On Thursday and Friday, much of the field piled up in the same area of the upper lake. An exception was David Mullins, who is all alone in his area. What is more, Mullins admitted that he’s got half a dozen spots all to himself.
“It’s a one cast deal, just like back home,” he said. “It’s like pulling up on a small isolated rockpile and catching one and so on.”
On Thursday all his accountable weight of 22 pounds, 1 ounce, came by 8:30 a.m. It took an hour longer on Friday to catch the 23-13 that boosted Mullins’ total to 45-14, and put him in third place.
He rotates through the areas, allowing each to recharge before returning, armed and ready with his crankbait. The good news is Mullins spent the last half of both days searching to expand his area.
“I’ve got two other areas that I haven’t hit and there is nobody else around those, either,” he said. “When I’d bring one up to the boat there would be others coming up with it.”
Mullins is fishing legit schools of fish—instead of targeting individual fish—and there is a reason why.
“There is not as much grass in the lake, so they are on those isolated grass areas due to the lack of overall grass in which to relate.”
The good fortune of being a loner comes with a price.
Mullins said he caught 40 northern pike and 10 weighable bass on Thursday, and about half that many on Friday.
“Where there are pike, there are bass, because there’s not much for them to get on.”
Depth is the key to his pattern, which is why he only replied “midrange” when asked about specific depths. What else is crucial is calm water and sunshine. He’s still waiting—and hoping—for both.