Day Two of the Bassmaster Elite Series is underway, and hopefully conditions will be more favorable
They came to the microphone singing the praises of the people they’d met in northeastern North Carolina.
They proceeded to talk about an amazing fishery that had taken its toll on most of the field in the Bassmaster Elite Series stop on the Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City.
Most of the 99 anglers left the river, heading north, south and east along the Intracoastal Waterway to try other rivers and a few grass-filled estuaries. Some ran for nearly three hours to their spots and three more back, just to get a couple of hours working areas that proved worthwhile during practice.
Once at the mouth of the river, they encountered Mother Nature at her nastiest - pounding them with winds and waves that broke equipment and sent many to the overnight service area, where mechanics tried to save their vessels.
Long-time pro Mike Iaconelli even confessed that the water was so rough and brutal that he was considering heading south to Cape Hatteras and getting in on the current run of big bluefin tuna.
It was obvious that a few of his competitors were considering the notion.
Another competitor, whose bag included a 7-pound, 11-ounce pig of a bass, said the run to his fishing area was: “the worst boat ride of my life.”
The field currently is back on the water for the second day of competition - trying to make the top 50 cut that advances to Saturday’s semifinals.
The top 10 compete Sunday for the championship and its $100,000 first-place check and trophy.
Starts are at 7 a.m. at Riverfront Park, with weigh-ins set for 3 p.m.
One angler who had nothing bad to say about the fishery was first-day leader Kyle Welcher of Opelika, Ala. - who came in with a five-fish limit that weighed 30 pounds, 11 ounces.
By noon Friday and fishing a lot closer to home than most of the field, Welcher had boated five keepers that went more than 57 pounds - continuing to distance himself from the field by more than 20 pounds.
He was slow-working beds and culling his live well and doing so about a mile from the boat ramp.
Live daily action can be seen at bassmaster.com
After the first day, Easton Fothergill was in second with 23-13, followed by Trey McKinney with 23-7, Joey Cifuentes III with 18-12 and Jacob Foutz with 18-10.
Keith Combs has the first day’s big fish at 8-2.
Conditions - wind wise - had improved somewhat this morning, but the National Weather Service radar showed southeaster winds picking up and rain preparing to move into the area.
No biggie, the contestants thought - if they could tolerate the first day, anything else would be a dream instead of a nightmare.
Stay tuned, there’s plenty of action to come.
