After spending the last two tournaments at a couple of variations of fisherman's paradise, Bassmaster Elite Series pros have been sent to angler's purgatory this week. Hundred-fish days and 25-pound bags on the Iowa portion of the Mississippi River right now are as much of a fantasy as long-dead baseball greats emerging from the corn in that state to reprise their former glory on a field built by Kevin Costner.
Those 14-inch fish that were looked upon with such disdain just last week at Kentucky Lake because they weren't even legal keepers are gilled gold here. Five of them a day will undoubtedly send an angler into the upcoming 2-month break with a nice paycheck, and it might not take a whole lot more than that to claim the $100,000 top prize.
This event, the seventh stop on the abbreviated 2008 schedule, was originally scheduled to be held a year ago, but was moved to Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee due to the floods that ravaged Iowa in 2008. The extra water damaged the fishery, and significant rain over the past week has muddied things up even more.
There's not much fishable water, and not many fish in the areas that are fishable. More than a few competitors failed to catch a single keeper during practice and barring something unforeseen, this will be the lowest-weight event in the 4-year history of the Elite Series.
Before getting into more about the bite, here's more on the fishery itself:
BassFan Lake Profile
> Lake name: Mississippi River
> Type of water: Floodplain river with numerous locks and dams
> Surface acres: Unavailable
> Primary structure/cover: Deadfall timber, brush, weeds, lily pads
> Primary forage: Crawfish, shad
> Average depth: 5 feet
> Species: Largmouths dominate, but a few smallmouths live here
> Length limit: 14 inches
> Reputation: A good numbers fishery prior to the '08 floods, but both quantity and quality are down
> Weather: A lot of gray skies with relatively cool temperatures, with precipitation likely on each of the tournament days
> Water temp: Low 70s
> Water visibility/color: Zero in a lot of places, as much as a foot in a few. The main channel and creeks are chocolate-colored.
> Water level: About a foot , but that could change
> Fish in: 5 feet and shallower
> Fish phase: Mostly post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Flipping, spinnerbaits, plastics, shallow crankbaits, topwaters, frogs
> Winning weight: 48 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 12 after 3 days): 27 pounds
> Check weight (Top 50 after 2 days): 14 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 1 for the Mississippi River
> Biggest factors: Crowding – this place will fish extremely small
> Biggest decision: Whether to make a long run through a lock or two and sacrifice fishing time
> Wildcard: A 4-pounder – they were run-of-the-mill at Kentucky Lake and Guntersville, but one of them here is like a 10-pounder at those places.
A Whole Different World
About the only similarity between this place in its current state and Kentucky Lake or Guntersville is that when you pull a boat out of the water, the bottom of it is wet. Those other lakes are red-hot right now primarily because of their booming grass, and this part of the Mississippi is stone-cold due to a lack of it.
There used to be quite a bit, but it was decimated by the flood.
"The flood is the big story," said Ken Warren, who runs Angler's Choice tournaments in Pool 19 (this week's launch pool). "The guys who've been here before have found a much different fishery. Even the locals are still trying to figure out how to fish all of these new conditions.
"Bass used to hold well in the eel grass, but most of that has been wiped out and it hasn't come back. Since the flood, we've seen a lot more short fish, and the biggest are usually around 3 1/2 to 4 pounds. Sometimes it used to take 18 to 21 pounds to win a 1-day tournament, but now it's more like 14 to 16."
Tommy Biffle won a Bassmaster tournament here back in the mid-1990s, but that will have little relevance this time around.
Even those lower-end bags would be stunning this week. Pool 19 is 55 miles long, but there's not enough clear water (or even semi-clear) to fully spread out a field of 98 anglers. Competitors will be allowed to lock twice in either direction, but such moves carry their own inherent risks in regard to actual fishing time, and conditions don't appear to be much different either upstream or down.
"The vast majority will probably stay in 19," Warren said. (Pool) 20 has a couple of spots, and the same with 18, but they don't have the same numbers of quality fish."
With the grass all but gone, wood, brush and lily pads have become the predominant cover types. The majority of that stuff is at the lower end of Pool 19, but that's also the dirtier end.
The upper end has some riprap and stumps, and Warren said it's a better tournament option than it was prior to the flood.
"There's been a few more fish coming from up there. It might not have been affected as badly (by the flood) and it wasn't as dependent on the grass."
Backwaters take Center Stage
The main river has been muddy for a year now and the creeks are a mess due to the recent rain (about 3 inches fell on Sunday alone and more has come down since). That pretty much leaves the backwaters as the only viable options, and the few with decent water aren't difficult to find.
"The backwater areas are a little cleaner, but they're getting a lot of pressure," said Greg Vinson. "There are pockets that are better than others. I found one that had about 6 inches of visibility and I got a couple of bites, but it wasn't the gold mine I was hoping it would be.
"We'll all be in there trying to bang it out, and whoever wins might have an area that's gotten overlooked somehow. But for the most part I think it's going to come down to getting a 3-pounder or, if you're really fortunate, a 4-pounder to put you ahead of the crowd."
Added Fred Roumbanis: "Just about anything you find that looks good, you know other people are going to find it, too. I found a couple of spots that if there was some magical way that the water would come up 6 to 8 inches, I might be able to slide into them and get to some places that other people haven't gotten to.
"But there's just not enough backwater to go around. I think it would've been better if we'd come here during the flood – there'd be more cover to flip and we could get into some of the ponds."
Patience is Critical
The crowded conditions and slow bite will play undoubtedly mess with the anglers' heads, and those who deal best with those issues will have a big advantage.
"In some ways these kind of tournaments are fun, but the search process for these brutally tough events isn't fun," said Alton Jones, who's 3rd in the Toyota Tunrda Angler of the Year (AOY) race behind Kevin VanDam and Skeet Reese. "The key is maintaining your work ethic at the level it needs to be even when it's not fun.
"It's going to be a challenge in that respect because it's not just about finding fish, but also keeping your head on straight."
Bradley Hallman agreed that accepting the current conditions as a challenge to be overcome is the proper mindset.
"We might sound like a bunch of whiners, but what we need to do is just go out and go fishing. Somebody's going to catch them."
Notes from the Field
Here are some practice notes from anglers who'll be competing this week:
Todd Faircloth
"I've had a few bites and caught a few fish – just one here and one there. When you do get more than one bite in an area, there's usually quite a bit of traffic in that area.
"It could be a tournament where if you get on something, you might be able to learn something new every day. Whoever makes the right adjustments will win because I think things are going to change every day."
Bradley Hallman
"I did not catch a keeper (during the first 2 days of practice), and that's the honest to God truth. I caught three or four short fish, and one of the short ones was 5 inches.
"If you catch a limit a day, you're going to be doing real good – I don't care what they weigh."
Alton Jones likes it when conditions are tough, and that's exactly what they'll be this week.
Alton Jones
"It's going to be a brutally tough tournament. I've caught a few fish, but I was scared to jerk on them. I pulled a couple to the top that were definitely keepers. It's going to be difficult to get five, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
"I'm still putting the puzzle together, but I've found a few of the pieces."
Bill Lowen
"I was here 8 years ago for a Red Man (now BFL) regional, and it was a lot better then. But even then, it only took 12 pounds a day to win. I came here thinking that 12 to 15 pounds a day would win and it would take 8 a day to get a check, but maybe I'd better cut that in half.
"With the grass gone, the river just isn't what it has been in the past."
Cliff Pace
"You have to find a place that doesn't have current running through it, but even then, it's still difficult to get a 14-incher to bite. I don't think I've seen conditions this tough since the (2005 Bassmaster) Classic in Pittsburgh.
"I'd love to catch five and I wouldn't care if they were all 14 inches. I think that would be really good."
Greg Vinson
"I definitely didn't find anything to get excited about. I think I'm going to stay in (Pool) 19 – this is such a large body of water and I've never been here, so I'm trying to eliminate as many factors as possible.
"This one's a real challenge just trying to figure things out, and I think that kind of levels the playing field."
Fred Roumbanis
"Some guys will be locking, but if you've got any confidence at all in (Pool) 19, it's probably smart to stay there because you'll have more time to fish. When the water's this dirty it's real important to fish slow, and you're going to need all the time you can get.
"I spent the first half of (the first practice day) in two other pools, but I never unstrapped a rod. I didn't like anything I saw."
Top 10 to Watch
Here, in no particular order, are BassFan's recommendations for the Top 10 to watch in this tournament.
1. Bill Lowen – He grew up on the stingy Ohio River and he's seen conditions like this many times before. Dirty water is his specialty and he won't panic when the keepers are few and far between. He's extremely dangerous here.
2. Kevin VanDam – Several anglers made reference to the setup here being similar to the Classic in Pittsburgh, and we all remember who won that derby. Then there was the Wissota Elite 50 scavenger hunt just prior to that, which he also won. Big weights or small, he's always a good bet to catch more than just about anybody else.
3. Skeet Reese – He's ended up 9th or better in four of the last five events and inside the Top 5 in both of the last two. His consistency in the wake of his Classic win has been remarkable and he's determined to stay right with VanDam in the AOY race. He'll figure something out.
4. Mark Tucker – He's probably as much of a local at this event as anybody and he's in need of a good finish after last week's bomb at Kentucky Lake. What started out as a promising season could turn sour with a third straight stinker.
5. Edwin Evers – He's way overdue for a good finish and being from Oklahoma, he has a great deal of experience fishing muddy water. He needs to finish with a flourish or his streak of eight straight Classics will go by the wayside.
Dean Rojas should get a chance to work some of his frog magic at the Mississippi.
6. Dean Rojas – Shallow backwaters are his playground and a frog is his favorite toy. There are a good number of lily pads out there, and he'll need only a couple of big bites a day to be a major factor.
7. Aaron Martens – His Guntersville victory notwithstanding, he's often at his best when the fishing is tough. He's capable of coming up with something that eludes the rest of the field, and one of those revelations would play big this week.
8. Alton Jones – A savvy veteran who relishes a difficult bite. He might not catch VanDam or Reese in the regular-season points, but he's positioning himself nicely for the two-event postseason.
9. Tommy Biffle – He won a Bassmaster event here back in the mid-1990s. It's a whole different ball game now, but he's always a threat when he's fishing water that's no more than waist-deep.
10. Matt Herren – He's missed the last two cuts and has slid down to 28th in the points, but the former FLW Tour stalwart knows all about low-weight events. He has tremendous patience and the ability to make daily adjustments.
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers will launch at 7:15 a.m. CT each day from Riverview Park (902 4th St., Fort Madison). Weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m. in the same location.
The 98-angler field will be cut to the Top 50 after day 2, and then to the Top 12 for the final day.
Weather Forecast
Here's the weather forecast for the tournament.
> Thurs., June 11 - T-Showers - 72°/56°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 13 mph
> Fri., June 12 - Showers - 76°/59°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 8 mph
> Sat., June 13 - Few Showers - 78°/60°
- Wind: From the E/SE at 4 mph
> Sun., June 14 - Scattered T-Storms - 74°/60°
- Wind: From the E at 6 mph
