"I did catch a couple of really big fish on the practice day the other day so I'll just have to go and see how many really live there. I hope those weren't the only two. If I don't bust them on that particular stretch, I'm probably going to have a tough tournament." Brauer didn't, but many of the other anglers did have a tough day.
They're fishing the Mississippi Delta .... a vast network of interconnected waterways. There are lots of fish here, but it's deep summer and hot, water conditions vary with the tides, and good holes are as much as a two and a half hour boat ride from the launch site.
For Bauer, the ride was worth it. He caught his 5-fish limit by eight AM, pulling in some nice medium sized bass, but they were good enough for only 5th place. Jack Wade ended up with the biggest stringer of the day. The 43-year-old striped bass guide from Knoxville, Tennesee pulled in 16 pounds, 13 ounces of bass to take the lead.
Despite competing in his first pressure-packed Classic, Wade solved the watery mystery of the Louisiana Delta largemouth bass well enough to grab the top spot by just 3 ounces over Georgia's Mickey Bruce. Davy Hite of South Carolina is a close third with 16 pounds, 9 ounces, followed by New Jersey's Michael Iaconelli (15-1) and Brauer of Missouri (14-4).
"I had a real good day," Wade said. "I had my limit in the first hour and 20 minutes today, but I really had to work to catch the first one. I missed the first three fish that hit this morning.
"After I had my limit, I got out of that area and tried to fish smart, and went out practicing in other areas. And I caught my biggest fish in a different area. So I'm pretty excited about chances. I'm confident."
Wade admitted that he was fishing aquatic weed beds in a depth as slight as 6 inches in an area with moving water.
Bruce, a 48-year-old veteran pro competing in his 11th Classic, was uncharacteristically candid about his fishing strategy. He is sharing an area with Wade and scoring on a black-and-blue Stanley jig teamed with a Zoom Big Chunk trailer.
Hite, a 34-year-old former B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year, was enthusiastic about winning the championship that has eluded him five times. "I was the only boat in my area, so I'm glad about that," Hite said. "I love the situation I'm in because there's such a variety of different cover in there, and I'm throwing a lot of different baits to catch fish."
The top pros are up against the heat, cranky bass and the best field in professional angling...but if they can hold on, the victory is worth a hundred thousand dollars and a title worth at least a million more in endorsements.