Tight Pack From 2nd On Down
Velvick's Giant Pushes Him A Ways Out In Front

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito The first double-digit fish of the Bassmaster Elite Series season keyed Byron Velvick's surge to the top of the leaderboard on day 1 at Clear Lake.

The Texas resident with deep Western roots boated a 10-11 monster that topped a 29-pound sack, which was the best of the day by more than 5 1/2 pounds. He's no stranger to success at California's largest natural lake – he set the BASS 3-day weight record with 83-05 en route to winning an Invitational here in 2000.

Californian Jared Lintner overcame an incredibly stressful week to catch 23-04 and grab the No. 2 position. His boat and truck were heavily damaged in an auto accident on the way here from the California Delta, which forced him to spend nearly as much time talking to insurance company representatives as preparing for the event.

Just one ounce back of Lintner was Alabama's Randy Howell, who capitalized on a strong morning bite to catch 23-03. Ohio's Bill Lowen was 4th with 22-14 and 70-year-old North Carolinian Guy Eaker continued the strong start to what he's said will likely be his final season with a 21-14 stringer that left him in 5th.

Here's how the Top 12 stacks up after the first day, with deficit margin from leader denoted by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Byron Velvick: 29-00
2. Jared Lintner: 23-04 (5-12)
3. Randy Howell: 23-03 (5-13)
4. Bill Lowen: 22-14 (6-02)
5. Guy Eaker: 21-14 (7-02)
6. Matt Herren: 21-13 (7-03)
7. Denny Brauer: 21-09 (7-07)
8. Kelly Jordon: 21-08 (7-08)
9. Jeff Kriet: 21-04 (7-12)
10. Skeet Reese: 20-04 (8-12)
11. Matt Greenblatt: 19-13 (9-03)
12. Gary Klein: 19-10 (9-06)

Northern California is in the midst of a warming trend and there were a lot of fish in shallow locales today that weren't there during the 3-day practice period. Many predicted they would come, and prognostications now are for the action to continue to heat up.

Most of the bass that have transitioned thus far are the smaller males, and there's still a question as to whether a large wave of sows will show during the event. Some reported seeing them today, but most of those weren't in a biting mood.

If the big gals turn on, the 100-pound mark could be surpassed by one or more anglers, as it was in 2007 when seven exceeded that threshold.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors A couple of the fish that Velvick caught today put some serious strain on the rod.

The field will be cut to the Top 47 after tomorrow's weigh-in. Only the Top 12 will advance to Sunday and the winner will be determined by highest 4-day weight.

Velvick Mixing it Up

Velvick's name has become somewhat synonymous with swimbaits, and he threw them today. But he said he worked with other stuff as well.

"I'm mixing it up – it's not just one bait," he said. "I'm going to keep doing that to try to keep making sense of what's going on with the lake. I think more fish are going to move up tomorrow and it's just going to keep getting better and better.

"I had some company today, but they weren't doing the same thing I was and they gave me a lot of room. I hope it's that way again tomorrow."

He said he didn't know whether he could catch a big bag today because practice was sporadic in the wake of last week's cold front and he tried to spend most of that time out of eyesight of other anglers.

"I stayed off by myself in places I couldn't be seen and I stayed off a lot of my stuff. It's definitely a cat-and-mouse game with these guys and I didn't know what I was capable of catching because I didn't put the hammer down until today."

He went through about 10 keepers on the day and the 10-11 bit in the afternoon. His bag also contained a fish that was in the 6-pound range.

"Those 10-pounders are the X-factor and I barely had that one hooked – it could've easily come off. It could come down to a matter of getting those big bites and then putting them in the boat. When I set the 3-day record I also lost a lot of big ones.

"The 4-day record is probably safe this week, but this could be a lot of fun."

2nd: Lintner Higher than Anticipated

Lintner wasn't totally surprised by what he caught, but he didn't think that kind of weight would put him so high on the leaderboard.

"I really thought everybody would have 20 to 25 pounds," he said. "The fish are coming up and it's the right time of year to be here.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/James Overstreet Jared Lintner followed up a harrowing week with a great first day.

He fished a dozen or so different places and went through about 20 keepers. He caught one that went a little over 5 pounds and the other four were just slightly smaller.

He fished out of a boat owned by local angler Mark Lasagne, a fellow member of the Skeeter/Yamaha pro staff. A friend of Lintner's, Mark Karcher, had loaned him a boat and truck for practice.

"You really find out who your friends are in this type of situation, and I guess I've got a lot of friends," he said.

He'd have no qualms if day 2 unfolded along the same lines as today.

"I'm just going to go back to those same areas and fish."

3rd: Howell Stuck Quickly

Howell did the majority of his damage before 9:00 and then added one 5-pounder on a swimbait this afternoon.

"I was hoping I could catch them on this one spot I found yesterday," he said. "I knew they were stacked up there, and everything worked right and I caught them pretty quick."

He said the place is a small staging area outside a spawning flat. The fish are there and willing to bite in the morning, but they move shallower later in the day.

He caught more than a dozen keepers, the best of which went a little over 5 pounds.

"I'm planning on doing the same thing tomorrow. I was boat No. 2 today so I had no problem getting out there. I'll be almost the last one out tomorrow, but I'm hoping I can still fish it. There were a lot of guys in the area, but not on exactly the same spot.

"I won't sit on it all day tomorrow – I did it today so I could establish where I was fishing. But that's the only spot I found where they're schooled up. If I can get on it, there's no reason why they wouldn't be there and wouldn't bite."

5th: Eaker was Confident

Eaker had a solid practice and followed it up with an excellent first day.

"I went to the same area where I'd caught them in the past and they weren't there on Monday," he said. "I kept telling (roommate Paul Elias) that I hoped they'd move in, and I went back yesterday and caught two 5-pounders.

"I went to my flipping fish this afternoon and I broke one off on 40-pound test braid, but I also caught a 4 and a 4 1/2."

He threw a lipless crankbait in a ditch that he's fishing along with Lowen. For flipping, he tied on a Berkley PowerBait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw.

"A lot of people saw me and (Lowen) both in there, so I don't know if that's going to be a problem. If somebody comes in I'm going to head them off and say, 'Hey, you weren't here yesterday.'

"I'm boat (No.) 34 tomorrow. I was 60 today and there was nobody there when I got there."

He'd like to fish beyond this year, but he also wants to be at home because wife Pat is having a couple of health issues.

"If it weren't for her sister and her cousin, I probably wouldn't be out here this year. I've bought more groceries this year than I have in my entire life because she just couldn't do it.

"She sees another specialist next week and if she can get straightened out, I might fish another year."

6th: Nice Debut for Herren

This is Matt Herren's first visit to Clear Lake and he weighed a strong debut bag.

"I still don't really know what's happening out here, but I went out fishing by myself today, doing what I did in practice. I got on this deal yesterday afternoon and I ran with it this morning.

"I caught two or three fairly early, but my best deal's in the afternoon. In the last hour and a half I culled four or five times."

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Randy Howell caught most of his 23-pound bag from a small staging area.

"I'm just going to go out and fish tomorrow and kind of wing it and see what happens. I don't think I'm really around the right grade of fish, but you never know.

"There were some this afternoon that showed some signs of wanting to bite."

71st: Kennedy Frustrated

Steve Kennedy, who won when the Elites visited here in 2007, was around plenty of fish today, but getting them to bite proved to be problematic. He weighed a three-fish, 13-01 bag and is mired in 71st place.

"I knew where some big ones had moved up, but I could not figure out how to catch them," he said. "I literally saw hundreds of fish. I tried dropshotting and skipping my (Kinami) Flash – stuff you always catch fish on, but I still couldn't get it to happen."

He had just one fish in his well until the final 30 minutes of the day when he caught two more, including a 6-06. "I had two more in that class follow the bait, but neither took it in the mouth."

He'll fish the same places tomorrow and hope for different results.

"If we'd just get any kind of weather, I think it'd be incredible. Those fish are just sitting up there sinning themselves – they're not 6 inches under the surface – and every time I'd throw a bait in there I'd see them scatter everywhere."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 93 anglers, 72 limits, 5 fours, 8 threes, 5 twos, 2 ones, 1 zero.

> Paul Elias (87th, two fish for 7-06) said today was just a continuation of his miserable practice. "I haven't even been close to them," he said. "I never found anything. I'm staying with (Eaker) and he's been catching them every day and telling me what he's been doing and I've been trying to figure it out, but I haven't done it."

> Chris Lane (90th, two fish for 5-02) said he's sure he could've caught 15 pounds off of tule points, but he gambled and fished for some bigger ones he'd found in practice. "Catching them was a different thing today – completely different," he said. "I sat on them until 1:30. A pro angler with a lot of money can get away with that, but in my case, with a family to feed, it might not have been the smartest thing to do."

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the remaining tournament days.

> Fri., March 19 - Sunny - 74°/39°
- Wind: From the N at 6 mph

> Sat., March 20 - Partly Cloudy - 69°/39°
- Wind: From the S at 7 mph

> Sun., March 21 - Cloudy - 64°/38°
- Wind: From the NW at 8 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, Texas -- 5, 29-00
Day 1: 5, 29-00

2. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 5, 23-04
Day 1: 5, 23-04

3. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 5, 23-03
Day 1: 5, 23-03

4. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, Ohio -- 5, 22-14
Day 1: 5, 22-14

5. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, N.C. -- 5, 21-14
Day 1: 5, 21-14

6. Matt Herren -- Trussville, Ala. -- 5, 21-13
Day 1: 5, 21-13

7. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, Mo. -- 5, 21-09
Day 1: 5, 21-09

8. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 21-08
Day 1: 5, 21-08

9. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, Okla. -- 5, 21-04
Day 1: 5, 21-04

10. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 5, 20-04
Day 1: 5, 20-04

11. Matt Greenblatt -- Palm Beach Gardens, Fl -- 5, 19-13
Day 1: 5, 19-13

12. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, Texas -- 5, 19-10
Day 1: 5, 19-10

13. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 5, 19-09
Day 1: 5, 19-09

13. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, Ark. -- 5, 19-09
Day 1: 5, 19-09

15. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, Ky. -- 5, 19-08
Day 1: 5, 19-08

16. Pat Golden -- High Point, N.C. -- 5 19-07
Day 1: 5, 19-07

17. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, Fla. -- 5, 19-03
Day 1: 5, 19-03

18. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, Md. -- 5, 19-02
Day 1: 5, 19-02

19. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, Ala. -- 5, 19-00
Day 1: 5, 19-00

19. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, Ariz 5 -- 19-00
Day 1: 5, 19-00

21. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 5, 18-15
Day 1: 5, 18-15

22. Terry Butcher -- Talala, Okla. -- 5, 18-03
Day 1: 5, 18-03

22. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 5 18-03
Day 1: 5, 18-03

24. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, Ark. -- 5, 18-02
Day 1: 5, 18-02

24. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 5, 18-02
Day 1: 5, 18-02

26. Edwin Evers -- Talala, Okla. -- 5, 18-01
Day 1: 5, 18-01

26. Jami Fralick -- Martin, S.D. -- 5, 18-01
Day 1: 5, 18-01

26. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, N.J. -- 5, 18-01
Day 1: 5, 18-01

29. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, Ala. -- 5, 17-14
Day 1: 5, 17-14

30. Cliff Pace -- Petal, Miss. -- 5, 17-13
Day 1: 5, 17-13

31. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, Ark. -- 5, 17-11
Day 1: 5, 17-11

32. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 5, 17-06
Day 1: 5, 17-06

33. Keith Poche -- Troy, Ala. -- 5, 17-04
Day 1: 5, 17-04

34. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Texas -- 5, 17-01
Day 1: 5, 17-01

35. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, La. -- 5 16-14
Day 1: 5, 16-14

36. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, La. -- 5, 16-13
Day 1: 5, 16-13

36. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Okla. -- 5, 16-13
Day 1: 5, 16-13

38. David Smith -- Del City, Okla. -- 5, 16-12
Day 1: 5, 16-12

39. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 5, 16-09
Day 1: 5, 16-09

40. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Okla. -- 5, 16-08
Day 1: 5, 16-08

40. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Texas -- 5, 16-08
Day 1: 5, 16-08

42. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, Ala. -- 5, 16-05
Day 1: 5, 16-05

43. Zell Rowland -- Austin, Texas -- 5, 16-04
Day 1: 5, 16-04

44. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fla. -- 5 16-03
Day 1: 5, 16-03

45. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, Ohio -- 5, 16-02
Day 1: 5, 16-02

45. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, Ark. -- 5, 16-02
Day 1: 5, 16-02

47. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, S.C. -- 5, 16-01
Day 1: 5, 16-01

48. Derek Remitz -- Grant, Ala. -- 5, 16-00
Day 1: 5, 16-00

49. Mark Tyler -- Vian, Okla. -- 5, 15-11
Day 1: 5, 15-11

50. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, N.C. -- 5, 15-08
Day 1: 5, 15-08

51. Peter Thliveros -- St Augustine, Fla. -- 5, 15-06
Day 1: 5, 15-06

51. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 5, 15-06
Day 1: 5, 15-06

53. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, Ala. -- 5, 15-05
Day 1: 5, 15-05

54. Vince Fulks -- Purcell, Okla. -- 5, 15-03
Day 1: 5, 15-03

54. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, Ky. -- 5, 15-03
Day 1: 5, 15-03

54. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Texas -- 5, 15-03
Day 1: 5, 15-03

57. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, S.C. -- 5, 15-02
Day 1: 5, 15-02

57. Shaw Grigsby -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 5, 15-02
Day 1: 5, 15-02

59. Russ Lane -- Prattville, Ala. -- 5 14-13
Day 1: 5, 14-13

59. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, S.C. -- 5, 14-13
Day 1: 5, 14-13

59. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, S.C. -- 5, 14-13
Day 1: 5, 14-13

62. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, Mo. -- 5, 14-12
Day 1: 5, 14-12

63. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, Va. -- 5, 14-11
Day 1: 5, 14-11

63. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, S.C. -- 5, 14-11
Day 1: 5, 14-11

65. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, La. -- 5, 14-07
Day 1: 5, 14-07

66. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 5, 14-05
Day 1: 5, 14-05

67. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, Okla. -- 5, 14-04
Day 1: 5, 14-04

68. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, Texas -- 5, 14-01
Day 1: 5, 14-01

69. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, Ga. -- 5, 14-00
Day 1: 5, 14-00

70. Chad Griffin -- Cresson, Texas -- 5, 13-01
Day 1: 5, 13-01

71. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Ala. -- 3, 13-01
Day 1: 3, 13-01

71. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, Ala. -- 3, 13-01
Day 1: 3, 13-01

73. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, Ark. -- 4, 13-00
Day 1: 4, 13-00

74. Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 5, 12-13
Day 1: 5, 12-13

75. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 12-09
Day 1: 5, 12-09

76. John Crews -- Salem, Va. -- 4, 12-02
Day 1: 4, 12-02

77. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, N.C. -- 3, 12-01
Day 1: 3, 12-01

78. Mark Burgess -- Norton, Mass. -- 4, 11-10
Day 1: 4, 11-10

78. John Murray -- Phoenix, Ariz. -- 4, 11-10
Day 1: 4, 11-10

78. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, Okla. -- 4, 11-10
Day 1: 4, 11-10

81. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, S.C. -- 3, 8-06
Day 1: 3, 8-06

82. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, Calif. -- 3, 8-04
Day 1: 3, 8-04

82. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, N.C. -- 3, 8-04
Day 1: 3, 8-04

84. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, Okla. -- 3, 7-15
Day 1: 3, 7-15

85. Pete Ponds -- Madison, Miss. -- 2, 7-15
Day 1: 2, 7-15

86. Wade Grooms -- Bonneau, S.C. -- 3, 7-11
Day 1: 3, 7-11

87. Paul Elias -- Laurel, Miss. -- 2, 7-06
Day 1: 2, 7-06

88. Byron Haseotes -- Centerville, Mass. -- 2, 5-15
Day 1: 2, 5-15

88. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, Texas -- 2, 5-15
Day 1: 2, 5-15

90. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, Ala. -- 2, 5-02
Day 1: 2, 5-02

91. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, W.Va. -- 1, 3-07
Day 1: 1, 3-07

92. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, Ark. -- 1, 3-02
Day 1: 1, 3-02

93. Rick Clunn -- Ava, Mo. -- 0, 0-00
Day 1: 0, 0-00