The first flight is due to return to the dock in just a few minutes. Anglers in later flights still have a good bit of fishing time left. Kyoya Fujita has made the most of the afternoon bite, culling multiple times and climbing to second place, very close to unofficial leader Drew Benton.
It looks like somewhere around 45 pounds will take the lead on Day 2. But what matters most is the cutline to fish on Day 3. Anglers hoping to fish tomorrow have to finish above the 50 spot. That bar was set by Luke Palmer after one day of fishing, with 17-5. If you double that, we’re looking at needing 35 pounds to make the cut. BassTrakk has the current cutline (based on estimated weights) a good bit lower than that, with Chris Johnston’s 30-15 holding down 50th place. I’m thinking 33 pounds will give a guy a good shot at going tomorrow.
The conditions should be quite different on Day 3. The first two days have been sunny and calm, perfect conditions for Drew Benton to sight fish his way into the lead. They’ve also been favorable for Kyoya Fujita’s ultra-finesse presentation. But tomorrow, both these anglers will very likely have to deviate from their game plans to stay near the top.
Saturday likely sets up best for the anglers who have been running and gunning herring holes. These shallow humps and points have been loaded with big bass, but due to the calm conditions, they’ve been mostly unwilling to bite. Will the big topwaters and glide baits paired with more conducive conditions shakeup the leaderboard tomorrow? We’ll see.
