Brent Bonadona of Port Allen, La., has been fishing the Red River for over 25 years, but he’s never seen it like this.
“I started fishing here when I was 15 years old, and I’ve never seen so many sandbars and no grass,” Bonadona said. “All you can do is chase shad.”
Bonadona did that well enough to take the day 1 lead Thursday in a Bassmaster Central Open with a five-bass limit weighing 11-14.
“I thought it would take a little more than that to have the lead here,” he said.
Charlie Hartley was 2nd with 11-05, followed by Luke Estel with 11-00. Twenty-one competitors in the 178-angler field failed to weigh a keeper.
The floodwaters that have roared down the Red River twice this year, most recently in August, have presented a brand new playing field for the competitors.
“It’s a lot different,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro Stephen Browning, who won Bassmaster Opens here in 2013 and 2014. “The floods have really changed the whole ecosystem. This used to be the snake capital of the world. They’re gone. The turtles, alligators, crawfish – all the crazy wildlife that you think about when you think about Louisiana – it was right here. Now it’s gone. But it will come back.”
Browning is in 59th place with a limit that weighed 6-13. With a 12-inch minimum length limit, only 51 pros brought five-bass limits to the scales.
Here's a look at the initial Top 12:
1. Brent Bonadona: 11-14
2. Charlie Hartley: 11-05
3. Luke Estel: 11-02
4. Todd Murray: 11-00
5. Gerald Spohrer: 10-13
6. Alton Jones Jr.: 10-11
7. Jeffrey Lemoine Jr.: 10-08
8. James Stricklin: 10-06
9. Matthew Loetscher: 10-05
10. Billy McCaghren Jr.: 10-02
11. Gary Riffle: 10-01
12. Daniel Rodriguez: 10-00
