Fantasy fishing #$%^&

Mike Cork · March 14, 2013, 05:02:57 PM

Since I can't fish for real I thought I'd take my shot at Fantasy fishing. Right of of the gates one of my guys blows his motor.... I figure a lot of folks picked Denis so that's okay.... I still got a shot.

Well about the only thing I can say about the rest of the team is that we didn't blank but we barely filled a limit between them

It doesn't pay to study this, pick'm and go with it......

Anyone out there pick a winning team? Should have known Rojas would be a good bet but I didn't think he'd whack 15 pounds on top (don't know what he caught them on but that was my thinking). If you've ever seen a cup of coffee that has sat in a dinner since the 2 am bar crowd, that's the color of the water down there... Figured the topwater bite would be tough... Bla Bla Bla there I go again over thinking it.... IT"S BASS FISHING anything can happen.

slabgrabber · March 14, 2013, 05:15:11 PM

I hear ya, no one out of my picks got a limit and 1 blanked. Out of all the anglers, there were 17 limits and 13 blanks. still have 3 days left and they will be interesting!

BOATS · March 14, 2013, 05:32:21 PM

my guys: 3 fish 19th
4 fish 33rd
1 fish 73rd
1 fish 76th
3 fish 36th

Mike Cork · March 14, 2013, 05:32:38 PM

The guys that stroked them today may not have much to go back too. We have several guys here on the site from that area and fish that river. They all said that everyone will have one good day but to look for an average of about 11 pounds to win

slabgrabber · March 14, 2013, 05:41:59 PM

my picks 1-25th, 1-36th 1-46th, 1-49th, 1-88th. I think whoever can boat a limit, regardless of size, will have a good shot at it. 13 blanks and 17 limits from this field of guys shows how tough it is.Be intresting to see if a lot more make the long run or a lot less risk it.

Mike Cork · March 14, 2013, 05:58:48 PM

I think your right, anyone that can boat a limit everyday is going to be in the top 10

Justin P · March 14, 2013, 07:17:55 PM

My picks went

1-5th
2-6
3-11th
4-40th
5-48th

CraigP83 · March 14, 2013, 07:21:33 PM

I hate to admit this but my girlfriend whooped me last year and shes whooping me already this year at fantasy fishing. She doesnt bass fish, or watch the tournaments or follow the anglers. She just starts picking names and always does well

Jared LeBlue · March 14, 2013, 07:42:38 PM

I would be shocked to see Dean come in with more than 10 lbs tomorrow. with the weights the way they are all it takes is a 4 or 5 lber and things change quick. Consistancy is the key here. The guy who can get a limit a day with a weight between 9 and 11 lbs is going to win this thing. If Dean can bring in a limit the next three days he will have this thing in the bag. Changes on the way tomorrow. South winds will push the water back in. some guys may be able to get back into areas they couldn't get to this morning. The temperature tonight is not suppose to get out of the 50s and tomorrows highs should be hitting the 70s. Saturday and Sunday looks even better with highs getting in the mid 70s. I know some cuts I would go hit.

You going to still see some guys struggling but some will get on some nice fish with the way t he weather is setting up. I bet these guys never seen so many 11 inch fish in their lives.

jocko · March 15, 2013, 08:23:49 AM

Well - lets just talk about this. The record for the Elites where anglers blanked was 20. The Sabine wasn't the worst, although they could break that record today, as weights will go down.

13 anglers blanked yesterday. 27 more squeaked by with just 1 fish. Had it not been for 1 fish, 40 total anglers would have blanked (twice as bad as the previous record) and 13 more only caught 2.

I'd say the Sabine is TOUGH! Only 17 limits were brought in yesterday. Man that's TOUGH!

No way I would have picked Rojas.... this is not his type of fishing. He caught a 5 lb'r and I agree - He will struggle to pull in 10 lbs today. I doubt he will be the winner on sunday - sorry to say Dean. I agree - the guy who catches 20 keepers will win on Sunday.

How's my FF Team - TERRIBLE. Sheesh.

Mike Cork · March 15, 2013, 08:42:37 AM

I hadn't broke it down yet but OMG the stats are amazing.

I agree that I enjoy a tough event. I just hope that there isn't a bunch of whining afterwards and angler speak up about what they had to do to make it happen!!! Teach us something!!!!

I'm waiting for Ike to break out his panic box and win this thing

BTW I'm with you on Rojas.... but as I stated before it's bass fishing and anything can happen.

jocko · March 15, 2013, 08:55:02 AM

http://www.bassmaster.com/news/low-weights-and-high-hopes

According to IKE - he's fished some tough places, but the Sabine takes the cake!

Even KVD was humbled and only caught 3.

I like a tough one too. This one is going to be exciting for sure.

I'm excited to see today's weigh in to see if they break the goose egg record and more than 20 anglers come in with empty live wells!

Mental toughness is required in conditions like this. Can you imagine catching 70 bass and only one measured more than 14 inches? BRUTAL!

Mike Cork · March 15, 2013, 09:03:10 AM

Talking to the Lock Jaw Bass Club members they said that catching a hundred bass a day down there is common, catching a keeper is tough. Obviously why many anglers are making giant runs. I've fished the Calcasue twice now and it's got a much easier potential for 10-12 pounds and this time of year even more. But it's over an hour run from where they are launching.

jocko · March 15, 2013, 09:14:03 AM

More funny quotes:

Brandon Palaniuk "I don't even know if I could catch five if we had an 8-inch limit. I know some guys have been catching fish, but aren't catching keepers. I'm not even getting bit. I was 100 miles from the ramp (Tuesday) in beautiful, gin-clear water. It had a little grass and looked great, but no bass.

"The really frustrating thing is that everything that looks good or looks even fishable is either private or a refuge or off limits one way or another. I'm still hopeful, but time's running out.

Mike Iaconelli "This place is brutal. I can't remember ever having a tough practice like this, even at some of the extremely tough events that we've fished in the past like Pittsburgh and some of the Ohio River tournaments. I can't ever remember struggling like this. This is tough. In 2 full days of dark-to-dark fishing, I put one keeper in the boat.

Mike Cork · March 15, 2013, 09:27:27 AM

Good that they are being honest

I'm really interested to hear what the thought process and patterns are behind what the guys catching them are? How they found spots that produced keepers when so many are having trouble.

In a blow out like we'll see at Falcon, it's not who can catch them but who can catch the biggest. That's a lot of fun but it doesn't teach you anything. In a shoot out like that one angler is going to find a school of bigger fish, usually comes down to intel gathering.

But and event like this, really puts it on the elites and if they'll talk we can learn a lot.

Mike Cork · March 15, 2013, 09:30:43 AM

A cool quote form this morning

Chris Lane: "Running? Yeah, I think I gave new meaning to running. I went from seeing bass and alligators to redfish and dolphins. This place is vast."

BassCatBates · March 15, 2013, 09:31:21 AM

This place is starting to look more and more like the Ouachita River to me. Similar weights and lots of guys catching short fish. Felsenthal has kind of been a nemesis to me because it's always been an "area" deal. Sounds like that's what's going on at the Sabine.
Very possible we could see the lowest weight ever to win an Elite tourney and the highest weight back to back. amazing.

jocko · March 15, 2013, 10:00:18 AM

Yeah - I can't wait to hear what the front runners are saying.

If I caught 70 shorts and 1 keeper, I do believe I would be moving, doing anything I could to locate larger fish.

The blog is funny. Just look at the anglers smiles when they finally get one to measure. It must feel great !

boomboom_77 · March 15, 2013, 10:52:25 AM

I have Rojas Hackney ANd monroe they are 1st 5th And 6th my other 2 palunick and christie anrent doing good

Mike Cork · March 15, 2013, 10:58:49 AM

Yep the blog has been interesting to watch

Quote from: boomboom_77 on March 15, 2013, 10:52:25 AM
I have Rojas Hackney ANd monroe they are 1st 5th And 6th my other 2 palunick and christie anrent doing good

You're doing great!!!

BassHOGS · March 15, 2013, 11:31:57 AM

Rough Day 1 FF for me too..... Ish is my best so far in this thing. Swindle, Christie, Palanuik are hurting me. KVD isnt too bad....Sure hope things get better. Headed to Lake Talquin in FL to fish ABA tourney tomorrow.....hope to find a sack.......

Mike Cork · March 15, 2013, 11:35:49 AM

Good Luck at Talquin I'll bet you'll smoke them, have a victory

for me

Jared LeBlue · March 15, 2013, 12:11:21 PM

Quote from: jocko on March 15, 2013, 10:00:18 AM

If I caught 70 shorts and 1 keeper, I do believe I would be moving, doing anything I could to locate larger fish.

The thing about this place is there are no schools of large bass to be found. The average life span for a fish on this river system is 3 to 5 years. It has plenty of bait fish, crawfish, shrimp, and a host of other goodies for the bass to eat. There is also a vast amount of marsh and flooded timber for bass to hide in. With the food and shelter this place produces an amazing amount of fish. Numbers are not a problem, size however is. The reason the fish don't live long is because of poor water quality. We normally see two to three floods on this system a year. Along with the floods come another problem and that is muddy water from the farmers who water level their fields to prepare for planting rice. The Calcasieu is not muddy because of recent rains. It's muddy because it's planting season. Happens every year. The Sabine has an extra added problem and that is Toledo Bend. When they generate the water that flows down is very cold. This cause a host of problems for the river system. Any way in short the conditions above cause stress on the bass which in turn causes a shorter life span. By the way this information comes from many talks with a friend who is a wildlife and fisheries biologist for the this area. Hope this sheds a little light on whats taking place in this tournament down here.

duckhuntmcnutt · March 15, 2013, 12:38:23 PM

my only blank was Pallinuik. he's in 64th right now

my picks were skeete reese, shaw grigsby, cliff poche, pallinuik, and hank cherry. i'm doing pretty well right now, i think i'm in the 91% as of yesterday's weigh in. i just tried to pick guys who are good in grass and tidal waters.

Pallinuiks pick was because i didn't pick him for the classic and figured he would suprise here as well. when it comes to deeper cranking he'll be on my roster every time.

jocko · March 15, 2013, 12:54:58 PM

Quote from: Jared LeBlue on March 15, 2013, 12:11:21 PM
The thing about this place is there are no schools of large bass to be found. The average life span for a fish on this river system is 3 to 5 years. It has plenty of bait fish, crawfish, shrimp, and a host of other goodies for the bass to eat. There is also a vast amount of marsh and flooded timber for bass to hide in. With the food and shelter this place produces an amazing amount of fish. Numbers are not a problem, size however is. The reason the fish don't live long is because of poor water quality. We normally see two to three floods on this system a year. Along with the floods come another problem and that is muddy water from the farmers who water level their fields to prepare for planting rice. The Calcasieu is not muddy because of recent rains. It's muddy because it's planting season. Happens every year. The Sabine has an extra added problem and that is Toledo Bend. When they generate the water that flows down is very cold. This cause a host of problems for the river system. Any way in short the conditions above cause stress on the bass which in turn causes a shorter life span. By the way this information comes from many talks with a friend who is a wildlife and fisheries biologist for the this area. Hope this sheds a little light on whats taking place in this tournament down here.

Makes perfect sence to me. Great info and insight.