Black is white, up is down, Britney’s the new queen of England. What a topsy-turvy opening day from a fantasy perspective down at Toho.
Here’s your All-Surprise Team Thursday at Lake Toho:
1. Brett Hite 22-6 (8-13 kicker)
2. Shad Schenck 21-13
3. Robert Sherry 21-12
5. Carl Svebek 17-10
7. Monte Knight 17-0 (with just three bass, including a 9-6 kicker)
9. Randy Hadden 15-9
10. Robert Pearson 14-14
11. Kevin Long 4, 14-8 (7-9 kicker)
13. Tim Klinger 14-6
19. Vic Vatalaro 12-7
That’s most of the top 10 filled with pros who, to be frank, probably weren’t on your fantasy radar for Toho. Certainly not mine. Each one of them is a surprise for their own reasons, not because they’re bad anglers but because this is Lake Toho. I mean, who put a quarter into Brett Hite? He’s from Phoenix, for crying out loud. And Vic Vatalaro, what’re you doing to me, man? I know it was cold out there today, but this ain’t Lake Erie, brother. Congrats to them all for a job well done Thursday.
Here’s your No-Surprise Team:
4. Andy Morgan 18-4
6. Ron Shuffield 17-7
8. Shin Fukae 16-5
12. Luke Clausen 14-7
14. Terry Bolton 14-2
15. Pat Fisher 14-1
16. Clark Wendlandt 13-12
17. Koby Kreiger 13-5
18. Sean Hoernke 13-1
20. Keith Williams 12-3
Again, no surprise on each of these guys for various reasons. They all likely made a number of picks lists for Toho.
Here’s the fun list – and the one that likely hurts the most for many of you. The All-Disappointment Team:
172. Mark Rose 1-5 – He’s been on fire lately.
169. Dave Lefebre 1-6 – Probably Dave’s worst tournament day in a long time.
167. Darrel Robertson – Didn’t he win a huge check near here on live TV a few years back?
164. Scott Martin 1-11 – Florida’s poster boy is human near home.
144. Matt Herren 2-10 – He’s way too good an angler for this. Also likely his worst day in a while.
142. David Walker 2-1 – He normally owns Florida. Not today.
141. Larry Nixon 2-14 – This is the one that knocks planets out of alignment. The General can’t catch them on a worm? Head for the hills.
138. Mike Surman 2-15 – He wasn’t lying when he said not to pick him.
122. Terry Segraves 4-2 – Even locals can’t figure them out when it’s cold.
108. Dion Hibdon 5-3 – Another one who normally slams them at Toho.
93. Tom Mann Jr. 5-12 – Defending Toho champion.
90. Glenn Browne 6-1 – Another Florida guy stumbles.
79. J.T. Kenney 6-9 and 71. Chad Grigsby 6-15 – They rise together and fall together. They, too, weren’t lying about how they were catching them, which was not very well. This one is breaking the most fantasy hearts.
That’s more than 10 on the All-Disappointment Team, but extraordinary circumstances warrant extraordinary measures. All I can say is, wow, I honestly haven’t seen a leaderboard shake out as unexpectedly as this in a long time. A lot of these guys toward the bottom, like Nixon, are normally can’t-miss picks, especially in Florida. And how many of you can honestly say you had Randy Hadden in your top 10? Monte Knight, anyone?
Cold fronts can do strange things to a guy, I guess, not to mention the bass.
A word of caution here: It’s only one day. If you, like many, had some of these All-Disappointment pros on your team, don’t sweat it too much. Every single one of them has the skills to pop a big comeback bag tomorrow and climb the ladder. Keep in mind, too, that the flights swap tomorrow. A lot of those guys weighed in early today, which means they’ll weigh in later tomorrow and have more time to fish.
Here’s a full list of your day-one results.