Despite changing conditions, Ohio angler Whitney Stephens turned in an impressive catch of five bass that weighed 24-12 in the final round of the Harris Chain Bassmaster Eastern Open in Florida. Added to his Friday weight of 32-12, it helped him to an impressive winning total of 57-08 in an event that was shortened to two days by inclement weather.
The full field fished both days.
The shortened schedule amplified Stephens’ performance; specifically, Jesse Wiggins won the 2017 Open event on the Harris Chain with a three-day total of 59-04 ¬ only 1-12 heavier than Stephens’ two-day total.
Returning to the pattern that yielded his personal-best tournament limit on day 1, Stephens spent all of day 2 targeting thick hydrilla beds in Lake Eustis. Fishing in about 8 to 10 feet, he noted that the week’s colder weather worked in his favor by predictably positioning big pre-spawn fish in the warmer refuges of thicker grass patches.
Stephens caught most of his fish by dragging a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm and a Speed Worm, both Texas-rigged on a 4/0 VMC hook. He ended his day by moving to a different area and throwing a custom spinnerbait over the grass.
“I had a 7- to 8-pound cull on my last stop,” Stephens said. “I had high teens and I went to 24 on my last stop. It was just incredible.”
Stephens’ total gave him an impressive winning margin of 11-09. He made it look easy, but the winner said closing the deal was no easy task.
“It was a grind today,” he said. “You catch 24 pounds and you think it’s a lot, but I struggled today. The difference was the weather. We had another cold night, the water dropped a couple more degrees and the sun never came out.”
Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., finished second with 45-15. After weighing 27-10 on day 1, his productivity slipped to 18-05 Saturday. Schmitt caught his fish on 1/2- and 3/8-ounce prototype Hayabusa swim jigs. He alternated between Missile Baits Twin Turbo and Shockwave trailers.
“I had one key spot in Lake Harris; I caught them in a trench in the grass and there was a hard spot in there,” Schmitt said. “The trench was 8 to 12 feet deep and about 100 yards long.”
Kyle Welcher of Opelika, Ala., finished third with 41-12. Posting weights of 17-14 and 23-14, Welcher avoided the hydrilla that many of his competitors targeted and instead fished Yamamoto D-Shads on 1/8-ounce belly-weighted 4/0 hooks in eel grass beds.
“My biggest area was in Lake Eustis and 3 to 4 feet was where the best holes were,” he said. “You could catch some 2-pounders in 2 feet and out on the edge; but in the middle in 4 feet, that’s where the big ones were.”
Here are the final totals for the top 12:
1. Whitney Stephens: 57-08
2. Bryan Schmitt: 45-15
3, Kyle Welcher: 41-12
4. Eric Panzironi: 41-11
5. Brandon Lester: 39-01
6. Buddy Gross: 37-08
7. Nick Hatfiled: 36-01
8. Trevor Fitzgerald: 35-11
9. Alvin Shaw: 35-00
10. John Hunter Jr.: 34-13
11. John Cox: 32-15
12. David May: 32-04
