Cherokee Lake Day 2 Coverage
Upshaw and company hoping for another solid day in east Tennessee
QUICK LINKS
FLW Live Leaderboard – CLICK HERE
Day one leader story – CLICK HERE
Day 2 OTW Gallery – CLICK HERE
1:05 p.m. – That's a wrap
Austin Felix finally bumped into a good fish – a 4-pounder. That fish has him back up in the top 10 on the leaderboard.
Derrick Snavely just updated that he has 16 pounds in the box. Referring to his weight estimate, he said, “I’m really bad at guessing that stuff.” If he actually has a limit worth 16 pounds, Derrick would be in the top 10 (of course, he might have more than that, too).
At that, we’re wrapping up the blog and FLW Live Leaderboard for the day. Cherokee Lake started out on fire this morning, but the rain and unstable weather seems to have slowed things down a touch. Still, plenty of limits are going to cross the stage at today’s weigh-in.
The only thing that’s really certain is that Andrew Upshaw is the clear-cut leader. It will be hard for anyone to cut into his 3-pound lead. Everything after that is in the air. With how close the weights are, it wouldn’t be surprising to see guys climb way up the leaderboard if they get a few big bites late in the day.
12:45 p.m. – Frederick, Monsoor
Tim Frederick finally got things going today. We checked on him and he was up to 16 pounds. He had to battle through a long dry spell this morning where he couldn’t buy a bite. His bag has him all the way up into third place, unofficially.
Things are trickier for Tom Monsoor today. The Wisconsin pro has a couple good ones, but his other three are fish that he’d prefer to get rid of. Tom said “it’s a tougher day with the swim-jig.”
11:55 p.m. – Personal retreads
It sounds like Jon Englund isn’t the only angler hooking up with the same fish more than once. While working through a smallmouth bedding area, Andrew Upshaw was able to catch a few of the exact same fish that he caught yesterday. None of the fish helped him cull, but they could easily be money in the bank for him tomorrow. He is using a few larger profile baits in hopes of getting a couple big bites.
Grae Buck is unofficially in second place with his 16-pound, 8-ounce limit. He is still strictly targeting smallies.
There’s a small front of storm clouds rolling in from the west. It’s bound to hit the lake shortly, but shouldn't last too long.
11:25 p.m. – Chipping away
Brandon McMillan, Andrew Upshaw, Josh Douglas and Matt Becker have each made small culls within the last 10 minutes. Upshaw unofficially has a three-pound lead, which is a lot with how this tournament is fishing. Jon Englund hooked and broke off the same fish twice in a row. You almost expect those sorts of things when spunky smallmouths are biting.
The main dose of rain has all but passed on the lower end of the lake. We’re also noticing some wind pick up. A few anglers were saying that when the wind picked up yesterday the bite got better.
11:00 a.m. – Upshaw culls
Andrew’s limit is now up to about 17 pounds. He was able to get rid of a couple 2 1/2-pounders. He has been using a spinning rod for the majority of the day and it looks like every fish is completely choking whatever bait he is using.
We’re hitting that point of the day where the anglers’ start thinking of ways to get big bites to upgrade their cookie-cutter limits. One 4-pounder could go a really long way for someone on the bubble of cutting a check or make the cut.
Also, it’s raining pretty good across Cherokee Lake. Other than soaking everything it hasn’t seemed to have affected much. The rain should be on/off through the early afternoon.
10:15 a.m. – Bigger bags
Dylan Hays is back in the top five after filling out his limit. We saw him throwing moving baits along shore. He has a largemouth in his livewell that’s a 4-pounder. A few more of them big girls and Hays could be in contention for the lead.
Pennsylvania pro Grae Buck is finding his groove this morning on Cherokee as he has almost 15 pounds in the box. His marshal says “Grae is putting on a smallmouth bass clinic.”
Minnesota pro Jon Englund might be working on the biggest bag of the tournament. Englund’s marshal says he has more than 18 pounds in the boat. Englund has been using a variety of baits this morning. It looks like he is fishing with similar baits as most other anglers on Cherokee, but clearly he has something else figured out.
9:45 a.m. – Logan, AOY
Wes Logan has been quiet the last few tournaments, but he might be changing things around now. We just got a marshal report that Logan has 17 pounds in the box. He is bouncing around a few of Cherokee’s many islands. He might need another pound or so to make the cut, but it’s still a good sign for the Alabama pro.
We are also keeping a close eye on Miles Burghoff today. Yesterday the rookie gained nearly 50 points on Terry Bolton in the AOY race. Depending how the two finish the day, we could possible see some shake-ups in the standings.
9:15 a.m. – Top 10 has limited
We officially have limits for the current top 10 on the FLW Live Leaderboard. Day-one leader Andrew Upshaw is still looking for upgrades. He has one 4 1/2-pounder and four smaller fish. He said that once he gets 16 pounds he might change tactics and strictly look for bigger bites. Andy Young is right on the heels of Upshaw with his 15-pound limit. All of Young's fish are smallmouths. Scott Martin has already made a few culls this morning and is sitting in third place, unofficially.
|
1 |
ANDREW UPSHAW |
18 – 6 (5) |
14 – 8 (5) |
32 – 14 (10) |
|
|
2 |
ANDY YOUNG |
17 – 2 (5) |
15 – 0 (5) |
32 – 2 (10) |
0 – 12 |
|
3 |
SCOTT MARTIN |
16 – 8 (5) |
14 – 4 (5) |
30 – 12 (10) |
2 – 2 |
|
4 |
DERRICK SNAVELY |
16 – 8 (5) |
13 – 8 (5) |
30 – 0 (10) |
2 – 14 |
|
5 |
GRAE BUCK |
16 – 6 (5) |
12 – 12 (5) |
29 – 2 (10) |
3 – 12 |
|
6 |
JASON REYES |
17 – 2 (5) |
11 – 12 (5) |
28 – 14 (10) |
4 – 0 |
|
7 |
RON NELSON |
16 – 12 (5) |
12 – 0 (5) |
28 – 12 (10) |
4 – 2 |
|
8 |
JOEY CIFUENTES |
15 – 9 (5) |
12 – 12 (5) |
28 – 5 (10) |
4 – 9 |
|
9 |
BRAD KNIGHT |
12 – 15 (5) |
14 – 0 (5) |
26 – 15 (10) |
5 – 15 |
|
10 |
REX HUFF |
15 – 0 (5) |
11 – 8 (5) |
26 – 8 (10) |
6 – 6 |
8:40 a.m. – Limits galore
It is straight fire on Cherokee Lake right now. On the FLW Live Leaderboard we are already seeing a handful of limits along with a ton of fish being caught. Andrew Upshaw has his limit in the boat and is now looking for upgrades. Fishing near Upshaw is Brandon McMillan, who had a quick limit too. The largest bag of the day so far is 14 pounds, and it belongs to Brad Knight. We’re likely to have another 100+ limits if the bite keeps up like it is.
One factor to pay attention to throughout the day is fishing pressure. We have seen a lot of guys either fish next to each other or running the same spots all day. A few local boats are even showing up to get in on the action. With how many 2-pounders are in the lake the pros will still get a bunch of limits, but the 3- to 4-pounders could be more scarce as the tournament progresses.
8 a.m. – The action is hot early
Pros are wasting little time getting the action started this morning, which suggests we're going to enjoy a good old-fashioned shootout on Cherokee Lake today.
Andrew Upshaw has there nice keepers for 8-plus pounds and is the current unofficial leader.
Joey Cifuentes, Brandon McMillan and Chris Neau all have limits already.
Grae Buck's pair of keepers includes a 4-plus.
Corey Neece has four nice fish, while Dylan Hays and Derrick Snavely each has a pair of 3-pounders.
Toss in a slew of pros with one or two keepers, and you can safely say the catching is good this morning.
6:45 a.m. – Andrew Upshaw and Dylan Hays lead the way
Oklahoma pro Andrew Upshaw's 18-plus-pound day-one performance has him atop the field at the FLW Tour event presented by Lowrance on Cherokee Lake, but he shouldn't feel comfortable with his lead. Dylan Hays is just 9 ounces back, and there's a squad of hammers trailing by less than a couple pounds. A lot of leaderboard shifting could certainly go down today.
Conditions will vary today compared to yesterday's beautiful sunny skies and high temperatures, and the weather is going to have a big impact. The forecast calls for cloudy skies, a 30 percent chance of rain and possible thunderstorms midday. The largemouth sight-fishermen are going to have a much tougher time, while the smallmouth anglers might enjoy better action because smallmouths are notorious for chomping when the weather's foul.
The pros are off and at it here on day two. Stay tuned to the blog for summaries of the action throughout the day, and follow the FLW Live Leaderboard to see who's catching fish.
CONDITIONS
Temperature at takeoff: 65 degrees
Forecast high: 74 degrees
Sky: mostly cloudy
Precipitation: 30 percent chance of rain with possible scattered thunderstorms
Wind: SW at 10 to 15 mph
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Presented by Lowrance
Hosted by the Jefferson County Economic Development Alliance
Takeoff: 7 a.m. ET at TVA Dam Boat Launch, Renfro Rd., Jefferson City, TN
Weigh-in: 3 p.m. ET at TVA Dam Boat Launch days one and two; 4 p.m. ET at TVA Dam Boat Launch days three and four
FLW Expo: 2 p.m. ET through the end of weigh-in at TVA Dam Boat launch
FLW Live: 2:30 p.m. ET through the end of weigh-in