And on what was arguably the toughest first day of any event in the 2011 Elite season, Brauer’s 14 pounds and 10 ounces of Arkansas River bass was enough to command the lead in the Diamond Drive bass fishing tournament on Thursday. He was 2 ounces ahead of Ish Monroe of Hughson, Calif., in second place with 14-8, and more than a pound in front of Keith Poche of Troy, Ala., third with 13-8.
In fourth place was the only pro from Arkansas to slip into the top five. Billy McCaghren of Mayflower brought in 13-3, managing 3 ounces more than did Shaw Grigsby, the pro who won the season opener on the Harris Chain of Lakes in his home state of Florida. In sixth was Michigan’s Kevin VanDam, who had 12-12.
Brauer, a 16-time Bassmaster event winner, was understandably closed-mouthed about his successful day.
“Come Day Four, I’d be happy to share that information — if I’m here on Day Four,” he said.
Brauer was making the point that the river was fishing so tough that even the first-day leader had no guarantees of following his own act. Of the 99 pros — the best bass anglers in the world — only 28 brought limits to the scales Thursday. Six pros came up empty-handed.
“I got fortunate today,” Brauer said. “What will happen tomorrow, I don’t know.”
He recounted a practice that began with few fish and was filled with a comedy of errors. “I only caught one keeper, got stuck five times, and had to be towed off twice, and hit a rock jetty. But I regrouped mentally and went out the second day and found a few fish.”
Those were the fish he caught and brought in Thursday, he said.
Brauer said he fished three different pools of the Arkansas River, which meant he spent the time to lock through twice. He said he was having to adapt to the rapidly fluctuating water levels of the river, and had a few ideas of new strategies to try.
“I really don’t have a clue if I can catch another one. Today was just a really good day for me,” he said.
Monroe said he “just went fishing” Thursday. That approach is part of his newly adopted attitude to have fun when he’s competing.
“I started having fun and I started making cuts,” said Monroe, who broke a dry spell with a top-12 cut just last month on Georgia’s West Point Lake, and who won the Big Bass of the Tournament in April on Toledo Bend with a 10-15 lunker.
He said he is keying in on “little tiny things” — subtle differences that other Elite pros fishing near him are not. The river’s fluctuating water levels are helping him, he said, and he’s minimizing downtown by electing to lock through just one lock.
“It’s too hard to catch them in four hours on a fishery that’s not that strong,” he said.
Of the leaders in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year race, VanDam in sixth place fared the best after one day on the Arkansas. Alton Jones and Terry Scroggins, VanDam’s fiercest AOY competitors, stumbled on Thursday: Jones was 58th with four fish that went 5-3; Scroggins, the current AOY leader, was in 71st place with two fish that weighed 3-13.
Points are not awarded until the end of the tournament, a fact not lost on Scroggins, who fished near VanDam on Thursday.
“Tomorrow, I think I’ll lock down just one pool and that will give me six hours to fish instead of just three and a half,” Scroggins said. “Today I swung for the fences. With the position I’m in, I had to gamble. Here, there’s so many things that can go wrong, and for anyone.”
DAY 1 STANDINGS- DIAMOND DRIVE
2011 Diamond Drive - Little Rock, AR 6/9-6/12
Arkansas River, Little Rock AR.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Denny Brauer Camdenton, MO 5 14-10 305
Day 1: 5 14-10
2. Ish Monroe Hughson, CA 5 14-08 295
Day 1: 5 14-08
3. Keith Poche Troy, AL 5 13-08 290
Day 1: 5 13-08
4. Billy McCaghren Mayflower, AR 5 13-03 285
Day 1: 5 13-03
5. Shaw E Grigsby Gainesville, FL 5 13-00 280
Day 1: 5 13-00
6. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 5 12-12 276
Day 1: 5 12-12
7. Clark Reehm Lufkin, TX 5 12-06 272
Day 1: 5 12-06
8. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 5 12-00 268
Day 1: 5 12-00
9. John Murray Phoenix, AZ 5 11-07 264
Day 1: 5 11-07
10. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 5 11-00 260
Day 1: 5 11-00
11. Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 5 10-13 257
Day 1: 5 10-13
12. Pete Ponds Madison, MS 4 10-11 254
Day 1: 4 10-11
13. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 5 10-08 251
Day 1: 5 10-08
14. Greg Vinson Wetumpka, AL 5 10-06 248
Day 1: 5 10-06
15. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 5 10-05 245
Day 1: 5 10-05
15. David Smith Del City, OK 5 10-05 245
Day 1: 5 10-05
17. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 5 10-04 241
Day 1: 5 10-04
18. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 10-02 239
Day 1: 5 10-02
19. John Crews Salem, VA 5 10-01 237
Day 1: 5 10-01
20. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 5 10-00 235
Day 1: 5 10-00
21. Cliff Pace Petal, MS 4 09-12 233
Day 1: 4 09-12
22. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, KS 5 09-09 231
Day 1: 5 09-09
23. Randy Howell Springville, AL 5 09-06 229
Day 1: 5 09-06
24. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 5 09-04 227
Day 1: 5 09-04
25. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 3 09-02 225
Day 1: 3 09-02
26. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 5 08-12 223
Day 1: 5 08-12
27. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 4 08-10 221
Day 1: 4 08-10
28. Gary Klein Weatherford, TX 4 08-09 219
Day 1: 4 08-09
29. Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 4 08-08 217
Day 1: 4 08-08
30. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 4 08-07 215
Day 1: 4 08-07
31. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 5 08-06 213
Day 1: 5 08-06
32. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 5 08-05 211
Day 1: 5 08-05
33. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 4 08-04 209
Day 1: 4 08-04
34. Morizo Shimizu Matsugaoka JAPAN 4 08-02 207
Day 1: 4 08-02
35. Britt Myers Lake Wylie, SC 3 08-02 205
Day 1: 3 08-02
36. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 07-11 203
Day 1: 5 07-11
37. Matt Greenblatt Port St Lucie, FL 3 07-11 201
Day 1: 3 07-11
38. Jason Quinn Lake Wylie, SC 5 07-09 199
Day 1: 5 07-09
39. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 4 07-09 197
Day 1: 4 07-09
40. Boyd Duckett Demopolis, AL 4 07-08 195
Day 1: 4 07-08
41. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 3 07-06 193
Day 1: 3 07-06
42. Scott Ashmore Broken Arrow, OK 4 07-05 191
Day 1: 4 07-05
43. Rick Morris Virginia Beach, VA 4 07-03 189
Day 1: 4 07-03
44. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 4 07-00 187
Day 1: 4 07-00
45. Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 4 06-14 185
Day 1: 4 06-14
46. Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, NC 3 06-12 183
Day 1: 3 06-12
47. Ben Parker Springville, TN 3 06-11 181
Day 1: 3 06-11
48. Craig Schuff Watauga, TX 4 06-10 179
Day 1: 4 06-10
49. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 3 06-07 177
Day 1: 3 06-07
49. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 3 06-07 177
Day 1: 3 06-07
51. James Stricklin Texarkania, TX 3 06-04 173
Day 1: 3 06-04
52. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 5 06-03 171
Day 1: 5 06-03
53. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 4 05-14 169
Day 1: 4 05-14
54. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 3 05-11 167
Day 1: 3 05-11
55. Jami Fralick Martin, SD 3 05-08 165
Day 1: 3 05-08
55. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK 3 05-08 165
Day 1: 3 05-08
57. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 2 05-05 161
Day 1: 2 05-05
58. Alton Jones Waco, TX 4 05-03 159
Day 1: 4 05-03
59. Zell Rowland Austin, TX 2 05-02 157
Day 1: 2 05-02
60. Bradley Hallman Norman, OK 2 05-01 155
Day 1: 2 05-01
61. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 2 04-12 153
Day 1: 2 04-12
62. Peter E Thliveros St Augustine, FL 2 04-10 151
Day 1: 2 04-10
63. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 2 04-09 149
Day 1: 2 04-09
64. Matt Herren Trussville, AL 4 04-08 147
Day 1: 4 04-08
65. Jeff Connella Bentley, LA 2 04-04 145
Day 1: 2 04-04
66. Kenyon Hill Norman, OK 2 04-03 143
Day 1: 2 04-03
67. Ryan Said Wixom, MI 2 04-02 141
Day 1: 2 04-02
68. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 2 04-00 139
Day 1: 2 04-00
69. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 3 03-15 137
Day 1: 3 03-15
70. Dean Alexander Georgetown, TX 2 03-15 135
Day 1: 2 03-15
71. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 2 03-13 133
Day 1: 2 03-13
72. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 3 03-12 131
Day 1: 3 03-12
73. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 1 03-10 129
Day 1: 1 03-10
74. Kelly Jordon Palestine, TX 2 03-08 127
Day 1: 2 03-08
75. Dave Wolak Wake Forest, NC 3 03-02 125
Day 1: 3 03-02
76. Derek Remitz Grant, AL 2 03-02 123
Day 1: 2 03-02
77. Terry Butcher Talala, OK 2 02-14 121
Day 1: 2 02-14
78. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 2 02-12 119
Day 1: 2 02-12
78. Nate Wellman Newaygo, MI 2 02-12 119
Day 1: 2 02-12
80. Russell Parrish Riesel, TX 1 02-12 115
Day 1: 1 02-12
81. Brent Broderick Oregonia, OH 1 02-05 113
Day 1: 1 02-05
82. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 1 02-01 111
Day 1: 1 02-01
83. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, AL 1 01-15 109
Day 1: 1 01-15
84. Lee Sisson Winter Haven, FL 1 01-14 107
Day 1: 1 01-14
85. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, KY 2 01-13 105
Day 1: 2 01-13
86. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 1 01-13 103
Day 1: 1 01-13
87. Yusuke Miyazaki Forney, TX 1 01-08 101
Day 1: 1 01-08
88. Chad Griffin Cresson, TX 1 01-07 99
Day 1: 1 01-07
89. Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 1 01-05 97
Day 1: 1 01-05
90. J Todd Tucker Moultrie, GA 1 01-02 95
Day 1: 1 01-02
91. Pat Golden High Point, NC 1 01-01 93
Day 1: 1 01-01
92. Paul Elias Laurel, MS 1 00-13 91
Day 1: 1 00-13
93. David Walker Sevierville, TN 1 00-12 89
Day 1: 1 00-12
94. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
94. Grant Goldbeck Boerne, TX 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
94. Travis Manson De Pere, WI 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
94. Bradley Roy Lancaster, KY 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
94. Dennis Tietje Roanoke, LA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
94. Jonathon VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 28 307 620-01
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28 307 620-01