Well Day 2 did not disappoint. A bunch of movement and a few of the leaders caught them again. To essentially give us a 5 angler race with another two that have a decent shot and about 6 more that would be real dark horses at this point. They would need 22lb plus bags and a bunch of guys to have sub-standard days.
It is great to see Greg Hackney being relevant on the 3rd day of the Classic, I am not sure but this may be his best finish in a Bassmasters Classic regardless of his catch today.
I think Alton Jones has many things going in his favor that may make him hard to beat on the final day:
1. Obviously a 1lb 3oz lead is positive
2. His catch went up while places 2-4 catches decreased.
3. He has not fished his best areas past 10:30am either day, so he should be able to work those areas really hard today and maybe catch his biggest bag of the tourney.
4. Lastly, his & Ike’s deep Football Jig bites are probably least effected by weather changes & boat traffic. Alton says he is locked into one bait and that is a Booyah Football Jig with a Yum Trailer.
I am sure Ike is using the new Berkley Gripper Football Jig that just came out or is just about to launch.
Hartley’s catch dropped quite a bit on day 2, not sure if it was the weather, the additional spectator traffic or if he does not have enough docks and the fish are running out. Either way I am sure he will soak that jig around those docks all day today & find out.
Not sure what happened to Scott Rook’s shallow crank(Shad Rap) fish, because KVD ended up leaving his deep crank fish and switching to what looked like a Series 2 or 3 crankbait and caught them in a similar fashion to how Rook caught them & Bobby Lane was doing the same.
But it sounds like we will have a mix or sun & clouds today so I would expect most of the guys to catch them pretty good, so I should be a great show tonight on ESPN2. Look for Jeff Kriet to make a move, because he is catching big fish and is also moving in the right direction. He had the biggest bag of Day 2.
I have only posted the top 13 results, that is where I draw the line in my mind for who has a chance, but I really think its down to the Top 5.
| Place | Angler | City, State | Day One (Fish/Weight) |
Day Two (Fish/Weight) |
Total (Fish/Weight) |
Total $$$ |
| 1 | ALTON JONES | WACO, TX | 5 17-5 | 5 18-11 | 10 36-0 | $0.00 |
| 2 | CHARLIE HARTLEY | GROVE CITY, OH | 5 21-1 | 5 13-12 | 10 34-13 | $0.00 |
| 3 | CLIFF PACE | PETAL, MS | 5 18-10 | 5 14-11 | 10 33-5 | $0.00 |
| 4 | KEVIN VANDAM | KALAMAZOO, MI | 5 20-3 | 5 11-14 | 10 32-1 | $0.00 |
| 5 | JEFF KRIET | ARDMORE, OK | 5 12-15 | 5 18-12 | 10 31-11 | $0.00 |
| 6 | MICHAEL IACONELLI | RUNNEMEDE, NJ | 5 18-5 | 5 12-14 | 10 31-3 | $0.00 |
| 7 | GREG HACKNEY | GONZALES, LA | 5 16-2 | 5 14-9 | 10 30-11 | $0.00 |
| 8 | BOBBY LANE | LAKELAND, FL | 5 15-0 | 5 14-13 | 10 29-13 | $0.00 |
| 9 | EDWIN EVERS | TALALA, OK | 5 18-7 | 5 11-2 | 10 29-9 | $0.00 |
| 10 | AARON MARTENS | LEEDS, AL | 5 12-15 | 5 15-14 | 10 28-13 | $0.00 |
| 11 | KOTARO KIRIYAMA | MOODY, AL | 5 16-11 | 5 12-0 | 10 28-11 | $0.00 |
| 12 | SCOTT ROOK | LITTLE ROCK, AR | 5 20-13 | 5 7-12 | 10 28-9 | $0.00 |
| 13 | SKEET REESE | AUBURN, CA | 3 11-5 | 5 17-2 | 8 28-7 | $0.00 |
I am also really suprised how bad Casey Ashley stumbled on Day 2, guess the hometown pressures that get most home town Classic favorites got him as well.
Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog
