Bryan Schmitt has taken the unofficial lead on BassTrakk, putting together 18 pounds, 2 ounces according to his reporting, probably closer to 19 pounds or a little more in real life. With three he’s calling heavy 3s and one giant he entered as a 5-0, Schmitt has close to a 3- pound lead 2 hours into the day, having moved up from 12th.
Bob Downey has had the second-best day thus far, with 17 pounds. This early limit propelled Downey from 36th to 5th currently. But with nothing over 4 pounds in his bag, Downey will need to cull nearly everything he’s got to fish tomorrow.
Phoenix Boats Big Bass thus far on Day 3 belongs to Scott Martin, who squeaked into the cut to start today in 50th, but has now risen to 27th with only two small keepers and a 5-pound, 6-ounce stud. It’ll take four more just like that for Martin to rally into the Championship Sunday cut, but this is a massive fish points-wise for Martin to make the 2024 Bassmaster Classic, starting today in 62nd in the Progressive Angler of the Year race.
