His name just flashed to the top of the BASSTrakk leaderboard, but Clark Wendlandt had probably been there for a while. We know that thanks to Mark Zona’s on-the-water reporting on “Bassmaster LIVE.” Apparently, Wendlandt was catching smallmouth so fast early that he didn’t have time to enter the data. Zona noted that he watched Wendlandt release what appeared to be a 3 1/2-pounder. BASSTrakk indicates he’s got a 16-pound, 5-bass limit.
Wendlandt isn’t from smallmouth bass country. But the Cedar Park, Texas, resident is a noted smallmouth angler. He was in contention for the title on the St. Lawrence River before finishing 8th. The 54-year-old veteran tournament angler enters this event 6th in the AOY standings, only 25 points behind leader Jamie Hartman.