Bass fishing fans turn out to see their favorite pros regardless of weather or time.
Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments always run from Thursday through Sunday, but the Lake Dardanelle event was an exception. Because of the Memorial Day holiday, BASS scheduled this tournament to go Friday through Monday. BASS officials worried that fans wouldn't turn out to see the final weigh-in Monday.
Despite a persistent rain that ended with the playing of the national anthem, several hundred fans showed up to see Mark Davis of Mount Ida finally win a big tournament on a lake that has been very unkind to him over his storied career.
Davis made a game of it, but ultimately Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., had a better spot to fish.
Davis is one of the best in the sport's history of figuring out how to get fish to bite in difficult conditions. He did it in clinical fashion throughout this tournament, but save for a monster day in the second round, he could only grind about 14 pounds per day from his primary spot.
Davis said from the beginning that it would take 16 pounds a day to win.
Having just one spot to fish, Kennedy was in a similar situation, but he had the better spot. He mined 15.94 pounds per day to win his first Elite Series tournament in seven years.
Bassmaster pros never cease to amaze me with their ability to catch fish in horrible conditions. Lake Dardanelle seems always to be in pitiful shape for big national tournaments, but it fell to a new level of poor for this event. The water was so high, so fast and so muddy that I believed 14 pounds or less would be enough to win.
Somehow, these pros always figure it out. Not only did they find bass, but they patterned them and delivered some impressive weights.
It wasn't just a couple of anglers, that did well. All of the top 12 finalists entering the championship round were in position to win if any of the frontrunners made a mistake.
Davis didn't falter. He got what he could, and Jamie Hartman of Newport, N.Y., was poised to overtake him based on what he did the two previous days. And if Hartman faltered, Kennedy was right behind him.
Mike Iaconelli had the strongest, most consistent tournament going into the final round. He was so solid that I started scheduling interviews with him for post-tournament articles.
The Corps of Engineers adjusted the water flow going into the final round, though, and it took Hartman and Iaconelli out of the game. It hurt Davis and almost wrecked Kennedy, too, save for one near 6-pounder that salvaged his day.
Kennedy caught that fish late off a section of bank that hadn't produced a decent fish for him in four days. With only 10 pounds in his live well, Kennedy said he was preparing to leave and finish his day fishing down by the state park when he made one last swing through the area. That's when he caught his kicker fish.
Big tournaments are often won that way, with one critical decision at a key moment.
Kevin VanDam, a four-time Bassmaster Classic champion and seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, certainly made his presence known. He caught the second heaviest limit of the tournament in the first round, and the fourth heaviest limit in the final round. Two tough outings in the middle rounds left him too far behind.
There was a lot of chatter in the local fishing community about what some considered to be real-time coaching on social media. Local anglers made Facebook posts like, so-and-so "Is just a few hundred yards from a big shell bed," etc.
Pros aren't allowed to solicit or accept local assistance during tournaments, but they're not prohibited from checking their phones. There's no way to stop online guiding, if that's what was happening.
After the tournament ended, I encountered Kennedy, his wife, Rick Pierce of Bass Cat Boats, Kevin Short of Mayflower and Mike McClelland leaving a Russellville steak house.
Kennedy was making plans to return to his magic spot but not to catch bass. He said that place was full of crappie, some of which struck a 3/4-ounce bass jig.
"No telling what you can catch dragging a crappie jig through there," Kennedy said.
Sports on 06/08/2017