According to those in the know, there are really less than a dozen spots where the Classic can be potentially won from…and most everyone in the field has found them. Thus the Red is fishing extremely small, making time (and area) management critical keys to victory.

Adding to the cramped conditions, since official practice began, water temperatures have dropped anywhere from five to seven degrees. While a few anglers reported to The BASS ZONE that they’d found some shallow fish during practice, all spoke cautiously of the pending cold fronts knowing that it could hamper the skinny-water bite – which at the Red River is a fairly relative term. 

While there are undoubtedly a handful of contestants found water that is somewhat “undiscovered,” or that are working a pattern that is slightly unique, all agreed that amassing more than 17 pounds a day over the three-day Classic will be heroic.

Reasons for this range from being too little water (though the River is at, or near “normal pool,” another two feet of navigable water would open additional acres for fishing, thus spreading the field from their relatively cramped conditions) or a little too early (according to a handful of pros with experience on the Red, two weeks later would be primetime). Either way, shortly after 8:30 CST this morning, Day One was officially underway, though it would be hours before the speculation ended.

As The BASS ZONE reported throughout the day, there were anglers grouped in multiples from Clark’s all the way south well into Pool 4 (where much of the field wound up). There were a few true gamblers who made the run all the way to Pool 3 – outside cell-phone range, and thus out of touch for real-time updates.

It wasn’t until much of the field started moving towards the Pool 4 lock that a clearer picture of how the day had gone began to unfold. First, we learned that Kevin Van Dam, weighing four fish going 4 pounds 4 ounces, struggled. Secondly, it was apparent that he wasn’t the only one, but as KVD said from the stage, “That’s fishing.”

For Boyd Duckett, while the day may not be classified as “easy,” things certainly started the way he’d hoped they would. With a five-bass tournament limit weighing 20 pounds and 3 ounces, Boyd claimed first place honors and put a pound’s worth of advantage over his closest competitor.

In second place, on the very important first day, was Jami Fralick with 19 pounds and 3 ounces. Less than a pound behind in third place was Fred Roumbanis with 18 pounds and 4 ounces.

Ending the first day in fourth was Aaron Martens with 18 pounds and 1 ounce, while Terry Fitzpatrick held down the fifth-place spot with 18 pounds even. 

Rounding out the Super Six was Scott Rook with 17 pounds and 11 ounces. 

Duckett Eyeing the Weather
When Boyd won the Classic two years ago in Alabama, he broke the home-field jinx. Many in the fishing biz speculated that his was a “one hit wonder.” To quell the voices of doubt, Boyd went out in 2007 and set the Elite Series on fire.

And though 2008 may not have been to Boyd’s lofty standards, he fished well enough to be in his third Classic in three years – and he’s making the most of it.

As a self-described river rat, Boyd explained that he’d located two strong areas during practice. However, come Friday’s start, due to the weather, his fish had pulled out to deeper water. “The fished changed some on me and it took me most of the morning to find them again,” he confessed. 

“I thought that they probably would, but after I made some adjustments I was able to find them again. I think that in a river like this, the fish are really a lot more susceptible to temperature changes. It’s the same way back home. You just have to find them everyday.”

Duckett estimated that he caught “10 to 12” keepers over the course of the day, anchored by at five-pound kicker. He’s fishing between four and six feet, which as he described is “pretty deep” for the area that he’s in. 

“When I found them, they were in one to two feet of water,” Duckett explained. “It’s changed up quite a bit, and I imagine that it will continue to do so over the weekend. There’s a real key little deal that I’m working, and hopefully I’ll be able to tell you all about it Sunday.”

Boyd, like many in the field, is having to make extremely long idles – a sacrifice that he explains as “just part of fishing the Red River. “I’ve got two primary areas, and I fished both of them today,” he added. “They both have really long idles, so I’m spending a lot more time on the big motor than what I would prefer.”

Duckett explained that while he’s in front with a one-pound advantage, with the weekend’s weather changes anything can, and most likely will, happen. Despite the changes in weather that the weekend will bring, he’s committed to his two areas. 

“It’s supposed to be cloudy and rainy tomorrow, and I don’t really know what to expect,” he allowed. “They’ll still be there, and they’ll still eat, but I’m sure that I’ll have to change up what I did today a little bit.”

Fralick Relaxed
Fishing his second Classic, Fralick explained that he was pleasantly surprised with the change to his fish since practice, where he explained that the “big bites were one here and one there.” However, in the opening round, the South Dakota pro revealed that “everything came out of a 200-yard” stretch of bank. It happened a little quicker than I thought.”

Fralick is confident that his secluded flat will continually replenish. “It’s the same area that I fished in 2001, and it produced the best tournament day I’ve ever had then,” he said. “The fish are in areas where they want to be, so they’ll just keep coming in there.”

While many anglers spent the day clustered up within a cast of one another, Fralick revealed that he was the only competitor in his area, and could only praise the few fans that were around him. 

“The spectators that were there stayed way out and watched with binoculars,” he said, “so I had it all to myself. It was really a lot of fun today.”

Covering a lot of water with a jig, Fralick explained that the looming weather change should actually help his bite. “Most of my fish are up on a flat, so the clouds and the rain should only bring more fish up there,” he pointed out.

Unlike his first experience in the Classic, Fralick explained that this time around he’s better prepared to deal with the demands of the experience. “I’m just way more relaxed than I was the first time,” he said. 

“I know what to expect a little more, so I’m able to deal with it. Your first Classic is just like a big experience where you on a bus going here, and you’re in front of a bunch of media guys over there. So this time, I’m just able to enjoy it and relax.”

Fred Junking
In his second Classic, Oklahoma pro Fred Roumbanis has put himself within striking distance of the leader – though he confesses that it wasn’t an easy day on the river. “I tried to enjoy every minute of the day, but I had everything working against me,” he said.

“I had a bent trolling motor shaft early this morning, but I knew that I was around the right group of fish so I tried not to let it get into my head.”

Instead, Fred explained that he coped with his adversity by keeping his head down and fishing. “It wasn’t easy, but I just kept a cool head and fished real hard,” he said. “I moved around quite a bit, but it seemed like at every spot I would stop on I would catch a couple of fish.”

Fred told The BASS ZONE Thursday that he was around the right fish, and quickly sought some “wood to knock” in order to stave off the jinx that he was sure would occur. “I told you guys that I was around some good fish,” he laughingly said.

Fred admitted that his trolling motor is “on 100 all day long,” but he explained that it’s just how he fishes. “As the tournament progresses, I’ll start to slow down,” he said. “But right now I’m wide open, and I’m catching them several ways doing completely different things. Every 20 yards of bank will give you something different to fish, so it’s just a junk-fisherman’s paradise.”

Fred explained that despite the changes in the weather that will come with Saturday, as well as the shortened day due to take off position, he’s confident that his bite won’t change. However, he would like to be able to capitalize on the quality bites when they come along. 

“I’m just going for one big bite every day,” he said. “I’m sure that I can get a limit doing what I’m doing despite the changes, but I’ll need one big fish to make that move. I had here on today – at least a six pounder – but she outran me.”

Martens On Quality, but Needs Quiet
Aaron Martens has earned the reputation as being the guy who always seems to discover the oddball pattern. He confessed that he’s doing something “completely different” than anyone else, but obviously wasn’t ready to divulge the details.

That said, he did admit that though he had nearly 15 pounds by 9:00 this morning, most of it happened early. “The first three hours went just as I had planned,” he said. “I was right on track until around 10:00, then everything just sort of went south.

“I was able to catch another keeper later in the day, but wasn’t able to improve on my stringer during the last four hours of the day. Even though I was catching fish, I wasn’t catching quality.”

Martens confessed that the declining bite he experienced was disappointing – even more so considering that it was due to the boat traffic around him. “I don’t want any more traffic in there than there was today, that’s for sure,” he said. “Around 10:00 is when all the boat traffic started coming in there.

“A lot of the spectators where crashing through the stumps. When I caught my first 15 pounds, it was the quietest time of the day. I sort of expected that to happen though, but thought that I would have more weight before it did.”

Fitzpatrick Confident
Fishing his first Classic, Federation angler Terry Fitzpatrick is seemingly at home amid the sports biggest names. “I had some jitters before we launched, but as soon as I got out there and started fishing I settled down,” he said. “Fortunately, I was able to catch a few good ones early and upgrade throughout the day.”

“It went a little better than I expected,” he added. “During practice, I was getting maybe 16 pounds a day, so 18 was really exciting.”

Fitzpatrick stayed in his primary area all day, and is keeping two other spots in reserve. “I’ve got two other areas that I haven’t touched,” he said. “I’m hoping that that if my primary area doesn’t pan out I’ll have something else to go to. 

“I have a lot of confidence in what I’m doing, and really I have just as much confidence in the other two areas I’ve got as back-ups as I do in my primary area.”

Terry explained that he’s fishing a variety of moving baits, perhaps his biggest advantage is that he’s completely alone in his best area, and though he’s confident that his fish will continue to replenish, he’s leery of what changes the weekend weather might bring to his bite. 

“There are plenty of fish in there, it’s just a matter of if I can figure out how to catch them if things change, he said. “If, for some reason, what I’m doing doesn’t pan out, I’m going to go to my other areas and try to make something work.”

Rook Fishing to his Strengths
Arkansas pro Scott Rook is on a lot of fantasy teams. Having won the Legends Major on the Arkansas River, his home water, Rook is pegged as a river system specialist. He’s making the most of his river experience this week given the scarcity of bites he’s getting. 

“I’m not getting a lot of bites, but I’m just hitting every stump and every piece of wood and just grinding it out,” he said “I’m usually getting eight to 12 bites a day, but today I only had seven.”

Locking down to Pool 4, Scott explained that he’s putting himself at a slight disadvantage given that he’s not getting that many bites. “I had seven bites today, and only boated six of them,” he revealed. “I’m really fortunate that of the six I got to the boat, five of them were quality.”

Throwing a moving bait. “They were really all in the same spots,” he said. “If anything, they’d moved up a little bit.”

Sharing water only with one other competitor in a “well known” area of the river. “I’m in a great big area that’s had a lot of wins come out of it, but it was only me and Davey (Hite) in there,” he said. “I fully expected there to be eight or nine other boats in there because of the reputation the place has, but it was just he and I.”

As for Saturday’s forecast, Rook explained that he doesn’t know what to expect when he arrives at his spot. “I don’t really know what the weather’s going to do to it to be honest with you,” he said. “I can’t really see it messing things up any more than what it already is. The only thing that concerns me really is other boats coming in on me.”

DAY ONE STANDINGS