Mike Raber worked his way through 10 keepers en route to compiling his 17-12 bag on Day 1 at Table Rock Lake.
November 02, 2023
MLF Communications BRANSON, Mo. – After several frigid days of practice on Table Rock Lake, over 400 anglers welcomed a bit of a warming trend Thursday to begin the three-day competition for a top cash award of up to $235,000 at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship.
The long-running event features the nation’s best Toyota Series pros and international anglers, and is the culmination of the 2023 Toyota Series season.
Mike Raber of Elkhart, Indiana, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 12 ounces to take the early lead in the three-day event. Raber holds a 1-05 advantage over Emil Wagner of Marietta, Georgia, who caught five bass weighing 16-07. Wagner was followed closely by local pro Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Missouri, who weighed 15-12 to finish the day in third place.
After a vicious cold front swept through the Ozark region earlier in the week, warmer temperatures on Thursday seemed to be shaking things up on the Missouri fishery.
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“I didn’t expect this outcome at all when I started out this morning,” said Raber. “I caught a couple fish today that were a caliber I never saw in practice, so I think the conditions are starting to change out there. Hopefully that’s going to continue throughout the tournament.
“The warmer weather today really got the fish more mobile,” Raber continued. “I caught about 10 keepers today, nothing too crazy, and not a ton of fish. I think they are pretty pressured, and bites are at a premium right now.”
With hundreds of anglers spread out across Table Rock trying to figure out the bite in the changing conditions, Day 1 began with a wide array of game plans throughout the field.
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“I started my morning on one pattern and caught a big one doing that, then transitioned a little throughout the day,” said Raber. “I covered a lot of water – a couple places were firing, and a whole lot of places weren’t. The fishing’s not easy out there – it was brutal – and I think anyone in the field would tell you that right now.”
Raber said the championship event is the first time he’s visited Table Rock Lake, or even fished anywhere near the region, but despite that, he was a force to be reckoned with on Thursday.
“I fished the four days of practice here, but I’ve never fished a lake that looks like this, or even seen a highland reservoir until this week,” said Raber. “It took some getting used to, especially the first couple days of practice – it was like being on the moon. Where I’m from, largemouth fishing is grass, and there’s none of that here – there’s not even moss on the rocks. I’m a smallmouth guy too though, so that helped. But it’s definitely a different type of fishery for me.”
Raber said he caught a mixed bag of fish throughout the day, including spotted, smallmouth and largemouth bass.
“I caught mostly spotted bass, but my big ones were largemouth,” said Raber. “I don’t really have areas for each species, they just kind of caught me by surprise today – especially the places where I found smallmouth. There weren’t smallmouth in those spots earlier in the week.
“This is my very first season fishing the Toyota Series, so I just feel extremely blessed to be here, and doubly blessed for the day today. God has given me more than I deserve, so we’ll see what happens. Pulling off a win would obviously mean the world to me, but win, lose or draw, we’re going to go out there and try to do things the right way and see what we can get done.”
Here's how the initial Top 20 stacks up:
1st: -- Mike Raber of Elkhart, Ind., five bass, 17-12
Anglers take off daily at 7:30 a.m. CT from Table Rock State Park Marina, located at 380 State Park Marina Road in Branson. Weigh-ins are held at the marina beginning at 3:30 p.m.
The full field of anglers compete on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the Top 10 pros and Top 10 co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2023 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
For full standings, click here
