either – too many schoolies to sort through, and the big fish are so scattered they're too tough to pattern.

Instead, the anglers who caught them best today plied the mid-depths – from about 15 to 30 feet. That's where the most active bite seems to be, and the one that's best isolated against the weather (which today included heavy winds and rain).

Mike Iaconelli leads the event with 27-09, but keep in mind that his bag included a massive 12-13 and an 8-pounder. Which means he weighed three dinks.

Clearly, the lake isn't what it was, when a 5-pound average was expected – perhaps the result of heavy fishing pressure and significant harvest the past several years.

Gary Klein, with 25-04, is 2nd and about 2 1/2 pounds behind Ike. Klein's doing what he likes, he said – which means precision spot-on-spot fishing in relatively deep water.

In 3rd is Alton Jones with 24-00, followed by Matt Reed with 23-02, then John Murray with 22-01.

Here's a look at the current Top 12. Total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.

1. Michael Iaconelli -- 27-09
2. Gary Klein -- 25-04 (2-05)
3. Alton Jones -- 24-00 (3-09)
4. Matt Reed -- 23-02 (4-07)
5. John Murray -- 22-01 (5-08)
6. Boyd Duckett -- 21-10 (5-15)
7. Bobby Lane -- 21-06 (6-03)
8. James Niggemeyer -- 21-02 (6-07)
9. Kevin Short -- 20-04 (7-05)
10. Jeff Kriet -- 19-10 (7-15)
11. Kevin VanDam -- 19-09 (8-00)
12. Skeet Reese -- 18-14 (8-11)

Conditions are expected to remain cool, then gradually warm to a high of about 76 by Sunday. But that likely won't be enough to kick in the bed-bite.

As noted, Ike caught a monster, which made the difference in his day, as it did for several in the Top 12 who caught 8-plus-pounders.

Anyone who didn't catch a quality fish is mired back in the pack. Currently, it takes just 13 pounds to make the Top 50.

Ike Avoids Disaster

About catching his 12-13, Iaconelli had this say: "Man, it was awesome – unbelievable."

And as noted earlier, he also had an 8-pounder in his bag, which means his other three fish were rats.

"It feels good, because I can honestly tell you I was on nothing coming into this event," he said. "I had a really bad practice – probably one of the worst I've had for an Elite in a lot of years. But turns out I had enough going – I got just enough little hints in practice – to kind of clue me in on what I should do today.

"And the weather helped too," he added. "With the cloudy, rainy, windy conditions – that really enhanced the big-fish bite today. You saw that for a lot of people – not just me."

About tomorrow, he said: "I don't know. Right now it feels good, since I had nothing going. And even if I go out tomorrow and catch 8 or 10 pounds, which could very possibly happen, I'll still have salvaged what could have been a big disaster."

2nd: Klein's Deep

BassFans may remember that several years ago, Gary Klein began fishing with big-bass guru Bill Siemental in order to study how big bass use deep structure. And some of that learning was done at Amistad.

Klein noted those lessons have been important to him the past several years, and he's fishing with some of that knowledge this week.

"Without a doubt it is (a factor)," he said. "What I'm doing is precise fishing – spot-on-spot stuff, setting up, fishing deep. I enjoy fishing this lake.

"The fish aren't grouped up," he added. "It's one here, one there, and you have to pick them apart. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. All I know is what I'll be throwing and how I'm going to fish. None of that's going to change."

He spent a lot of time today exploring new water, he said, and trying to expand on things he'd found. He went long periods without a fish, and only caught nine keepers. "I found two spots that might help," he noted. "It's not easy. I'm not getting very many bites."

His only surprise today, he added, came when he landed a flathead catfish that he thought was a 10-pound bass.

4th: Reed Had Good Day

Reed said he caught fish steadily all day long. He had a solid limit by 11:00, and caught a total of three limits of keepers.

He noted the water temperatures in his area fell about 5 degrees overnight, but he thinks the wind helped him. It wasn't too strong that he couldn't fish, but it added some needed color to the otherwise gin-clear lake, and that helped his bite.

He added that he thinks he made the right decision to focus on deeper water. "I knew the cold front was coming – I saw it in the forecast," he said. "The fish had just started pairing up on the beds the evening before the front hit. But I felt like they'd pull off, and I think they did. There were a few males left, but hardly any females."

He noted that he's fishing "a pretty big area with a couple of key areas in it," and he'll focus on that again tomorrow.

5th: Murray Added Swimbait Fish

BassFan Big Stick John Murray noted in his practice report that because Amistad is completely full, it's fishing differently – there's tons of cover in the form of flooded shoreline brush.

He caught an 8-pounder in practice, though, and that pattern held today and he caught another good fish in the same spot.

"I pulled into the spot where I had that 8 in practice and threw the Carolina-rig and got a limit pretty quick, with one 5-pounder," he said. "Then I threw a deep spinnerbait and caught one about 6 or 7 pounds. So I had a pretty good limit.

"Then I started running some old spots that I used to fish – trees in 15 to 20 feet of water – and threw a swimbait the rest of the day. I got a 7-pounder on the swimbait and that was pretty much my day. It was a lot better than I expected."

He left his primary area early, and never saw another boat there, so he hopes he can at least repeat his initial limit tomorrow.

About what he's fishing the rest of the day, he said: "I'm just moving up on some of the areas that I know have fish. And I did do a little pre-fishing today and I think I found one or two more areas."

8th: Niggemeyer Excited

James Niggemeyer arrived at Amistad fresh off a win at the Toledo Bend Bassmater Central Open. He missed a half-day of practice due to travel, but said he feels he's got some momentum going.

"I'm excited," he said of his 21-02 catch today. "The only thing that kind of concerns me is that my best spot – somebody else is on it. I left it to go fill my limit, and when I came back, somebody was sitting on top of it."

He declined to name the angler, but did say he plans to talk with him tomorrow morning to "see if (they) can work something out." He did note that it's an another angler who's "in contention."

"I had some sight-fish going in practice," he added. "They were nothing big, but with this cold front and the rain and the wind, it just made it really hard to see. I abandoned that and just started trying new stuff. I was throwing a spinnerbait around and things weren't working out and I kind of scrambled that's how I came to this area."

About being in the Top 10 again fresh off a win, he noted: "I think in any sport, momentum's huge. It nothing else, it's mental, and the mental part is so huge in bass fishing. I think that's a really big plus to my fishing."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 100 anglers, 92 limits, 4 fours, 4 threes.

> Dave Wolak was one pro whose bed-bite disappeared. He's 71st with 11-06. "It was 85 degrees in practice until the last day," he said. "When it's 85 degrees with a full moon, the fish are wanting to come shallow and spawn. I had 40 to 50 beds marked with good fish, but there were maybe five fish left today, and they were males."

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the remaining tournament days.

> Fri, March 13 – Showers – 53°/42°
- Wind: From the NE at 8 mph

> Sat, March 14 – AM Showers – 62°/46°
- Wind: From the NNW at 10 mph

> Sun, March 15 – Partly Cloudy – 76°/49°
- Wind: From the SE at 7 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 5, 27-09 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 27-09

2. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 5, 25-04 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 25-04

3. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 5, 24-00 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 24-00

4. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 5, 23-02 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 23-02

5. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5, 22-01 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 22-01

6. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 5, 21-10 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 21-10

7. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 21-06 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 21-06

8. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 21-02 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 21-02

9. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 20-04 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 20-04

10. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 5, 19-10 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 19-10

11. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 19-09 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 19-09

12. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 18-14 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 18-14

13. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 5, 18-11 -- 251
Day 1: 5, 18-11

14. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5, 18-06 -- 248
Day 1: 5, 18-06

15. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5, 18-05 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 18-05

16. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 17-15 -- 243
Day 1: 5, 17-15

17. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 17-12 -- 241
Day 1: 5, 17-12

18. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- 5, 17-10 -- 239
Day 1: 5, 17-10

19. Ken D Cook -- Lawton, OK -- 5, 17-07 -- 237
Day 1: 5, 17-07

20. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5, 17-06 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 17-06

21. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5, 17-00 -- 233
Day 1: 5, 17-00

22. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 5, 16-12 -- 231
Day 1: 5, 16-12

23. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5, 16-04 -- 229
Day 1: 5, 16-04

24. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs National Pa -- 5, 15-15 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 15-15

25. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 15-12 -- 225
Day 1: 5, 15-12

26. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 5, 15-11 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 15-11

26. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka JAPAN -- 5, 15-11 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 15-11

28. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 15-09 -- 219
Day 1: 5, 15-09

29. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 5, 15-08 -- 217
Day 1: 5, 15-08

30. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, TX -- 4, 15-08 -- 215
Day 1: 4, 15-08

31. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5, 15-04 -- 213
Day 1: 5, 15-04

32. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 5, 15-00 -- 211
Day 1: 5, 15-00

33. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 5, 14-08 -- 209
Day 1: 5, 14-08

34. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 5, 14-06 -- 207
Day 1: 5, 14-06

34. Jeff Reynolds -- Idabel, OK -- 5, 14-06 -- 207
Day 1: 5, 14-06

36. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 14-05 -- 203
Day 1: 5, 14-05

37. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 14-04 -- 201
Day 1: 5, 14-04

38. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 14-03 -- 199
Day 1: 5, 14-03

39. Jason Quinn -- York, SC -- 5, 14-02 -- 197
Day 1: 5, 14-02

39. Matthew Sphar -- Pavilion, NY -- 5, 14-02 -- 197
Day 1: 5, 14-02

41. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 5, 14-01 -- 193
Day 1: 5, 14-01

42. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5, 13-15 -- 191
Day 1: 5, 13-15

43. Chris Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 13-14 -- 189
Day 1: 5, 13-14

43. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 5, 13-14 -- 189
Day 1: 5, 13-14

45. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 5, 13-13 -- 185
Day 1: 5, 13-13

46. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 13-09 -- 183
Day 1: 5, 13-09

47. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 5, 13-06 -- 181
Day 1: 5, 13-06

48. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5, 13-05 -- 179
Day 1: 5, 13-05

49. Vince Fulks -- Purcell, OK -- 5, 13-03 -- 177
Day 1: 5, 13-03

50. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 13-01 -- 175
Day 1: 5, 13-01

51. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 5, 13-00 -- 173
Day 1: 5, 13-00
52. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, AR -- 5, 12-15 -- 171
Day 1: 5, 12-15
52. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 12-15 -- 171
Day 1: 5, 12-15
54. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 3, 12-13 -- 167
Day 1: 3, 12-13
55. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, WV -- 5, 12-12 -- 165
Day 1: 5, 12-12
56. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, MO -- 5, 12-10 -- 163
Day 1: 5, 12-10
57. Chad Griffin -- Cresson, TX -- 5, 12-09 -- 161
Day 1: 5, 12-09
58. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 5, 12-06 -- 159
Day 1: 5, 12-06
58. Jimmy Mize -- Ben Lomond, AR -- 5, 12-06 -- 159
Day 1: 5, 12-06
60. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, NC -- 5, 12-05 -- 155
Day 1: 5, 12-05
61. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5, 12-00 -- 153
Day 1: 5, 12-00
62. Luke Gritter -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 11-15 -- 151
Day 1: 5, 11-15
63. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 11-13 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 11-13
63. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, OH -- 5, 11-13 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 11-13
63. Elton Luce Jr. -- Brookeland, TX -- 5, 11-13 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 11-13
66. Jon Bondy -- Windsor CANADA -- 5, 11-12 -- 143
Day 1: 5, 11-12
66. Kevin Langill -- Terrell, NC -- 5, 11-12 -- 143
Day 1: 5, 11-12
68. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 5, 11-10 -- 139
Day 1: 5, 11-10
68. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 5, 11-10 -- 139
Day 1: 5, 11-10
70. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 5, 11-09 -- 135
Day 1: 5, 11-09
71. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, NC -- 5, 11-06 -- 133
Day 1: 5, 11-06
72. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 5, 11-04 -- 131
Day 1: 5, 11-04
73. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 5, 11-02 -- 129
Day 1: 5, 11-02
74. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 5, 11-01 -- 127
Day 1: 5, 11-01
75. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 5, 11-00 -- 125
Day 1: 5, 11-00
76. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, LA -- 5, 10-14 -- 123
Day 1: 5, 10-14
77. Wade Grooms -- Bonneau, SC -- 5, 10-13 -- 121
Day 1: 5, 10-13
78. Mark Burgess -- Norton, MA -- 5, 10-09 -- 119
Day 1: 5, 10-09
78. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 10-09 -- 119
Day 1: 5, 10-09
80. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5, 10-05 -- 115
Day 1: 5, 10-05
81. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 5, 10-04 -- 113
Day 1: 5, 10-04
82. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, TX -- 4, 10-03 -- 111
Day 1: 4, 10-03
83. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 5, 10-02 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 10-02
84. Brent Broderick -- Oregonia, OH -- 5, 10-01 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 10-01
85. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, MD -- 5, 09-14 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 09-14
85. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 5, 09-14 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 09-14
87. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 5, 09-13 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 09-13
88. Jim Murray -- Arabi, GA -- 5, 09-12 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 09-12
88. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 09-12 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 09-12
90. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 5, 09-11 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 09-11
91. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 5, 09-10 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 09-10
92. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 5, 09-09 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 09-09
93. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 4, 08-14 -- 89
Day 1: 4, 08-14
94. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 5, 08-10 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 08-10
95. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5, 08-08 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 08-08
96. Peter E Thliveros -- St Augustine, FL -- 5, 08-04 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 08-04
97. Billy Mccaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 3, 07-08 -- 81
Day 1: 3, 07-08
98. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 3, 07-07 -- 79
Day 1: 3, 07-07
99. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 3, 06-15 -- 77
Day 1: 3, 06-15
100. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, NC -- 4, 06-04 -- 76
Day 1: 4, 06-04

Big Bass

> Day 1 -- Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 12-13