EUFAULA, Ala. – Yesterday we saw a large number of 5-pounders caught including a 6-pounder and Brandon Coulter’s 7-14 big bass of the day. The anglers taking the water in Group B today will still experience some post-frontal conditions as they try to put themselves in a position to make the Top 20 come Monday.
3:27 p.m. CST — There’s only 30 minutes remaining in Qualifying Round Day 2 and the afternoon bite has picked up for a few anglers. We now only have three anglers without a scorable bass on SCORETRACKER®: Mike Iaconelli, Jason Christie and Gerald Spohrer. It looks like Jacob Wheeler will keep his lead heading into Monday with Wesley Strader 9 pounds behind.
2:46 p.m. CST — Kevin VanDam is now inside the Top 20 after catching a 5-pounder. After a slow start to his day, VanDam has caught three scorable bass in an hour to bring his total to 11 pounds, 2 ounces.
2:15 p.m. CST — There are still 11 anglers still without a scorable bass on SCORETRACKER®. Kevin VanDam finally hooked his first of the day with a 2-10.
1:17 p.m. CST — Period 2 is wrapped up so we will have a 15-minute break before Period 3 begins. Jacob Wheeler remains at the top spot on SCORETRACKER® with 40 pounds. Wesley Strader is in second place with 28-4 and Bobby Lane is in third with 25-11. Randall Tharp isn’t getting a lot of bites but he is making them count. Tharp has five fish for 23 pounds for one of the highest averages of the day.
12:21 p.m. CST — Edwin Evers is on SCORETRACKER® after catching a 2-6 in Period 2. The defending REDCREST Champion is hoping to string something together this afternoon.
11:07 a.m. CST — Bobby Lane and Randall Tharp are the only two anglers to catch a bass over 5 pounds in Group B. Jacob Wheeler, Adrian Avena, Michael Neal, and David Dudley have caught 4-pounders.
10:53 a.m. CST — One period is in the books and Period 2 is well underway. Jacob Wheeler continues to lead with Bobby Lane only 2-9 behind. There are still 20 anglers without a scorable bass today.
10:18 a.m. CST — Randall Tharp has told me time and time again that he is always on the hunt for bigger bites, not quantity. He is proving that to be true today with only three fish on SCORETRACKER® but with 14 pounds, 6 ounces. Tharp just caught a 5-pounder and that will definitely not be his last of this event.
10:02 a.m. CST — Jacob Wheeler is making his presence known on Lake Eufaula. The Tennessee pro has used two 4-pounders to catch up to Bobby Lane and tie him at the top of SCORETRACKER®. Wheeler and Lane are 7-14 ahead of Wesley Strader.
9:02 a.m. CST — One hour into Period 1 of the second Qualifying Round and it’s another Lane dominating SCORETRACKER®: Bobby Lane, in this case. The Florida pro has opened up a fast 12-pound lead, thanks to a seven-fish flurry that put 19-9 on the board in the first hour of competition. Bobby’s biggest fish so far is a 5-1.
8:32 a.m. CST — James Watson leads right now after posting two 3-pounders. Watson does not have a camera in his boat but JT Kenney predicted that he wouldn’t be surprised to find Watson near a bank somewhere.
8:02 a.m. CST — Edwin Evers is starting at the exact same place that we saw Chris Lane, Todd Faircloth, and Stephen Browning find success yesterday. Edwin just told the camera that this is the exact same spot where he won a B.A.S.S. event back in 2003 as a then 28-year-old pro. JT Kenney just mentioned that Zack Birge is joining Evers in that same spot. It should be quite the popular spot once again even though the pump is not on and pumping water.
7:52 a.m. CST — There wasn’t a lot of bass on SCORETRACKER® yesterday, but the bass that did show up were impressive in sizes. That’s what the pros in Group B are hoping for today. Rob Newell just gave us a report where he said that some of the anglers he talked to were impressed that the anglers in Group A caught them as well as they did. Newell mentioned Dustin Connell by name saying that he expects the Alabama pro to go to one spot to start the morning and just hang out there all day long.