Bennett Predicts Close Contest
California pro Michael Bennett's decidedly not a local. He's been fairly hot lately and is now ranked 12th in the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten.
He tends to fare well in these types of events – maybe because they resemble the ounce-battles of his home state – and he finished 7th here last year.
About his practice, Bennett said: "It's been okay. A lot of fish are going to be caught – the bite's fairly decent. So catching fish isn't a problem. But the guys who are going to get those golden 3-pound bites for 3 or 4 days are going to separate themselves from everyone else.
"It's mostly going to be a junk(-fishing) tournament," he added. "I'm going to run and gun like crazy. I have a bunch of areas I want to hit. I'll fish pretty quickly and cover a lot of water and grind it out. We'll see how it goes for a day or two, then grind it out form there."
About differences between this year and last, he noted: "It's substantially different. I'm guessing the lake's a tiny but higher, and I really haven't caught them anywhere I caught them the last time.
"I'd like to think I can (make the cut) again," he added. "But I think this tournament's going to come down to ounces. There'll probably be 50 weights in the 22- to 23-pound range, so if I get lucky and get a 4-pound bite, or some nice 3-pound fish, it's possible to make the cut."