Bites Plentiful, But Kickers Are Hard To Come By

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

There's an old saying that a man can't step into the same river twice, the reason having something to do with the physical act of the step changing both the man and the river.

Can an angler fish the same river twice? Well, yeah, but if a year's gone by since his last visit, it's likely that a lot of the fish have relocated from their previous haunts.

That seems to be the scenario confronting competitors at this week's Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite Series out of La Crosse, Wis. Many of them are saying the fish are more difficult to locate and catch than when they were there a year ago, and the ones that do bite, on average, aren't as big.

As it did last year, the sixth stop on the eight-event circuit presents shallow-backwater mavens with an opportunity to make hay in their preferred mode before the tour heads to smallmouth country. Oh, the Mississippi harbors some bronzebacks, too, but not the glut of 4-pounders the field will see in August. Fish a little more than half that size – whether brown or green – will be welcomed this week.

Before getting into more detail about the bite, here's some intel on the fishery itself.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake name: Mississippi River
> Type of water: Floodplain river with numerous locks and dams
> Surface acres: Unavailable (Pools 7, 8 and 9 stretch for approximately 70 miles)
> Primary structure/cover: Deadfall timber, brush, grass, weeds, lily pads, riprap
> Primary forage: Crawfish, shad, bluegill
> Average depth: 5 feet
> Species: Largmouths are predominant, but quite a few smallmouths live here
> Length limit: 14 inches
> Reputation: A good numbers fishery where the larger specimens often gang up in specific places
> Weather: A mixture of sun and clouds with thunderstorms a possibility on each of the tournament days
> Water temp: High 60s to mid 70s
> Water visibility/color: A couple feet or more in some places and almost none in others/clear to heavily stained
> Water level: A bit high for this time of year in pools 7 and 8, considerably high downstream in Pool 9
> Fish in: 10 feet or shallower
> Fish phase: Post-spawn/summer, with a few stragglers (mostly small) still on beds
> Primary patterns: Flipping, spinnerbaits, frogs, swim-jigs, plastics, shallow crankbaits, topwaters, etc.
> Winning weight: 62 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 12 after 3 days): 40 pounds
> Check weight (Top 50 after 2 days): 24 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for the Mississippi River
> Biggest factors: Water level – it's dropping and that could have a big impact on the bite in the extreme shallows
> Biggest decision: Whether to make a long run through a lock and sacrifice fishing time
> Wildcard: A 4-pounder – they're less common here than many places the Elites visit, and thus much more valuable

Where'd the Bigger Ones Go?

Catching a limit won't be a major issue this week as bass of both species weighing 2 pounds or less are still abundant. If the anglers are to be believed, though, the all-important 3-pounders are harder to come by than they were last year.

Todd Faircloth won last year with a 4-day total of 62-04. It took nearly 42 pounds to advance to the final day and 25 1/2 to earn a paycheck (Top 50 after 2 days).

Many competitors are saying they hope those numbers aren't that high this time because they don't think they can reach them. Most believe the root cause of the tougher bite is the late spring the region experienced, which has slowed down the seasonal progression by several weeks.

A lot of the good backwaters don't have grass to the extent they did last year, probably because the water just hasn't warmed up enough yet to allow it to grow. Baitfish are also more scarce.

The majority of the bass were well beyond the reproduction ritual last year. This time, the Elites might be encountering them at the height their post-spawn funk, and that might mean that tactics that produced the best specimens in the previous event might not be so effective this time.

"I think it should be a good tournament, but the frog bite might not be as hot as it was last year," said John Bomkamp, a longtime guide on the river. "After a colder evening the water temperatures have still been getting down into the upper 60s. The bluegills are just starting to spawn and normally they'd be done by now.

"In the local tournaments this spring we were seeing some 20-pound bags, but lately the weights haven't been quite as good. A lot of the fish just got done spawning, and that makes (the bite) drop off for a while."

Field Notes

Following are practice notes from a few of the anglers who'll be competing this week.

Boyd Duckett
"The river's not high and muddy like I thought it was going to be, it actually looks pretty good. It seems to be about a foot higher than last year, but I don't think the fish are biting as well. I'm seeing less numbers than I was last year when it was muddy and almost unfishable.

"I think the spawn's pretty much over. I've seen a good many balls of fry under bushes, so at least some of them spawned recently.

"I've caught a few smallmouths on the main river, but no good ones. They were all about a pound and a half.

"The bags I've caught so far would've weighed 10 or 11 pounds. I haven't found anything that I liked. I can catch 2-pounders, but I've seen very few quality fish. I've been in some backwaters where you'd think you could really catch them, but I couldn't get a bite."

Todd Faircloth
"It's not fishing as good as last year, not for me anyway. I've talked to a couple other guys and they were saying the same thing.

"There'll be some fish caught, but I don't know if the overall weights will be as good. I've caught a few decent ones, but I'm not getting a whole lot of those kind of bites. I consider anything over 3 pounds here to be pretty good.

"The stuff I fished last year is a no-go. You'd think that when you came back to the same place at the same time of year it'd be somewhat the same, but it's not. In one of my areas the water clarity's not nearly as good, and that could be because of a lack of grass in there.

"Some areas have more grass than last year and others don't have as much. That seems kind of strange, but with the water level going up and down as much as it does on this river, I guess you kind of have to expect change from year to year."

Billy McCaghren
"My practice wasn't what I'd hoped for. The fish are pretty plentiful, but the size is small. I haven't caught anything over 2 pounds. Last year you had to have a 2 1/2-pound average just about (to make the Top 50) and that's probably what it's going to take this time. I hope that's not the case, but you know these guys.

"I've caught both largemouths and smallmouths, but there hasn't been any size to any of them. I'm sure I'm missing something and I'm just not smart enough to figure out what it is. I think it's all about getting into the right area.

"It may not be as good as last year. I didn't catch them great last time, but I did have one real good day and now I can't catch them in any of those places."

Dean Rojas
"Practice has been fair, I would say, but I don't have anything real special to report on. The water temperature is cooler than last year and the water level's a little higher. The level's dropping now and it'll probably end up about where it was on the first day of practice last year, when it was rising.

"There's no grass in some places that had grass last time, and vice versa – some places have almost too much grass. I think the spawn's in its waning stages. I've seen some fish guarding fry and I've seen one or two on beds, but they were really small males.

"I have a game plan for what I want to do, but now it's a matter of figuring out how to go about doing it."

Terry Scroggins
"I made the Top 10 here last year, but practice has been extremely tough for me this time. There's not as much grass growing and the fish don't seem to like it. I've had to move around and look for all new stuff.

"The stuff I fished last year is gone. I've looked at mainly backwater stuff, so I don't know what's happening on the main river or what the smallmouth are doing.

"I hope the weights are lower this year because if they're not, I'll be in trouble."

Top 10 to Watch

With the above in mind and more, here are BassFan's recommendations for the Top 10 to watch in this event.

1. Aaron Martens – An 85th at the Sabine River pretty much doomed his AOY chances from the get-go, but he's been scorching lately and seems primed for his first win since 2009. He's extremely dangerous in a derby that features as many variables as the Mississippi offers.

2. Bill Lowen – Moving water is his forté and there's a bunch of it to choose from in this event. He needs a high finish to get inside the Classic cutoff and this is just the type of venue that's traditionally produced his best placements.

3. Kevin VanDam – As usual, he's right in the thick of the AOY hunt, but he's now fished 11 regular-season events without advancing to Sunday. He's back in his native region now and that streak will almost certainly end by the time these three final tournaments have concluded.

4. Greg Hackney – He's currently positioned right around where the Classic cutoff should eventually fall (34th in the points). He's normally a strong finisher, though, and is a threat anytime quality fish can be pulled from water shallow enough to wade in.

5. Skeet Reese – The Californian is blistering-hot and when he gets into that mode, the venue seems to matter very little. His ledger from the Mississippi is decent (a 29th and a 36th in his last two visits), but he'll likely need to do better to gain ground on Edwin Evers in the AOY chase.

6. Todd Faircloth – The Texan has had an up-and-down campaign, with two Top-5 finishes (including a win) and three ranging from 47th to 61st. He's finished 1st or 2nd three times since the start of 2012 and all three of those venues had "River" in their name.

7. Edwin Evers – He's on a determined quest to capture the AOY that's eluded him to this point, and this isn't the type of place that's likely to derail him. When there are lots of ways to catch fish, he usually finds one (or more) that produce heavier-than-average specimens.

8. Jason Christie – With three victories in 10 tour-level outings this year, it's real difficult to keep the Oklahoman off this list. Venues at which fish can be caught just about anywhere (and thus allow the field to spread out) suit him particularly well.

9. Steve Kennedy – He's had a miserable time on the FLW Tour this year, but he's rather quietly put together a solid Elite Series campaign and was 3rd in the most recent event at the Alabama River. He posted a Top-10 here last year and there's no reason to think he won't fare well again.

10. Ott DeFoe – The Tennessean has proven himself to be a strong closer over his first 2 years on the Elite Series, and a single-digit finish at this event would help get him out of the precarious position he's in regarding the 2014 Classic (No. 43 in the points). He's missed more 50-cuts than he's made this year, but should easily balance that ledger this week.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

Anglers will launch at 6:20 a.m. CT each day at Veterans Freedom Park in La Crosse. The weigh-ins, at the same location, will begin at 3:15 p.m. CT.

Notable

> Neither Brent Chapman nor Aaron Martens appeared to be brimming with confidence on the evening before day 1 – both said conditions were much tougher than last year. To read their practice wrapups, click here to go to BassFan's Pro View Reports.

> For more info about John Bomkamp's guide service, click here.

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., June 20 – Isolated T-Storms - 84°/70°
- Wind: From the S/SE at 13 mph

> Fri., June 21 – A.M. T-Storms - 85°/70°
- Wind: From the S at 12 mph

> Sat., June 22 – Isolated T-Storms - 86°/71°
- Wind: From the S at 10 mph

> Sun., June 23 – Isolated T-Storms - 85°/72°
- Wind: From the S at 13 mph