Changing Conditions Dominate Nawlins Chatter

A handful of anglers… a handful of questions. Read between the lines and see what you can figure out.

Most of the pros were poor-mouthing it in terms of practice, but isn’t that always the case? Everyone wanted to talk about how good somebody else was catching them, but nobody wanted to admit they were boating anything worth getting excited about. So get your bags ready, because there’s plenty of sand to go around.

1. Rate your practice on a scale of 1-10

Brandon Palaniuk – “Five.”

Matt Herren – “About a five.”

Cliff Pace – “Seven.”

Derek Remitz – “Pretty bad. I’d have to say a two or a three. Conditions are changing, though. So hopefully I can get on something.”

Terry Scroggins – “For the first 3 days I’d rate it at a one, but for the last day it was a ten.”

Russ Lane – “As far as actually catching—I haven’t had a lot of bites. But I think I’m in a position where the fish are coming to me. I think it’s going to get better every day.”

Steve Kennedy – “I’d say about a six or seven. I’m catching plenty of fish. I’m just not sure what to do with them.”

2. Long run, short run or ‘I’m not telling!’?

Brandon Palaniuk – “Short run.”

Matt Herren – “Neither. Medium run.”

Cliff Pace – “I’m not telling.”

Derek Remitz – “I’m not sure yet. I’m going to launch in the morning and figure it out.”

Terry Scroggins – “I’m not going to make a long run. I’m fishing an area with ‘Big Daddy’ Russ Lane. We’re in a little sleeper hole and I think it’s going to pay off.”

Russ Lane – “For down here I guess you’d call it a medium-sized run—about 30 miles.”

Steve Kennedy – “I’m not sure. How about that? I’m going to start close, but I’ll probably end up in Venice.”

3. Flipping, lipless cranks or some other bait/presentation? How’s it gonna’ be won?

Brandon Palaniuk – “I think it’ll be a combination of both flipping and moving baits.”

Matt Herren – “I’m going flipping.”

Cliff Pace – “All of it.”

Derek Remitz – “My gut says flipping. I can see a spinnerbait, a shallow crank or something like that catching fish, too.”

Terry Scroggins – “I like to flip. That’s what I’m gonna’ do.”

Russ Lane – “I’m doing one thing this week. I’m flipping a Big Bite Yo Daddy. I’m going to keep that in my hand and hopefully I can catch one or two big ones doing that every day.”

Steve Kennedy – “I’m going to do a lot of flipping. I’ll probably throw some spinnerbaits. I’m definitely going to throw a lipless [crank]. Swimbaits. Swim jig. Whatever. C’mon now, we’ve gotta’ figure this out. It’s changing really fast.”

4. Local knowledge… factor or not?

Brandon Palaniuk – “I think it goes both ways. A lot is changing right now and I think the guys with the local knowledge can make the right adjustments. But I also think anyone can roll up in the right canal or right spot and catch them.”

Matt Herren – “Local knowledge is going to be big—especially down south [around Venice]. These bass can get up in places where a normal person will never look—behind roseau cane patches, in little ponds, stuff like that. So I think local knowledge is going to be big.”

Cliff Pace – “I think local knowledge has been washed away with the conditions we’ve had.”

Derek Remitz – “Absolutely. I don’t have a clue about this place and I’m lost right now.”

Terry Scroggins – “Local knowledge is always a good thing, but this field is so good and they learn so quick there’s probably not much of a gap between locals and everybody else.”

Russ Lane – “Local knowledge is very rarely a factor when it comes to our tournaments. I’ve fished in a few Elite tournaments where I’ve considered myself to have local knowledge and I’ve done well in some and bad in others. I don’t think it matters.”

Steve Kennedy – “I think it’s a BIG factor. My pre-practice was not that good and the guys with local knowledge know the areas where these fish are coming to. That’s a big deal right now.”

5. What’s your guess on how many guys get stuck or stranded over the course of the Classic?

Brandon Palaniuk – “I guarantee there’s going to be at least one guy, and probably more that get stuck before it’s over.”

Matt Herren – “Ten.”

Cliff Pace – “I hope it’s zero.”

Derek Remitz – “I’d set the line at about three or four. Somebody’s going to get stuck.”

Terry Scroggins – “A bunch. I’ve been stuck several times this week and will probably get stuck again before this tournament is over.”

Russ Lane – “I hope it’s 49 guys that get stuck and stranded. Maybe then I can save some of my fish for the next day and not have to worry about it.”

Steve Kennedy – “I would guess there’d be at least four or five guys get stuck. I’ve never made the run I’m going to make. So it’s very likely that I end up stuck.”

6. If the Classic were a team event and you had to pick a competitor from the field to partner up with, who would you pick?

Brandon Palaniuk – “That’s simple. VanDam.”

Matt Herren – “Gary Klein.”

Cliff Pace – “Gary Klein.”

Derek Remitz – “Just based on pure knowledge of the area—I’d have to say Hackney.”

Terry Scroggins – “I’m going with ‘Big Daddy’ Russ Lane. We’re fishing the same area and we know exactly what we’re doing.”

Russ Lane – “I’d have to go with ‘Big Show’ [Terry Scroggins]. We’ve been in the boat together a few times and we always have a good time.

Steve Kennedy – “Randall Tharp. He’s hot. He’s got my attention more than most. Kevin or Skeet wouldn’t be a bad pick, but I’d like to know what Randall knows.

7. Should I put you on my fantasy team?

Brandon Palaniuk – “If you’re looking for a dark horse… maybe.”

Matt Herren – “I’m a threat any time I get to pick up a flippin’ stick. I didn’t have a great practice but the weather’s warming up and I think I’m going to get to fish the way I like to fish. I found some really good areas. We’ll just have to see what shows up tomorrow.”

Cliff Pace – “That’s your decision.”

Derek Remitz – “Hmm. If you want to. I guess that’s your call.”

Terry Scroggins – “Yeah. If it were me I’d have me on a fantasy team.”

Russ Lane – “Yeah. Why not? Go ahead. We might catch ’em this week.”

Steve Kennedy – “Probably not.”