Jake Maddux and Chace Gregory of Southern Union weren’t too excited about their odds coming into the tournament. They had one spot they caught a couple fish, and they left it. After searching the rest of practice for something else to lean on, they realized their one area would need to be their bread and butter.
They bounced around a few spots hoping for a morning bite of some sort before heading to their offshore spot where their confidence was. They didn’t have a fish from their morning run but cashed in on their main area.
“We pulled up and starting catching them,” Maddux said. “We caught 15 in an hour. We filled our limit and then started culling.”
They took their practice with a grain of salt and adjusted with a new arsenal of baits.
“We caught our fish on a bait I tied on this morning,” Gregory said. “We tried other things, but this has been the deal.”
They are used to catching spotted bass at Lake Martin but not at Toledo Bend. Spotted bass occupied two or three slots in their limit when I arrived, but since I’ve watched them they culled all of those out and are feeling confident.
“We have a 3 1/2-pounder and then the other four are 2 pounds or bigger,” Gregory said. “We may let this rest and save it while we fish some new water.”
At Toledo Bend, 11 or 12 pounds won’t win much, but it will allow some time to explore and hunt for one big bite which can make all the difference.