ProBassAnglers.com's 

Coverage Of The

2006 Bassmaster Classic

Keith Nighswonger's Day On The Water with Luke Clausen

With an opportunity to go out on the water as a press observer, my first choice was to go out with 1st day leader, Luke Clausen.  The following  is a minute by minute account of Luke's day.  On a day that he was disappointed with his 14 pound-15 ounce weight, yet he was still able to extend his lead to nearly five pounds, as the day clearly got a little more difficult for much of the field.

4:04 AM Meet at Disney's All Star Sports Resort, board a bus with other members of the media for the short ride to the boat yard.

4:20 AM Orientation, and explanation of observer rules, DON'T BE A FACTOR, I tell myself.  As the press observer, I am placed in charge of "BASS Tech," the GPS  fish count/fish weight system that BASS uses to update its web site, and for it's live broadcasts throughout the weekend.  It seems like a complicated deal, I sure hope I don't mess this one up.

4:45 AM Luke arrives and meets me at the boat.  We will have a camera with us today, which means I will be in  a separate boat most of the time, the way I see it, it's much easier NOT TO BE A FACTOR in the chase boat, plus, I get to hang out with camera boat driver, Tommy Swindle, yeah, that Swindle.  Father of Gerald, it is safe to say that "the nut didn't fall far from that tree!"  (He was blast, pure and simple.)

5:00 AM We are on the road.  Some chit-chat. Luke is familiar with me, I covered his 2004 FLW Championship victory, and he has been on the radio show a couple times.  Luke shared that he will not be fishing the BASS Elite Series this season.  His sponsors align best with the FLW Tour and FLW Series and he says that to change sponsors would be too expensive for him.

5:55 AM We are in the water and headed to Big Toho Marina for the "pre game festivities," how anything can be considered "festive" this early in morning, only a bass pro knows.

6:20 AM We are in the first flight and tear out across Lake Toho.  Luke informed me that we would be locking through and running all the way down to Lake Kissimmee, the last of four lakes in the chain.  Our ride time would be about 45 minutes and that would include time waiting inside the lock below Lake Toho.  It is on our way South that I learn about some nifty little passage ways called "pig trails."

What's a pig trail?  Well, there are parts of Lake Toho that are choked by acres of dense, thick vegetation called gator grass.  This gator grass is mixed with several other kinds of vegetation, and together, the combination of "fauna," (or is it "flora?)"  Makes it nearly impossible to maneuver through, even in a bass boat.  Well, those enterprising Florida bass anglers have created these little "chutes," several thousand yards long.  Oh yeah, these chutes are about 5 feet wide and you need to stay on plane the whole time or you just might get stuck.  Why do they call these lanes, pig trails?  Because they are about the same width as the trails worn into the ground when, you know, the pigs come home.  

All that and the dawn's early light, Pro Bass Fishing, I Love This Sport!

7:26 AM We arrive and Luke makes his first cast of 7 inch Mann's Hard Nose plastic worm, Junebug in color, on 15 pound test line, with a 1/2 ounce Tungsten weight.  He is going to target "lilly pads," a succulent form of aquatic vegetation that has thick, celery like stalks that the bass like to spawn next to.

7:28 AM "YEAH!" The normally stoic Luke shows a little emotion as he swings a near six pounder into the boat.  The fish was spawning inside the arrow heads, as Luke slowly worked his worm through the vegetation.  Needless to say, this is what Luke was hoping to do, get the day started right.  

Now the pressure was on, I had to work the "BASS Tech" equipment, and I didn't have a computer literate eight year old with me.  Nothing better then finally seeing the "SENT" message come up on the screen, which means, "I dun good."

7:46 AM Luke continues to cast beyond the arrow head and swim the worm back to the clump, where he slowly drags and shakes the bait.  A 14" keeper about a pound and a half falls victim to the "rattle and hum" and becomes keeper number two.  "It's not what I came here to get, but it will work for now," ho-hums Luke.

7:55 AM Luke sets on a good fish and gets about twelve turns on him before it comes off.  "There goes a five," moans Luke, who doesn't miss a step, and casts out immediately.  "That fish most likely had my worm and a big old mouth full of leaves and junk, I just didn't get my hook in him."

The spot was a rather obvious looking, isolated patch of arrowhead located on a point of Kissimmee grass.  "We will visit this one again later," notes Clausen.

8:01 AM Gets bit in a patch of arrow head, doesn't set the hook.  Quickly re casts to the middle of the patch.  Gets bit, sets the hook and misses the fish.  Anguish!  "That could have been a big fish."  Pitches in again, nothing.  Repeats, nothing.

8:07 AM Moves to the other side of that same patch.  Wants to offer the fish a different angle.

8:10 AM Noticeable breeze begins to pick up.  Blowing out of the East.  "This could dirty up the water if it starts to get nasty."

8:15 AM Begins moving along, fishing arrow heads that are further off the bank then anyone else is fishing.  These are isolated clumps, that he expects to hold spawning bass.  The water is too dark for him to see, and he doesn't want to risk spooking fish that are skitish.  The spots on these clumps that are the best, seem to be where there are little inlets, that create a protective bowl.  This appears to be the pattern within the pattern.

8:29 AM Moves across flat to small arrow head island, (bigger than a clump,) still working slow, hasn't put down that Junebug worm.

Six spectator boats now following.  I am not allowed to tell those folks not to run over Luke's lilly pads, I am kind of thinking that he will want to revisit some of the fish he missed.

8:35 AM Missed bite!  Quick re cast.....nothing

8:40 AM Small keeper off of patch where missed bite came from.  "Come on girls," Luke sighs.

8:45 AM Moves to another off shore patch.

8:47 AM This is no longer a breeze, wind is starting to get strong out of East.

8:48 AM Missed bite.  Luke is getting frustrated, spectator boats, kind of have him on edge, fish are not cooperating.

8:54 AM Run about a mile back to where we started this morning.  Luke wants to find out, A) Was there a mate with the six pound fish he caught, and B) Is the mate a 9 pound female or a one pound male?

9:03 AM Feels a pick up on the spot where his big fish came from this morning.  Nothing. Another cast, another nothing.  Works around the lilly pad patch, (a little bigger than a clump.)

9:07 AM Believes there is a fish in that patch.  "How's this for desperation?"  As he pulls out a drop shot rig on eight pound test line attached to one of those skinny little Western spinning reels.  "I hope it's not a nine pounder," Clausen chuckles.

"He's really good at this," remarks Tommy Swindle in a hushed, PGA announcer style whisper. "Tommy, why are we whispering?"

9:08 AM "Fish on!"  Clausen hooks and battles a two pound male from the exact same spot as where he caught his six pounder, (OK it was 5-12) Clausen swings the fish in the boat.  That was about as masterful a performance as I have seen.  Clausen demonstrated true professionalism in the selection of his tools. He didn't want to battle a nine pounder on eight pound test line, but as they often say, you have got to get the bites before you can weigh em in.

Luke has about 10 pounds at this point.

9:14 AM Re tie drop shot rig, Wind is really blowing from the East now.  "I have a couple of other spots I want to use that drop shot on."

9:17 AM THREE POUND Catfish!  Meow!  "That fish came from exactly the same place a ten pound spawner should have come from."

9:25 AM 14" Keeper comes aboard.  "Keeper number five, but these are the ones I need."

9:29 AM Swings and misses.

9:35 AM Moving down a long stretch of thick lilly pads.

9:41 AM Nails a three pounder from in front of a thick patch of arrow heads.  This is his first good fish since the big one earlier this morning.  Culls out a pound and half dink.  His weight just jumped up to nearly 13 pounds.

9:45 AM In the last couple of minutes, the wind blowing out of the East has changed and it is now coming out of the South.  Gray clouds starting to appear in the Southern sky, rain is off in the distance.

9:55 AM Back to the spot where he missed what we believe is about a five pounder this morning.  Luke actually had the fish hooked.  Clausen wants to see if it will bite again.

9:57 AM The fish bites!  Clausen misses it again, "short strike!"

Re casts, sets the hook on big fish!  Battles, line breaks.  Sits down to re tie.

10:16 AM Finished out the lilly pad island and move to more isolated clumps.  Clumps are better than patches, because the fish are more predictable.  Easy to figure out where they will be.  Clumps, are smaller than patches.  Patches, are smaller than islands.

10:18 AM Picks up drop shot, and begins working around an isolated clump.  Snag, break off, re tie.

10:23 AM Back to the worm, covering more water.

10:29 AM Back to casting the worm, moves to some more lilly pads.

10:34 AM Kevin Wirth is working some shallow beds about 300 yards from us.  He has caught 2 four pounders in the last 45 minutes.  Our spectators are moving into the shallows to crowd him.  "Good luck Kevin."

Luke's good water has been left alone, a well deserved rest for those fish.

10:42 AM Another short strike, picks up the drop shot, working, working, nothing.

10:55 AM Back to the worm, he has stuck to the worm all day.  "The bigger fish will not eat a spinner bait, their strike zone is very small."

10:56 AM A small keeper!  Culls out an even smaller one.  Luke is up to about 13.08 by my expert estimation, which is what ESPN is now broadcasting all around the country.  Scary, isn't it!

11:06 AM Moving a 1/4 mile South.  We haven't fished this far down so far.

11:15 AM Back up to make another run through his area again.  He is dedicated!  "As the water warms, the bite could improve.  I know who lives here!"

11:18 AM 1-12 keeper.  Culls out another. Luke has about 13-08

11:28 AM small keeper-no boat ride for you.

11:45 AM Luke is living his most productive area, having decided to look for something else on his way back towards Toho.

11:54 AM Isolated lilly pads, imagine that.  This area is a protected bay, almost no wind, looks good, (seriously though, what doesn't look good in Florida?)

12:07 PM small keeper-Luke makes him walk the plank....RRRR (Pirate talk)

12:14 PM Two mile run up North.  Luke is running and gunning.  He is making about 10 to 12 casts on isolated clumps, really covering a lot of water.

1:21 PM After a half dozen stop and goes, we arrive at the locks to get back into Toho.  The lock has about 18 boats in it.  Iaconelli is putting on another "how to market yourself" seminars.  (Don't you want to know what happened!)

1:40 PM Out of the lock.  More running and more gunning.

Luke is now flipping matts of the gator grass with a heavy weight, flipping stick and Mann's Arkansas Beaver plastic bait.  I don't understand why Beavers from Arkansas are any more special than Beavers from other places.  Say, do bass eat Beavers?   Why do they call those baits........Tommy Swindle explained this to me.

2:20 PM Catches a War Mouth, (small pan fish that apparently likes to eat Beavers from Arkansas.)

At this point, Luke locks it up and we run back to weigh in.  He is concerned that he may have slipped today but immediately we being to hear that the other leaders have had bad days.  Luke, with what he considers to be a poor day, has actually expanded his lead to 4-06 over Ron Shuffield.

"I'm going back tomorrow, I need to figure out whether to move shallower or go deeper, but I will win or lose with what I have."