Reinkemeyer leads after Day 1 at Rayburn

BROOKELAND, Texas – They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the largemouth bass at Sam Rayburn Reservoir certainly fit the bill on Friday. After a 1 1/2-hour fog delay to start the morning, the first MLF Invitational event of the season kicked off at Rayburn and the fishery showcased why it is widely known as one of the best in the country. A total of 11 pros crossed the 20-pound barrier and 13 pounds went all the way down to 53rd place.

Brock Reinkemeyer of Warsaw, Missouri, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 24 pounds, 7 ounces, to take the early lead. Reinkemeyer holds a 1-1 lead over Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tennessee, who caught five bass weighing 23-6 to end the day in second. Invitationals newcomer Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio,sits just one ounce behind Hatfield in third with 23-5.

The full field of 150 anglers will conclude the two-day opening round on Saturday, with only the Top 30 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advancing to the final round on Sunday.

Long established as one to watch around the Ozarks, Reinkemeyer showed during his rookie season on the Invitationals last year that he’s no slouch nationally, as well. Today, he relied on a few areas and a few key bites.

“I caught one big one during practice doing off-the-wall, kind of deep stuff, and it paid off twice today,” said Reinkemeyer. “I just kind of moseyed down a stretch and just plucked two big ones off.

“It was kind of like a little drop,” he said of his area. “I scanned the hell out of this flat, and they weren’t up on top of it. So, I just went down the edges and I found one edge where there are some shad and got lucky with two big ones.”

Of course, you can’t catch 24 pounds and change without some skill, and it’s not like Reinkemeyer is oblivious out there. While much of the field had no problem catching keepers but struggled at times to find quality bites, Reinkemeyer seems to have a beat on some big ones.

“I’ve got three spots where I’m just kind of milking ‘em,” he said. “Stumps, hard bottom – I’m fishing anywhere from 12 to 24 (feet), just kind of zig-zagging on the edges.

“I don’t feel like there are a lot of fish, but if I get a bite, it’s a good one,” he added. “I probably caught like 10 keepers today, but I was also bypassing small ones that are suspended way up. I’ve been catching them all week, and they’re all small. The bigger ones are closer to the bottom.”

One key for Reinkemeyer was staying away from the grass, which Rayburn is loaded with these days.

“I caught one out there right at 7 in practice, and this sucker was like a football,” he recalled. “And I’m like, ‘they ain’t in that grass.’ I fished two days in the grass, and Brad (Jelinek) was catching them in the grass, but nothing big. I couldn’t even catch a keeper in the grass.”

Plenty of other pros caught fish in the grass today, while others targeted hard structure or suspending fish. So, Reinkemeyer isn’t on an island from a pattern perspective. Still, he does seem to be fishing away from the pressure.

“I had them all to myself,” he said. “At my starting spot there was one other guy there; he moseyed around for two seconds and left. I’m all alone while everybody else is fishing in a crowd in the grass. Hopefully it’s the same thing tomorrow.”

Hatfield earned Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a largemouth bass that weighed in at 9-3.

Anglers launch at 7 a.m. CT each day from the Umphrey Family Pavilion, located at 5438 Sam Rayburn Parkway in Brookeland. Weigh-ins are also be held at the pavilion and begin at 3 p.m.

Here are the totals for the initial Top 10:

1. Brock Reinkemeyer: 24-7
2. Nick Hatfield: 23-6
3. Brody Campbell: 23-5
4. Keith Poche: 22-12
5. Clayton Batts: 22-1
6. Cal Lane: 21-7
7. Nick LeBrun: 21-5
8. Mitchell Robinson: 21-3
9. Drew Gill: 21-1
10. Jake Lawrence: 20-9

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