BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Muddy water and a cold front sideswiped most of the anglers Friday in the first round of the Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville, but not all of them.
Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., caught five bass that weighed 27 pounds, 8 ounces to take a slim lead over Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., who caught five that weighed 26-13. David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., was third with five bass that weighed 24-13, and he was followed by Casey Ashleyof Donalds, S.C., with a five bass limit that weighed 23-2.
Fred Roumbanis of Bixby, Okla., brought in five bass weighing 23-2 to round out the top-five finishers on the opening day of the three-day tournament.
All three Arkansans who made the field struggled on the first day. Doug Thompson of Mabelvale led the group with a four-fish limit that weighed 12-7 that left him 44th in the 55-man field. Mark Davis of Mount Ida is 46th after bringing in four fish that weighed 10-0, and Stephen Browning of Hot Springs is 54th after managing one fish that weighed 3-12.
A wild storm swept through Alabama early Friday morning that muddied the water in 69, 000-acreLake Guntersville. That affected the fishing for most of the anglers, but Tharp said it ruined only one of his spots. He said the fish bit tentatively early in the day, but they became more aggressive as the day progressed. His day climaxed with a bass that weighed about 8-8, and success flowed from that.
“The key moment was when I caught the eight-pounder,” Tharp said. “That’s a lot of weight in one bite, and you definitely need a bite like that every day to win the tournament.”
Tharp said the fishing, and the weights, will improve daily. He didn’t say what lures he used, but he said the tournament will be won with lipless crankbaits, jigs or jerkbaits.
Evers said his goal was to put himself in contention to win. He said he didn’t get many bites, but he made the best of the ones he got.
“You can’t win the tournament on the first day, but you can lose it on the first day,” Evers said. “Everything came in flurries. I caught two on back-to-back casts, and then lost a big one, but then I went hours without a bite. I made my final cull at four. I just came across little pods of fish here and there and caught them when I found them.”
Thompson noticed right away that fish bit tentatively, but he said he didn’t panic.
“As the day warmed, I thought it would pick up,” Thompson said. “By one, I knew I was in trouble. On this lake you can pull up on a spot and get healthy in a hurry, it doesn’t take long. What I didn’t get today was fish giving me clues to put the puzzle together to be successful.”
Davis made no excuses for his performance on what he called his favorite lake.
“I thought about moving here, I like it that much,” Davis said. “I had a deal that I thought would work, and it didn’t. You’re going to hear that a thousand times today. Well, maybe not a thousand. Maybe only once, from me. I’m just going to go fishing tomorrow.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 02/22/2014