Weighing an even 23 pounds, Dakota Ebare set the pace on day one of the Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. on Sam Rayburn. Day one of the event, which is presented by Berkley, saw more than 190 pros and Strike King co-anglers take to the water. Oddly enough, Ebare almost wasn’t one of them.
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit pro’s original plan was to skip this event in order to head to Lake Okeechobee to pre-practice for the first Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit presented by Bad Boy Mowers event of the season in a few weeks. However, a dentist appointment and final boat preparations kept that plan from coming together, so he signed up.
With only a day of practice, Ebare didn’t find much of anything. But with as much experience as he has on Rayburn and a bit of good timing, Ebare got the 2021 season started off on the right foot.
“I had probably 16 pounds this morning, but one of them was a spotted bass that was a line-burner,” Ebare says. “Then it got really tough and I fished my butt off and didn’t get a lot of bites. I just kept scratching and looking for something new since I didn’t get much time to practice for this and have been breaking in my boat. I really just spent the day practicing.”
Like most good anglers, Ebare didn’t let history make decisions for him today. He checked some areas he’s found success in the past, but still let the conditions lead him to fish.
“You gotta take into consideration the condition of the lake and what it’s current deal is,” Ebare says. “This isn’t a lake like Grand Lake where the water level fluctuates, but it’s always the same rock. Here, you’ve got grass that’s here sometimes and gone sometimes. This year the grass is really good and it’s accounting for a lot of the fish that are being caught.
“The fish aren’t really wanting to be deep. I mean, there are some out there; there’s always some out there. I caught an 11-pounder here in 24 foot of water on a 10XD and the lake was 10 foot high in mid-March. I mean, every fish was spawning up by a tree, but I was in a river channel. So, there’s always fish deep, but the grass is so healthy right now and there’s a lot of bait in it and that’s where a lot of fish want to be.”
While Ebare may not necessarily have a pattern he’s running, he does have an idea of where to set the boat down and start casting.
“I’m running areas that set up right historically, but I’m taking into consideration where the grass is best and that’s where I want to stay at,” he says.
Two lost fish may have cost Ebare the chance at a megabag on Rayburn, but he isn’t letting that get to him. Tomorrow he plans to keep practicing and not get caught up with how well things went today.
“I’m excited about tomorrow, but you know it’s a new day and there are no guarantees,” Ebare says. “I could go out there and have 10 pounds easily. We’ll see what the weather does and just go fishing again.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Dakota Ebare – Denham Springs, La. – 23-0 (5)
2. Jason Conn – Anna, Texas – 21-6 (5)
3. Jeff Sprague – Point, Texas – 21-3 (5)
4. Jeff Reynolds – Calera, Okla. – 20-14 (5)
5. Brandon Flowers – Baytown, Texas – 20-11 (5)
6. Lowell Bennett – Hewitt, Texas – 20-5 (5)
6. Rick Harris – Del Rio, Texas – 20-5 (5)
8. Garrett Hilton – China, Texas – 18-12 (5)
9. Jeff Bridges – Prosper, Texas – 18-7 (5)
10. Justin Sowell – Silsbee, Texas – 18-3 (5)
Goebel Takes Strike King Co-Angler Lead
Limits weren’t the easiest thing to come by from the back of the boat, but John Goebel pieced 18 pounds, 4 ounces together to take the lead in the Strike King Co-Angler division.
“It was really a grind for me fishing out of the back of the boat,” Goebel says. “I was fortunate to get some real good bites. I fished real clean today and feel blessed to just be able to get out on the water.”
Fishing with pro Tim Reneau, Goebel stuck to his own style of fishing and it paid off. Especially when he caught a 7-pounder to anchor his bag.
“I caught the big one midday, just after lunch,” Goebel explains. “I figured as the day went on and it started warming we were going to get better bites.”
Top 10 Co-Anglers
1. John Goebel – Lumberton, Texas – 18-4 (5)
2. Brad Ridgeway – The Woodlands, Texas – 18-1 (5)
3. Paul Hedrick – Andrews, Texas – 16-15 (5)
4. Zack Nick – Lufkin, Texas – 15-6 (5)
5. Heath Ard – Silsbee, Texas – 15-3 (5)
6. Kelsey Ray – Joplin, Mo. – 14-11 (5)
7. Curtis Biram – Tulsa, Okla. – 14-5 (5)
8. Michael Sharp – Calera, Okla. – 13-5 (5)
9. Travis Pattillo – Zavalla, Texas – 12-10 (5)
10. Hank Williams – Claremore, Okla. – 12-8 (5)
