With three days off the water, nobody knows quite what to expect today. But John Crews is well aware of how fast you can catch 20-plus pounds on the St. Johns River. It was on Day 1 here last year when Crews caught the 11-pound, 2-ounce big bass of the tournament en route to a 24-pound, 13-ounce second-place bag.
“I didn’t have it pinpointed,” Crews recalled. “But there were definitely fish pulling up. Right before I caught that 11-pounder, I caught a 6 1/2 and a 4 1/2 off beds. They were one-flippers, so those fish had definitely moved up there and were just getting territorial. I plan on going back to that area.”
While Crews did catch those first two off spawning beds, he made a cast to a likely looking target – not a spawning bed – when the 11-pounder bit. Again, it’s a reminder of how fast it can happen here – three bass totaling over 22 pounds in a matter of minutes.