Brandon Lester seems to be running away with this one with 17- pounds early on Championship Sunday. Does anyone else have a real chance? Quite certainly.
There are several guys within a big bag of Lester, should he stumble just a bit and top out around 17- pounds. Lester already has a limit for that early, but all his fish are solid so it’ll take a 3- pounder to cull, and even then it’ll be by ounces. So as of right now, there are five guys still within a 25- pound bag of taking Lester down.
And a 30-pound bag is not unrealistic here, more likely on Day 4 of this event than any other day. That puts Lester within striking distance of anyone in the top 10 should he only catch 17- pounds. No one has come close to that this week, but the 30- pound threat is a lot higher today on account of a few factors. Anglers are as dialed in as they’ve been all week, there’s no need for anyone to save fish for tomorrow anymore, and being able to move around gives the rest of the competition a chance at a monster bag.
A true monster bag of 25- to 30- pounds is most likely to come on the Tennessee River this time of year by picking off one big one here and there. With only 10 competitors on the water today, and despite the local boat traffic, anglers will certainly have their best chance of moving around they’ve seen all week. And pulling up on the right four or five holes could lead to a massive comeback.
Lester has certainly applied the pressure. But it’ll take another 4- to 5- pounder or two to really start to slam the door. A seven, two sixes, and a couple of fours, and suddenly tenth place spot holder Justin Atkins still has a chance right now with 27-pounds. Seems a bit unlikely, but with his knowledge of this fishery, he’s more poised than any of the anglers to pick off a big bag. So if Lester hasn’t even shut the door on tenth yet, everyone’s still in this one.
