While numbers don’t seem to be a problem, size does. While giants still lurk in the gin clear waters of Amistad, when it comes to catching them, they are few and far between. Throw on top that the fact that a cold weather system with rain is predicted to move in – and stay- camped over the area for the better part of the week, and it’s anybody’s guess as to what the winning tally will be. 

Like always on the Elite Series , no cell phones used for interviews at this event. The BASS ZONE was at the loading ramp at the conclusion of Tuesday’s practice day and here’s what some of the anglers had to say about their first two days on Amistad: 

Fred Roumbanis 
“The lake has changed a lot, and it could be because we are here a little earlier than normal being that it is the first stop of the year. The first time we were here, it was around this time of year and the lake was up like it is now and the big fish were just everywhere. Now, a five pounder is gold. 

“I’ve had some mechanical and equipment issues throughout the first two days of practice, so I haven’t had a good practice and it looks like the first day of the tournament will be another practice day for me. 

“I have no idea what it may take to win this. I did manage to catch a five and a six pounder today but the big fish were really few and far between.”

Dean Rojas
“It’s a lot different than we’ve seen in the past. It’s amazing what an additional 10 feet of water will do on a lake like this and it’s a lot like fishing a brand new lake because there’s so much cover to fish and a lot more shoreline trees. I’m still hunting for them.

“It’s a tougher bite for the bigger ones and you can catch little ones all day long but 10 to 12 pounds a day won’t do you any good in this tournament. I’ve been trying to key on getting the bigger bites but it’ll be hard because there’s a front coming in. I’m just going to fly by the seat of my pants and hopefully everything will work out.

Jared Lintner
“I was excited to get down here because I heard the lake was full and we are coming up on the full moon so I thought it would be a really good bite with a lot of big fish moving shallow. The lake is flooded, but I’ve only seen one big bass and it wasn’t even on a bed. 

I generally like to fish shallow and the past day and a half I’ve pretty much dedicated to fishing outside stuff because of the storm and front that is supposed to blow in. All I was able to catch out there were little ones so I decided to spend the rest of today fishing shallow and I caught the same size fish.

I can catch them in 2 foot and 40 foot and they are the exact same size. I’ve caught one four pounder in two days and all the rest have been between 1 ¾ to 2 ½ pounds. Today, I caught two non-keepers that weren’t even 14” long on an 8” swimbait. 

“This lake has big ones and somebody is going to find a wad of big fish, these guys are too good. I can see them on the graph but I can’t get them to eat – I don’t know if they’re big carp or what they are. There are some big ones out there but right now I’m scratching my head.” 

Wade Grooms 
“Compared to last year, we are here a month earlier and the water is considerably higher. Other than that, the water temperature is running between 60 and 70 in the afternoon. I’m seeing a lot of small fish on beds and the bigger fish seem to be really scattered and random. For me personally, I’m just going to have to cover a lot of water and hope that I run into a couple 5 pounders.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of people weighing in 11 to 12 pound bags and what’s going to separate the guys who cash a check is the ability to bring in a couple 5 pounders. 

“I think the people who traditionally do well here will continue to do well this year, especially the deeper fishermen. The consistent deeper bite will still be there so I look for those guys to do well again this year.”

LIVE Webcast Coverage of stop number 1 on the Elite Series begins Wednesday March 11th at 7:00pm CST from Rudy's Bar-B-Q in Del Rio, Texas.  Stop by and say hello to the Legend and Mark.