Day 4 went south in 2016

All week we’ve been comparing the two Elite Series tournaments at Winyah Bay – the first in 2016 and this one. We’ll have a final comparison after this one is over, but a look back at the final day in ’16 shows just how unpredictable this tidal fishery can be.

After three days in ’16 Brett Hite was leading with 50 pounds, 2 ounces. Yesterday Stetson Blaylock’s Day 3 first-place weight was 41-12. While that might indicate Winyah Bay was fishing significantly better then, it doesn’t account for Day 4 in ’16 when the bottom fell out, so to speak. One angler zeroed, Hite caught only two bass, two more of the top 12 finalists failed to catch a limit and big bag of the day, which two anglers accomplished, was 11 pounds, 10 ounces.

All indications are that bass fishing has been getting better each day at Winyah Bay this week. But this place can go south overnight as we saw in 2016.