Entry 249-3

My Greatest Day of Fishing, and I Didn’t Even Win with Mark Davis

Mark DavisEditor’s Note: Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Arkansas, has made a dramatic comeback to the BASS circuit this year. In years past, he won the BASS Angler-of-the-Year title three times and the 1995 Bassmaster Classic. Then on April 6, 2008, he finished in fifth place at Falcon Lake in Texas. At this writing, he’s leading the race for the 2008 BASS Angler of the Year. This week, Davis will tell us about his greatest day of bass fishing ever.

Part 3: Day 2 and 3 of the Tournament

Fishing with Mark DavisQuestion: What were the weather conditions on the second day of the tournament, Mark?

Davis: We had a strong northwest wind. The day before, the wind had been coming out of the southwest, but on the second day, it was blowing out of the northwest. So, I returned to the same spot I’d been fishing on the first day, and the first bass I caught weighed 11 pounds. That fish was the big bass of the day, and I caught it on Strike King’s new 7-inch Ocho in the green-pumpkin color.

Question: Mark, describe to me the appearance of the new Ocho bait?

Davis: The Ocho is a straight-tailed, fat worm, much like the Zero, but it has a coffee scent in it.

Question: How big is the Ocho, Mark?

Davis: It’s 7 inches and somewhat bigger than the Zero.

Question: How did you rig it, Mark?

Davis: I Carolina rigged the Ocho.

Striek King OchoQuestion: After you caught the 11-pound bass, what else did you catch?

Davis: The second day of the tournament was probably my best day of bass fishing ever. I caught more than 100 bass, and my best five weighed 33 pounds and a few ounces. My string wasn’t quite as big as my first-day total, but I still had a great day of bass fishing.

Question: How did you feel going into the weigh-in?

Davis: I felt really good. I had over 30 pounds, and I had the biggest bass of the day. I moved up one spot from fourth place to third.

Question: So, what were you thinking before you went to bed on the third day of competition? You were in third place, and you’d had two outstanding days of bass fishing. Could you believe you weren’t in the lead?

Fishing with Mark DavisDavis: No, I wasn’t really surprised, because before the tournament began, I knew that to win this tournament, I’d need at least one day when I caught 40 pounds of bass or more.

Question: Mark, after catching 100 bass on that one area, did you not think you’d worn out that spot?

Davis: No, I really didn’t, because I didn’t catch all those bass in one place. I had about 20-little spots in the section where I fished. Actually, I was fishing a massive area with a number of little honey holes. So, I didn’t feel like I’d run out of bass. This site homed a lot of good fish, and I felt sure I could catch another good limit on the third day of competition.




 

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