Sorry, gotta go catch ‘em
Kevin Smith of Bryant, Ark., was also at the park’s launch, heading out on his kayak in hopes of hooking up with a bass or two.
“I usually do pretty well along the rocks right up here,” Smith pointed out as he stopped only briefly as he wanted to get going.
Smith works maintenance for the city of Bryant, so he’s kept a regular schedule but was itching to get on the water.
“It’s nice,” he said. “It’s not raining. You just got to keep an arm’s distance from people … I ain’t going to the grocery store anytime soon.”
Elites offer take on time off
With Bassmaster Elite Series events postponed, the pros are finding a variety of ways to spend their time, and fishing is at the forefront.
“With everything that’s going on in the world right now, I figured the safest place to be was on the water,” Skylar Hamilton said for this Bassmaster.com video, Checking in with Elite anglers.
Hamilton, who just posted a 12th-place finish in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, was on his home water of Douglas Lake in east Tennessee.
“I’m probably going to be fishing quite a bit in our time off,” Hamilton said, echoing many Elites. “Hopefully, we can all get through this together, enjoy it the best we can even though it’s a bad situation. Hopefully we can get the tournaments started back here soon. If not, we’ll just deal with it. Until then, just go fishing.”
Bernie Schultz was among the anglers sending in reports, and he spent one day catching schooling bass in Florida, even though he couldn’t get any over 5 pounds to bite.
“It sure beats looking at the news and watching those guys talking about the sky falling,” Schultz said.
Taking some down time to scout Lake Chickamauga and Santee Cooper in hopes those events will be fished, Jesse Tacoronte said adhering to the government mandates to minimize any gatherings is appropriate because, “This coronavirus ain’t no joke.”
He was on his way home, where he’ll fish nearby Kissimmee and Toho and spend time with family.
“We as Elite pros have to travel so much, any extra time is very appreciated with the family,” he said.
While he’d rather be competing, Chris Zaldain said the free time gave him more time to unpack for his and his wife’s move to a new home in north Texas. Before going fishing for the first time since the Classic, Zaldain even posted a photo of him gardening.
“The tournaments got cancelled, everybody’s on lockdown,” he said. “I completely understand, but that gives me more time to unload boxes, get some moving done.”
Hunter Shryock also took an upbeat outlook despite having to self-quarantine.
“With all the crazy stuff going on in the world, I’m going to look at the positives of all this … A lot of us are going fishing,” he said, adding he’s testing some tackle and breaking a long drought of not fishing in Ohio during the spring.
Brandon Card, after showing off a nice bass, offered hopeful thoughts for everyone and wished everyone did their part.
“I’m praying for everybody who is sick and inflicted,” Card said. “I hope everybody gets well soon. We can stop the spread of this crazy disease.”