The wind blew and blew hard. Anglers battled sustained 20 MPH winds, gusting to 30, through most of the day. The Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe day one weigh-in was exciting and disappointing at the same time. With 23 pounds 3 ounces leading and just one angler not catching a keeper, weights fell all over the board. Leading up to the start of the Classic on Lake Conroe, anglers predicted 20-plus-pound stringers and giant bass abound. While a few anglers found quality bass, even they said the bites were few and far between.
Two quotes stuck out describing the mood of the anglers. Most anglers were tightlipped because the fishing was so tough. Cliff Crochet, just after weighing his 21 pounds 8 ounces, said in a deep Cajun accent, “I ain’t saying nothing.” Then Bobby Lane, walking through the halls told another angler when asked where he was fishing replied, “I didn’t go anywhere but where I went.”
Anglers who caught bass were cautious not to give up too much, anglers who struggled were excited to get back on the water tomorrow for another shot. Brent Ehrler proved no one is out of the Classic competition when it’s on Lake Conroe. Weighing a monster 9 pound 12-ounce bass, reminded everyone Lake Conroe is a big bass factory and heavy weigh bags are possible.
Reading between the lines of what the anglers did say, it’s easy to see most were fishing various stages of the spawn. Gerald Swindle said his bass left, possibly because of the high winds, “pulled out for better conditions.” Aaron Martens said he found his deeper bass had moved up late in the day and he found of 4-5 pound bass shallow just before weigh in.
Except for the anglers who found one or two quality bass, just keepers filled most weigh bags. It was those few anglers catching larger bass setting up where the cutline might fall tomorrow. I heard several anglers say they felt the cut line would be right around 30 pounds. The consensus was, an average of fifteen pounds a day would be the magic number give or take a big fish or two.
Click here for some to see what some of the anglers had to say after weigh in.
