Day 1 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Lake Oahe is underway. The majority of the 90 angler field competing here this week has very little experience on Oahe, and that’s not a bad thing the way the lake is fishing right now.
Stumps, brush piles and vegetation Lake Oahe has not. And it wouldn’t matter much if it did. The smallmouth bass on this stretch of the Missouri River have been described by anglers throughout practice as “nomadic” and “pelagic”. Basically, these fish relate to baitfish, not structure. When the schools of bait move, the bass follow.
So having limited history on a lake like Oahe is a good thing. Fond memories of days gone by on a lake where the same bass are rarely in the same spot can lead to lots of frustration and regret. Getting caught up in fishing for ghosts, anglers often have a hard time being consistent of a fishery like this from day to day, much less year to year.
The general consensus coming out of official practice, run as many points as you can until you collide with a school. And then do the same thing the next day, with little regard to the specific points that produced the day before. They may yield good bites again, but that would be more the result of happenstance than reliability.
The most consistent angler this year, Brandon Palaniuk, heads out on Day 1 with the lead in the Progressive Angler of the Year race. And he himself said that this event concerns him more than any other at the onset, because consistency will be so hard to maintain.
This is going to be a fun one for the fan to watch. Tune in at 8AM ET to Bassmaster LIVE to watch it unfold with us.
