Fralick Leads Hite By A Pound, Clunn 3rd

Turns out nobody was sandbagging: The bite at Lake Murray in South Carolina really is tough. Wads of quality fish can be seen swimming around in the ultra-clear water, but they're not eating, and even the dependable morning bite was a big disappointment.

Jami Fralick, who struck out big-time this morning,

junk-fished the rest of the day and eventually culled up to a tournament-leading 17 1/2 pounds.

Interestingly, despite the described tough bite, the weights are nearly identical to the pace at this same event in 2008, when Fred Roumbanis won with a little under 17 pounds a day and it took a touch better than 14 pounds a day to make the Top 12. Where the big difference shows up is the Top 50 cutoff. It took better than 14 pounds a day to make the Top 50 in 2008, but today's Top-50 pace is a mere 11 pounds.

Murray denizen Davy Hite, who finished 4th here in 2008, also had a strong day 1 and trails Fralick by a little more than a pound. Like Fralick, Hite worked a difficult daylong bite to amass his weight and noted the bite's much different this time around. The grass carp have eaten all the green stuff, he said, so he made some adjustments that obviously worked.

Legendary angler Rick Clunn, who amassed his weight early on the blueback-herring spawn, is currently 3rd with 15-12, followed by John Crews with 15-11 and Steve Kennedy with 15-08. Kennedy's fresh off a win last week at West Point in Georgia.

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

1. Jami Fralick: 17-09
2. Davy Hite: 16-07 (1-02)
3. Rick Clunn: 15-12 (1-12)
4. John Crews: 15-11 (1-13)
5. Stephen Kennedy: 15-08 (2-01)
6. Brian Snowden: 15-04 (2-05)
7. Casey Ashley: 14-13 (2-11)
8. Tommy Biffle: 14-10 (2-14)
9. Mark Davis: 14-05 (3-04)
10. Jeff Connella: 14-04 (3-05)
10. Chris Lane: 14-04 (3-05)
12. Ott DeFoe: 14-02 (3-07)

At blast-off, the hope was that today's cloud cover would extend the morning bite. Didn't happen. And when the clouds burned off around 10:00, the bite turned even more difficult.

One significant problem is the lack of wind. There's just too much light penetration in the clear water. Also, a number of pros reported that stripers invaded their herring-spawn points today and chased the blacks off. Plus, Murray's one of the most heavily fished lakes in the country, and the fish have been beat to a pulp this spring.

Tomorrow's forecast calls for relatively clear skies again and unseasonably warm 89-degree highs, but there's a bit more wind in the forecast (10 mph from the southwest).

Fralick Junked

> Day 1: 5, 17-09

No hot bait for Fralick. No hot run of points. No defining structure or cover element. He fished anything and everything en route to his 17 1/2 pounds. The big key was his 6 1/2-pounder – the big fish of the day.

"I'm kind of shocked," he said. "I struggled most of the day – it was just one here, one there. The herring-bite deal didn't work for me this morning and I really thought I was in trouble when I had one 2-pounder at 10:00. After that I just really started junk-fishing – anything I saw that looked good, anything. I just started running around doing a bunch of different stuff and it was one here, one there.

"I ended up catching nine keepers and I think I culled three times," he added. "Anytime you catch a 6 1/2-pounder in a tournament this tough, that's huge. I caught it right around 11:30 and it was my third fish. I went and fished more stuff just like it and had no bites. I caught some off rocks, some off laydowns, some off the flats. It was pure junk-fishing."

He finished out his limit with a dropshot, he said.

His hope is that his morning bite will pan out tomorrow, which will relieve some pressure in the afternoon. He noted he caught 10 or 11 pounds each morning in practice, and got bites this morning, but couldn't boat them.

"I have no excuse – I just didn't catch them this morning," he said. "I got on each of my first three stops, so I fished my prime stuff."

2nd: Hite Happy

> Day 1: 5, 16-07

Hite won last month's tour stop at Pickwick using a technique he learned in the tailrace at his home lake, which is this lake (Murray).

He's a heavy favorite to win this week and didn't disappoint.

"It feels great," Hite said. "I've really been looking forward to this tournament all year, and it would mean so much to me to be able to win this event – it being my home lake, with so many memories and all.

"It's different than the last time we fished here," he added. "I think you've got to do a variety of things to be able to catch fish at different times of the day. And it's definitely setting up different. The lake's changed a lot. They've put a lot of grass carp in here, so where Fred won (in 2008), where there was lots and lots of grass, there's not any there now. I'm sure that surprised him and a whole lot of other people when they came here."

Hite, like Fralick, caught fish throughout the day, but unlike Fralick, he did box a few quality fish early.

"Tomorrow I'll probably do real close to the same thing," Hite added. "It'll depend on the sunlight, but it's always been tough for me in clear water when the sun's out real bright."

4th: Crews Had Hot Hour

> Day 1: 5, 15-11

Crews didn't catch all his fish from one spot, but he did have a hot run in the late morning that provided the bulk of his 15-11 total.

His day started slow, he said, and he had just two dinks after 2 hours.

"Then I pulled up on a place and caught one a little over 2," he noted. "Then I caught a 5 1/2-pounder shortly after that, and then maybe another 30 minutes later caught one about 3 1/2 pounds. They weren't from the same spot – they just came in a short time period. So the bulk of my weight came pretty fast – boom, boom, boom.

"After that it was just scratching and clawing the rest of the day. I actually ran a bunch of new water, trying to find something new. All I caught doing that were little ones."

He added that he's "literally got 14 or 15 rods on the deck" and he's using all of them.

He was the seventh boat out this morning, so he'll be one of the last boats out tomorrow. He's not worried though: "I didn't do anything in the first 2 hours today, so I guess it doesn't matter."

9th: Davis Roped Two Early

> Day 1: 5, 14-05

Mark Davis, at 44th in the points, needs to gain 16 more spots over the final three events to make the Bassmaster Classic. He took a step toward the Classic today with a 14-plus-pound limit.

The early bite was key, he said. His two biggest were his two first. After that, it got tougher.

"It's good to get off to a good start," he said. "I caught a lot of fish all day long, but looking at the weights, obviously the bigger fish are hard to come by. You can see a lot of big fish, but they're really hard to catch. This lake's just been inundated with fishing pressure."

Like his peers, he's hoping for some wind or even some rain to spark the bite. He's sick of looking at quality 3-pounders cruising around in the clear water.

He finished 8th last year at Clarks Hill – another blueback-herring lake – but said there's no correlation between that finish and his strong start today. The Clarks fish were structure related, and his historic strength is post-spawn fishing on structure. The Murray fish, he said, are relating to bait.

"I've just figured out a couple of little techniques to catch them, and I think that's the difference (in my weight). Two or three times today, I had 4- or 5-pounders schooling around my boat and I couldn't catch them. You sit there fishing for them for 30 minutes and you can't catch them. It's very frustrating. Finally you just have to crank up and drive off and leave them."

42nd: Jordon Disappointed

> Day 1: 5, 11-10

Kelly Jordon's had an up-down season so far. He's logged two Top 10s but missed three checks. He's in the money right now, but more important are the points. He's currently 14 spots out of the Classic and needs better than a Top 50 to gain ground.

"I was very disappointed with today," he said. "I thought I could catch them a lot better and I didn't. I lost one 4-pounder that would have given me like 14 or 15 pounds, which I guess would have been pretty good. But I'll tell you: The bite was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. I don't know what happened. We had this little wrinkle front and it was cloudy and overcast all morning, but with no wind. It was pretty frustrating for me."

One observation from Jordon: He thinks the blueback spawn is at the very end, so the bite's not nearly as good as it was in 2008, when the bluebacks were spawning en masse. But he remains baffled as to why today was so much more difficult than any of his practice days.

"In practice I could get them to fire up almost all day long. Now everybody's talking about seeing them up there shallow and they can't catch them. Really, they're swimming everywhere, like guppies. I tried to back way off and throw 6-pound with a shakey-head, which I detest. I tried it all. They're just swimming around with lockjaw."

88th: Jones Will Trust

> Day 1: 4, 5-05

It couldn't have been much worse for Toyota Trucks B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race leader Alton Jones. He didn't box a limit and sits just 11 spots ahead of last.

"I had a stellar practice and I was stoked when I went out this morning," he said. "Here, it's all about the starting spot. I'd picked a place that had a really big school on it and they'd chase a swimbait. My first cast was a big striper. My second cast was a striper. I guess the stripers moved in and ran the bass off. I spent 30 or 40 minutes trying to make the bass bite there, and then I really struggled to put anything together after that. I was fortunate to catch the four dinks I had. If I catch 16 to 20 pounds tomorrow, which is very possible at Lake Murray, I'll have a chance for a day 3."

About the points race, he said: "Obviously I'm disappointed, as poor as it was for me today, but at the same time, I'm a Christian. God always provides what I need – not always what I want. I'm very grateful for those four fish today. Some days he wants me to catch big sacks. Today was my day to catch a little sack. I'm okay with that. I trust Him and I'll go out there tomorrow and trust Him again."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 99 pros, 78 limits, 10 fours, 5 threes, 4 twos, 2 ones, no zeroes.

> Mike Iaconelli, 17th with 13-13, might lighten up. "It's real tough. The fish are real finicky – especially when the sun gets up. The guy who can figure out how to catch them when the clouds go away is going to win this tournament. I had 6-pound test on a bunch of rods today. I'm going down to 2-pound test tomorrow."

> Defending Murray Elite Series champion Fred Roumbanis is 34th with 12-05. "There's a lot of pressure. Things have definitely changed (since 2008). The water's up. The grass isn't there. I'm just running around doing a lot of new stuff."

> Brent Chapman (63rd) caught only stripers on his morning spot, then went into scramble mode. For his day-1 report, click here to go On Tour With the BassFan Big Sticks.

Day 1 Standings

1. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- 5 -- 17-09 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 17-09

2.Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5 -- 16-07 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 16-07

3. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5 -- 15-12 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 15-12

4. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 5 -- 15-11 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 15-11

5. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5 -- 15-08 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 15-08

6. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5 -- 15-04 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 15-04

7. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5 -- 14-13 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 14-13

8. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5 -- 14-10 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 14-10

9. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 5 -- 14-05 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 14-05

10. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, LA -- 5 -- 14-04 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 14-04

10. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 5 -- 14-04 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 14-04

12. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5 -- 14-02 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 14-02

12. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 5 -- 14-02 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 14-02

14. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5 -- 14-01 -- 248
Day 1: 5, 14-01

15. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 5 -- 14-00 -- 245
Day 1: 5, 14-00

16. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5 -- 13-15 -- 243
Day 1: 5, 13-15

17. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 5 -- 13-13 -- 241
Day 1: 5, 13-13

18. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5 -- 13-12 -- 239
Day 1: 5, 13-12

18. Morizo Shimizu -- Matsugaoka JAPAN -- 5 -- 13-12 -- 239
Day 1: 5, 13-12

20. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 5 -- 13-11 -- 235
Day 1: 5, 13-11

21. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5 -- 13-10 -- 233
Day 1: 5, 13-10

22. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5 -- 13-03 -- 231
Day 1: 5, 13-03

23. David SmithDel City, OK -- 5 -- 13-02 -- 229
Day 1: 5, 13-02

24. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 5 -- 13-01 -- 227
Day 1: 5, 13-01

25. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5 -- 12-15 -- 225
Day 1: 5, 12-15

26. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 5 -- 12-14 -- 223
Day 1: 5, 12-14

27. Dean Alexander -- Georgetown, TX -- 5 -- 12-12 -- 221
Day 1: 5, 12-12

27. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 5 -- 12-12 -- 221
Day 1: 5, 12-12

29. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5 -- 12-11 -- 217
Day 1: 5, 12-11

30. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 5 -- 12-10 -- 215
Day 1: 5, 12-10

30. Clark Reehm -- Lufkin, TX -- 5 -- 12-10 -- 215
Day 1: 5, 12-10

32. Keith Poche -- Troy, AL -- 5 -- 12-09 -- 211
Day 1: 5, 12-09

33. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5 -- 12-07 -- 209
Day 1: 5, 12-07

34. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 5 -- 12-05 -- 207
Day 1: 5, 12-05

35. Peter E Thliveros -- St Augustine, FL -- 5 -- 12-02 -- 205
Day 1: 5, 12-02

36. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 5 -- 12-01 -- 203
Day 1: 5, 12-01

37. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5 -- 12-00 -- 201
Day 1: 5, 12-00

37. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5 -- 12-00 -- 201
Day 1: 5, 12-00

39. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 5 -- 11-15 -- 197
Day 1: 5, 11-15

40. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 5 -- 11-14 -- 195
Day 1: 5, 11-14

41. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 5 -- 11-11 -- 193
Day 1: 5, 11-11

42. Kelly Jordon -- Palestine, TX -- 5 -- 11-10 -- 191
Day 1: 5, 11-10

43. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 5 -- 11-09 -- 189
Day 1: 5, 11-09

44. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5 -- 11-03 -- 187
Day 1: 5, 11-03

44. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, NC -- 5 -- 11-03 -- 187
Day 1: 5, 11-03

46. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 5 -- 11-01 -- 183
Day 1: 5, 11-01

47. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5 -- 10-14 -- 181
Day 1: 5, 10-14

48. Chad Griffin -- Cresson, TX -- 5 -- 10-12 -- 179
Day 1: 5, 10-12

49. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 4 -- 10-11 -- 177
Day 1: 4, 10-11

50. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5 -- 10-10 -- 175
Day 1: 5, 10-10

50. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 5 -- 10-10 -- 175
Day 1: 5, 10-10

52. Nate Wellman -- Newaygo, MI -- 5 -- 10-08 -- 171
Day 1: 5, 10-08
53. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 5 -- 10-02 -- 169
Day 1: 5, 10-02
54. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5 -- 10-00 -- 167
Day 1: 5, 10-00
55. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5 -- 09-14 -- 165
Day 1: 5, 09-14
56. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5 -- 09-13 -- 163
Day 1: 5, 09-13
57. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 5 -- 09-12 -- 161
Day 1: 5, 09-12
57. Zell Rowland -- Austin, TX -- 5 -- 09-12 -- 161
Day 1: 5, 09-12
57. Lee Sisson -- Winter Haven, FL -- 5 -- 09-12 -- 161
Day 1: 5, 09-12
60. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 5 -- 09-11 -- 155
Day 1: 5, 09-11
60. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5 -- 09-11 -- 155
Day 1: 5, 09-11
62. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 5 -- 09-08 -- 151
Day 1: 5, 09-08
63. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5 -- 09-03 -- 149
Day 1: 5, 09-03
64. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5 -- 09-02 -- 147
Day 1: 5, 09-02
65. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5 -- 09-00 -- 145
Day 1: 5, 09-00
66. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 5 -- 08-15 -- 143
Day 1: 5, 08-15
67. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5 -- 08-13 -- 141
Day 1: 5, 08-13
68. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 5 -- 08-09 -- 139
Day 1: 5, 08-09
69. Ben Parker -- Union City, TN -- 5 -- 08-08 -- 137
Day 1: 5, 08-08
70. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 5 -- 08-07 -- 135
Day 1: 5, 08-07
71. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, FL -- 5 -- 08-03 -- 133
Day 1: 5, 08-03
72. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5 -- 08-02 -- 131
Day 1: 5, 08-02
73. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5 -- 08-01 -- 129
Day 1: 5, 08-01
74. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 5 -- 07-14 -- 127
Day 1: 5, 07-14
75. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 4 -- 07-14 -- 125
Day 1: 4, 07-14
76. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 4 -- 07-12 -- 123
Day 1: 4, 07-12
77. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 5 -- 07-11 -- 121
Day 1: 5, 07-11
78. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5 -- 07-10 -- 119
Day 1: 5, 07-10
79. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 4 -- 07-10 -- 117
Day 1: 4, 07-10
80. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 5 -- 07-00 -- 115
Day 1: 5, 07-00
81. Craig Schuff -- Watauga, TX -- 4 -- 07-00 -- 113
Day 1: 4, 07-00
82. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 3 -- 06-10 -- 111
Day 1: 3, 06-10
83. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, OK -- 5 -- 06-01 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 06-01
84. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 5 -- 05-14 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 05-14
85. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 4 -- 05-12 -- 105
Day 1: 4, 05-12
86. Russell Parrish -- Riesel, TX -- 4 -- 05-11 -- 103
Day 1: 4, 05-11
87. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 3 -- 05-08 -- 101
Day 1: 3, 05-08
88. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 4 -- 05-05 -- 99
Day 1: 4, 05-05
89. Travis Manson -- De Pere, WI -- 4 -- 05-02 -- 97
Day 1: 4, 05-02
90. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 3 -- 05-02 -- 95
Day 1: 3, 05-02
91. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 3 -- 04-14 -- 93
Day 1: 3, 04-14
92. Ryan Said -- Wixom, MI -- 4 -- 04-08 -- 91
Day 1: 4, 04-08
93. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 3 -- 03-14 -- 89
Day 1: 3, 03-14
94. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 2 -- 03-13 -- 87
Day 1: 2, 03-13
95. Brent Broderick -- Oregonia, OH -- 2 -- 03-06 -- 85
Day 1: 2, 03-06
96. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 2 -- 02-02 -- 83
Day 1: 2, 02-02
97. James Stricklin -- Texarkania, TX -- 2 -- 02-01 -- 81
Day 1: 2, 02-01
98. Boyd DuckettDemopolis, AL -- 1 -- 01-11 -- 79
Day 1: 1, 01-11
99. Grant Goldbeck -- Boerne, TX -- 1 -- 01-02 -- 77
Day 1: 1, 01-02