NEENAH, Wis. — During Shotgun Round 1 we saw eight anglers crack the 40-pound mark and leader Gary Klein finishing with 60 pounds, 1 ounce. It should be another beautiful summer day in eastern Wisconsin with sunny skies and temperatures reaching the low-80s. If the wind remains calm until the late afternoon, we could see plenty of pros crack 40 pounds just like yesterday.
2:30 p.m. CT – Jacob Wheeler remains the leader with 49 pounds, significantly less than what we saw Gary Klein reel in yesterday when he broke 60 pounds in Group A.
1:25 p.m. CT – As Period 3 rolls on we shift our focus towards the Elimination Line to see which anglers are fighting to make the Top 20. Zack Birge hold the No. 20 spot but Aaron Martens, Fred Roumbanis and Wesley Strader are less than 1 pound away from overtaking him. Should make for a very entertaining Elimination Round 2 come Friday.
11:36 a.m. CT – Jacob Wheeler is on a roll like we haven’t seen this season. He has qualified for five straight Knockout Rounds, back-to-back Championship Rounds, a win in Stage Seven and he now leads Shotgun Round 2. Wheeler has a chance to come away with the Points Championship, but he needs some help from Edwin Evers and Jeff Sprague. If both Evers and Sprague miss out on the Knockout Round and Wheeler can advance to the Championship Round, it could get very interesting.
10:45 a.m. CT – We have a new leader in Shotgun Round 2: Bobby Lane. Lane has 26-4 and leads Takahiro Omori by 12 ounces. Lane has caught five fish in the last 30 minutes that has helped him jump ahead of Omori. Lane is already locked in to the REDCREST Championship, so a Stage Eight Championship would be icing on the cake.
10:10 a.m. CT – JT Kenney just addressed a question from social media where a fan asked why we have seen so many largemouth bass caught as opposed to smallmouth. Kenney said that smallmouth bass are normally sight feeders, and because of the muddy and heavy stained water, it’s tough for the smallmouth to feed right now. That’s why we are seeing so many more largemouth–95 percent of the bass caught today have been largemouth–than smallmouth.
9:25 a.m. CT – Bobby Lane has already secured himself a spot in this year’s REDCREST, but he’s still fishing for a Stage Eight Championship. Lane is currently in second place behind Takahiro Omori with 18 pounds, 11 ounces.
8:50 a.m. CT – Takahiro Omori and Cody Meyer are both in the non-enviable position of 29th and 30th place in the REDCREST points standings. Both need a top-40 finish to even have a chance at qualifying for the REDCREST. Think they know what’s on the line? The two pros are sitting at first and second on SCORETRACKER® this morning as they are trying to take zero chances with the Elimination Line.
8:10 a.m. CT – Cody Meyer has shot up to the top of SCORETRACKER® this morning in large part due to a few quality fish. Four 2-pounders on the board early for Meyer, all of which he has caught around some docks. Meyer needs all the weight he can get this week since he is currently in 30th place in the REDCREST points standings.
7:25 a.m. CT – Twenty-four anglers are already on SCORETRACKER® not even half an hour into Period 1. Takahiro Omori has been working a crankbait that has helped him land five bass for 7-11. Stephen Browning is in second place with five fish for 5-15. All of his bass have been caught on a chatterbait so far, but he has yet to land a 2-pounder.
7:06 a.m. CT – Marty Robinson starts us off with two quick fish for 3-12. Takahiro Omori is close behind after catching a 2-2 largemouth to begin his day.