The anglers fishing the Bassmaster College Series at Bull Shoals Lake are being tested on Day number 1 with different conditions than they saw throughout practice. During practice, anglers were faced with warm and sunny days with variable wind. Today, it has been raining with overcast skies since takeoff, and it looks as if it won’t be letting up until weigh-in.
Every report I received during practice included stories of catching large numbers of fish as well as good size fish. It will be interesting to see how the changing conditions will affect the patterns the anglers found in practice. Historically, White River lakes such as Bull Shoals tend to shine under conditions like we are seeing here on Day 1 due to how extremely clear the water is.
I had the privilege of talking to the team of Hunter Hanby and Noah Boyett of the University of Arkansas before takeoff. Both Hanby and Boyett expressed their concern that the conditions may allow a team to catch a giant bag of fish on Day 1 and potentially coast with lesser bags on Day 2 and 3. As always, it will come down to who can stay consistent over the course of three days and adjust with accordingly with the changing conditions.