The coldest weather so far this fall turned the fish on and the big-fish bite was active for day 1 of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic at Lake Conroe. Significant winds roiled the water as a cold airmass descended on the area, and just like a lightswitch, the toads started to snap.
Keith Combs, a Texan who lives 2 hours away, boxed a 10 1/2-pounder that helped him post a 28-08 opening-day weight.
Mike Iaconelli, with 26-12, is about a pound and a half behind Combs.
Next comes another Texan, Alton Jones, in 3rd with 24-04, followed by yet another Texan, Takahiro Omori, with 21-00.
Ott DeFoe rounds out the Top 5 with 20-12.
Here's a look at the current Top 10. Total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.
1. Keith Combs -- 5, 28-08
2. Mike Iaconelli -- 5, 26-12 (1-12)
3. Alton Jones -- 5, 24-04 (4-04)
4. Takahiro Omori -- 5, 21-00 (7-08)
5. Ott DeFoe -- 5, 20-12 (7-12)
6. Wesley Strader -- 5, 20-04 (8-04)
7. David Dudley -- 5, 18-04 (10-04)
8. Todd Auten -- 5, 17-08 (11-00)
8. Stetson Blaylock -- 5, 17-08 (11-00)
10. Greg Vinson -- 5, 17-04 (11-04)
Although Combs' lead is impressive, all expectations are for the bite to turn tough again tomorrow as post-frontal conditions set in. It generally takes about 18 pounds a day to win at Conroe. Combs and Ike are thus well to the good of what might be the winning pace, but tomorrow's bite will likely be unforgiving.
No word yet on pattern details, but there is some variety. Combs is running spots, Ike largely camped today and Jones caught most of his weight from a single spot, then moved and Ike was on his second stop.
Combs Happy to be Home
> Day 1: 5, 28-08
It's a little baffling, but the tours hardly ever stop in Texas. B.A.S.S. did take its Elite Series to Toledo Bend this year, but according to Combs, the Bend "is pretty much Louisiana." Conroe, on the other hand, is a true Texas lake, and since he lives only a few hours away, he was able to put in significant practice.
"Normally for this tournament, if you get out to a lead and then stay consistent, you can win it," he said. "So I feel pretty good right now.
"The bite was pretty steady all day," he added. "I struggled a bit this morning. I caught one fish I kept right off the bat, and then my second fish was the 10-pounder. That gave me some real momentum and I caught them pretty steady the rest of the day. It was never fast and furious – just one here and one there – and I never caught more than one fish off the same spot."
He noted he's throwing one bait, making a ton of stops and "if there's a fish there, it'll bite on two or three casts."
2nd: Ike Done Early
> Day 1: 5, 26-12
"I'm really happy – I'm really excited," Ike said shortly after he pulled off the water. "That's exactly the kind of start I wanted to have. I felt today was the day to catch a big bag, because of the conditions. It was cloudy, windy and the front hadn't passed through yet. We're right on the edge of the front and I just tried to unload, because I really feel it's going to get tough over the next couple days. I need to back that up tomorrow, but I'm really happy."
He estimated that he caught 30 to 40 fish across the day and was done on his pattern by 2:00. After that he practiced.
About his strategy, he said: "I had two patterns coming in here – a plan A and plan B. The A plan's what I'm most excited about because I have about eight areas that match that pattern. I went to one of those areas today and caught that weight by 2:00. Then I just went practicing.
Mike Iaconelli caught his weight off a single area.
"So the thing I'm excited about is the fact that I have a lot of my A areas left and that I didn't touch any of my B-pattern stuff. If things do fizzle tomorrow, hopefully I'll have enough things going on to try to get a decent limit."
3rd: Jones Done Early Too
> Day 1: 5, 24-04
Jones and Ike could be on similar patterns. Jones "wrecked them" at his first stop, he said, and was largely done by 9:00, although he culled one final time at 10:00. Then when he made a move to his second spot, Ike was on top of it.
"I spent the rest of the day looking around for new stuff and just protecting the water I had," Jones noted. "I have no doubt that with the conditions we had today, I could have culled up. But I'd be sorting through 3- and 4-pounders and I didn't see the point."
Like Ike, Jones feels the weather created a strong bite that likely won't be the same tomorrow. In other words, a fast start is critical and, according to Jones, the winner "will probably have to change every single day."
Additional Notes
Following are day-1 summaries from the rest of the field.
4th: Takahiro Omori (5, 21-00)
"I started out nice. My shallow fish bit right away and (it) ended up I caught two more good ones deep. They bit me all day. My biggest I think was 5-04. I caught it in the middle of the day.
"The second day of practice I caught over 20 pounds. One of the fish was 8-02 – I weighed it. So this lake has a lot of quality fish.
Alton Jones feels the eventual winner will have to adjust or change every day.
"I finished 3rd last year and it was about 46 pounds to win, and I think the last 2 years, the winning weight was pretty close. So I think 17 or 18 pounds a day (is what) I need."
5th: Ott DeFoe (5, 20-12)
"I'm pretty happy with it. I did catch a 7-pounder and that really helps the cause. But for the way most of my day went, I'm very happy to have what I caught, that's for sure.
"I caught my fifth fish around 2:00. The last five fish I caught were the fish I weighed. I hadn't really been catching them the way I should this morning, so I went to a different place to finish my limit and did it pretty quick. That's when I caught that 7-pounder. I made a change and it worked."
7th: David Dudley (5, 18-04)
"I feel good about it. I caught lots of fish and didn't have any big ones, so I feel pretty good to have that. I just have to keep catching them and hopefully I'll get a big one.
"I think it only takes about 19 pounds a day here regardless of what they always do the first day. The first day is always show-off day, then when it's all said and done, 18 pounds a day always wins. So I'm on pace for what it's always taken in the past.
"I'm running and gunning. I fished probably 75 GPS marks today. I've got about 200 GPS marks so I don't know – we'll see how it unfolds."
19th: Brent Ehrler (5, 13-04)
"It's disappointing. I hadn't been catching them that good, but I thought I could do okay. I was disappointed in the few amount of bites I had. Right now it would be a miracle if I made the cut. I'm completely out of it for the win. I'll need to catch at least 20 pounds to make the cut. It's doable, but the bites I had today were random. It's not like I have a couple of good areas."
Day 1 Standings
1. K. Combs -- TX -- 5 -- 28-8
2. M. Iaconelli -- NJ -- 5 -- 26-12
3. A. Jones -- TX -- 5 -- 24-04
4. T. Omori -- TX -- 5 -- 21-00
5. O. Defoe -- TN -- 5 -- 20-12
6. W. Strader -- TN -- 5 -- 20-04
7. D. Dudley -- VA -- 5 -- 18-04
8. T. Auten -- SC -- 5 -- 17-08
8. S. Blaylock -- AR -- 5 -- 17-08
10. G. Vinson -- AL -- 5 -- 17-04
11. S. Schenck -- IN -- 5 -- 16-08
12. K. VanDam -- MI -- 5 -- 15-00
13. C. Meyer -- CA -- 5 -- 13-12
13. T. Monsoor -- WI -- 5 -- 13-12
13. D. Robertson -- OK -- 5 -- 13-12
13. G. Swindle -- AL -- 5 -- 13-12
13. J. Watson -- MO -- 5 -- 13-12
18. G. Yamamoto -- TX -- 5 -- 13-8
19. S. Canterbury -- AL -- 5 -- 13-04
19. B. Ehrler -- CA -- 5 -- 13-04
21. S. Martin -- FL -- 4 -- 13-00
22. B. Travis -- NC -- 4 -- 12-12
23. E. Evers -- OK -- 5 -- 12-08
23. G. Klein -- TX -- 5 -- 12-08
23. M. Rose -- AR -- 5 -- 12-08
23. B. Snowden -- MO -- 5 -- 12-08
23. B. Thrift -- NC -- 5 -- 12-08
28. S. Fukae -- TX -- 5 -- 12-04
28. S. Long -- MO -- 5 -- 12-04
28. M. McClelland -- AR -- 5 -- 12-04
28. D. Remitz -- AL -- 5 -- 12-04
32. A. Martens -- AL -- 5 -- 12-00
32. R. Howell -- AL -- 4 -- 12-00
34. C. Bird -- TX -- 4 -- 11-12
35. C. Ashley -- SC -- 5 -- 11-8
36. T. Scroggins -- FL -- 5 -- 11-04
37. T. Biffle -- OK -- 5 -- 11-00
37. K. Jordon -- TX -- 5 -- 11-00
37. D. Lefebre -- PA -- 5 -- 11-00
40. J. Christie -- OK -- 5 -- 10-12
41. S. Kennedy -- AL -- 5 -- 10-08
41. D. Walker -- TN -- 5 -- 10-08
43. T. Butcher -- OK -- 5 -- 10-00
44. H. Allen -- TX -- 5 -- 9-00
45. K. Poche -- AL -- 5 -- 8-00
46. G. Clouse -- TN -- 5 -- 7-12
47. C. Lane -- AL -- 3 -- 7-08
48. C. Morgenthaler -- IL -- 3 -- 6-04
49. D. Brauer -- MO -- 2 -- 4-04
50. C. Brasher -- TX -- 1 -- 2-00
