The race was on at Grand Lake this morning as a good number of pros ripped down to the pockets in the south end of the lake to see if they could pick off a few bedding bass before the heavy rains started.

The pockets were crowded as anglers set up on fish they had marked in practice. But for the most part, the spawners were uncooperative and very hard to see in the dark skies. Even eagle eyes Cody Bird was throwing in the towel on the sight bite.

“This isn’t the deal,” Bird says of sight-fishing. “These fish are too jacked up from the water rising and I can’t see a thing. I’m out.”

Some, however, like Matt Arey, were taking advantage of the few hours before the rains came. Arey had already boated a limit for about 12 pounds before the rain drops started falling at about 10:30 a.m. With the rain, pros began to pull off the sight program, retreating down the banks and fishing out on secondary points in spawning pockets.

Grand Lake is full of 4- and 5-pounders and despite the weather there shouldn’t be a shortage of them come weigh-in. Check back at 2:30 p.m. CT to see how the 167 pros and cos fared on day one.