Thought some of you might want some insight from the first Elite series event of the year, courtesy of BASS press release.


ELITE SERIES ANGLERS LOOKING FOR BIG BITES AT THE ‘BATTLE ON THE BORDER’
Quality Not Quantity is Key to Winning at Lake Amistad



What’s at stake: $673,150 in cash to the top 50 Elite pros and valuable points towards qualifying in the Bassmaster Majors and the race for the Bassmaster Angler of the Year award. The top 50 co-anglers compete for $122, 250 in cash and merchandise.



Telecast: The “Battle on the Border” will be aired on The Bassmasters on March 17 at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2.



The Pros Said It

“My expectations are to win this event again. This lake is my style of fishing. It’s a clear-water lake and it’s deep. There are a more bedding fish but they’re not staging up shallow like last year. There will always be fish shallow, but the bigger bass just haven’t moved in yet. With the weather warming up, it could end up just like last year.” - 2006 “Battle on the Border” winner, ranked 52nd on the Bassmaster Elite Series Power Index, Ish Monroe, 33, Hughson, Calif.



“The bite is off because of the cold weather, but Lake Amistad has so many big fish you won’t see the leaders’ weights drop. I’m just not catching numbers like they did last year. It was stacked tight because everyone was catching them, but this year that won’t be the case. It’s not as easy to catch a limit and you won’t see everyone with 18 to 20 pounds a day this year.” – 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion and Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie Boyd Duckett, 46, Demopolis, Ala.



“After last year, seeing all those big weights come in, I know that I’ve got to target big fish. I caught 40 or 50 last year and a lot of 3-to-4-pound bass, but that didn’t do me any good at all. You can only weigh in five fish and you’ll have to have five really good fish to do well here. It’s tough to do because you want to catch 20 or 30 a day and you really have to make yourself be patient to target bigger fish, not numbers. There are a lot more boats out on the water too. An awful lot of people have discovered this little jewel.” – 1999 Bassmaster Classic champion ranked 25th on the Bassmaster Elite Series Power Index Davy Hite, 41, Ninety Six, S.C.



The Strategy

Monroe: Monroe doesn’t have a primary pattern just yet. He’s fishing a variety of lures, rods and reels and trying different things to entice the bigger bass. The two-time BASS winner feels that the gradual change to warmer weather throughout the competition will improve conditions and by Saturday expects anglers to bring in heavy five-fish limits.



Duckett: Duckett is changing locations often and says that he hasn’t found what he feels is the winning pattern yet. He says the fish are scattered right now and he’s got a pattern to catch a few big ones, but he’s still scrambling trying to figure them out.



Hite: Hite is fishing water 30 to 40 feet deep and targeting big bass. He’s fishing a variety of lures including jigs, worms, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. He hasn’t quite figured out which pattern will work best and hopes to have it figured out by the end of practice. Hite believes it will take over 100 pounds to win the tournament and around 20 pounds a day to make the top 50 cut.