Echternkamp and Kromm Continue Winning Ways

When you’re hot, you’re hot. The weather is going to have to really get going to catch up with the kind of hot that the team of Aaron Echternkamp and Dave Kromm are right now. Bass fishing is prone to providing for some “hot streaks”, but these guys are beyond being on some sort of wave that is temporary. They are just flat-out good. Despite a perception out there that tournament bass fishing is more akin to poker than a legitimate sport, it is anglers like Echternkamp and Kromm that remind us all that it pays to be good. It pays to put your time in and be familiar with the water and it pays to execute when the chips are down.

Potholes On Display

A sign of a good day. Blake Lesher’s thumb is the first sign of their 23+ lb day on Sunday.

The two-day event was a chance for Potholes Reservoir to be put to the test. Eighty teams set out on a nearly full reservoir in search of fish at all conceivable stages of the spawn. With good weather conditions and good visibility, the stage was set for those with good eyes or who know where or what to look for to either feel good or get their hearts broken. Potholes did not disappoint as it took nearly 17 lbs on day one to make it into the top 40.

As the Northwest Bass staff prepare for weigh-in Sunday, it’s a rare look at an empty weigh in tub. Nixon’s/NWB do an excellent job of staging and processing a weigh-in. First class all the way.

While Echternkamp and Kromm sat in 3rd place after day 1 behind the teams of Wolsky and Hobbs and Eidson and Doucet (respectively), they were in 3rd with only a 5 lb big fish while both the other top two teams had a largemouth over 7lbs that factored in disproportionately. In a multi-day event, it is almost always telling to see who has the biggest small fish of their limit, or who has the smallest big fish. Since most events don’t keep track of who has the biggest small fish, then it’s easiest to look for who has the highest placement with the highest probability to repeat that the next day. Odds are, most teams are not going to repeat with 7 pounders, so looking at who’s done the most with the least (smallest big fish) is a good way to gauge where smart money should go for the final day.

Big Fish Parade

Of course, seven pounders are cool, but eight pounders are really special. Those in attendance got to see one as the team of Curt Morris & Ethan Lewis brought one to the scales on Sunday.