GROVE, Okla. — Heading into the weekend, ESPNOutdoors.com, with light rain falling and the forecast for more of the same later today, asked some of the remaining pro’s three questions about Saturday’s action: 1)What’s your predicted cut weight to get in the top twelve? 2)How does the expected Saturday recreational boat traffic play in to today’s action 3) What have you learned in this week’s competition?
Brent Chapman
1) It’s gonna be around 51 pounds.
2) It won’t hurt the fishing. It’s just harder to get around.
3) I learned that the fish are a lot deeper than what I caught in practice.
Russ Lane
1) 51 pounds is what I’m going to say.
2) Looking at this weather, hopefully it’ll keep a hadful of them off. But most of the skiers seem to be staying in the creeks where the debris has already cleared out of.
3) My instincts told me that the water would drop and clean up. This has been one of those times where I wish I’d have trusted them.
Peter Thliveros
1) 50 pounds.
2) It’ll make it rougher getting around. The shallow guys will be affected a little more, but they’re mostly back in the creeks by the no wake zones.
3) I’m really catching what I caught in practice. They’re catching them a lot deeper than I would have guessed.
Britt Myers
1) I have no idea. I’m not really close enough to really worry about it.
2) It’s going to be huge, but the fish are really used to it. It’s the fishermen who aren’t used to it.
3) I have noticed that there are some better fish on shoreline grass. The numbers aren’t there like in the trees but they’re better fish.
Scott Rook
1) I’ll say around 51 pounds.
2) They’re not that bad. They don’t really bother the fish any unless it’s those big crashing waves on the shoreline.
3)I’ve got it narrowed down to two baits that I’ve found that I’m catching bigger fish on.
Davey Hite
1) 50 to 52 pounds should get you in there.
2) These fish are accustomed to this. It’s a little frustrating fishing in four foot waves, but that’s just part of being mentally tough.
3) I’ve learned tjhat you’ve got to catch big fish here. I’m not even going to try and catch a limit. Two pounders aren’t going to do you any good.
Mike Iaconelli
1) I think it’ll be around 49 or 50 pounds.
2) I don’t think it hurts too much unless you’re a guy fishing banks that could get muddy.
3) The biggest thing I’ve found is the way the fish are moving, just roaming up and down the creeks. Yesterday’s weight (13 pounds) was due to me not being able to adjust to my fish moving.
Kelly Jordon
1) I’ll go with around 51 pounds.
2) This weather might hold them off a bit. But we might be rocking and rolling out there today. As far as the fish, it won’t really affect them.
3) The water is clearing quicker than I thought, which is good. My deep fish have gotten stronger and stronger.
Greg Hackney
1) I’m gonna say 49 pounds.
2) If this weather stays like this, it’ll really help. The lake’s been high so that might cut down on the traffic a little.
3) I thought the tournament would be won shallow. Twenty pound bags were pretty common up there in practice.
Editor’s note: ESPNOutdoors.com invited the University of Oklahoma bass fishing team to join coverage of the Sooner Run. The collegiate anglers will post a regular blog and appear on Hooked Up, the live Internet shows that air at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET on Sunday in advance of the live weigh-in. Bob Cobb, creator of Bassmaster Magazine and Bassmaster television, will be the special guest on Hooked Up.
Daily live weigh-ins and a realtime leaderboard will be at 4 p.m. ET. Please feel free to post comments to this blog via the ESPN Conversation feature at the bottom of this and every news page on this site.