Harris Chain Day 2 Coverage
Webster has a good one, Jonathan Henry has changed things up
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Top five patterns from day one
2:25 Time to get ready for weigh-in
That’s it for the blog today, folks. Weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. ET, and it should be a good one. Not only will we crown a co-angler champion, but there should be a lot of leaderboard shuffling and the fishing has been decent today. We’re sure to see some big bass (it’s Florida, after all), and only the top 20 will fish tomorrow.
2:15 JTK update
“Dude, it was even a giant in my book,” says JT Kenney of one he just lost. Luckily, he culled with a 3-pounder on nearly the next cast. He says he’s got a limit for about 12 pounds.
2:00 Gagliardi is doing well
Anthony Gagliardi says he’s got about 15 pounds in the ‘well. Curtis Richardson also has a limit, but none of his are very big.
1:54 Jocumsen update
Carl Jocumsen says he’s got about 13 or 14 pounds. He just lost a good one that’s he’s sure would have put him in the cut to fish the weekend. Even so, he’s probably in, which means we all get at least one more day of Roo!
1:28 Scanlon has a limit
Casey Scanlon has a limit for about 12 pounds now as well. Alex Davis has a limit, but only for about 8 pounds. Also, Jonathan Henry just culled up a bit.
1:23 Jonathan Henry has changed things up
On day one Jonathan Henry started in the Apopka Canal. On day two, we just found him in Lake Griffin. Henry says he’s got about 12 pounds, but one of his keepers is a 6-pounder.
1:07 Webster has a good one
Getting a big bite is always the name of the game in Florida. Today, Joseph Webster is doing his part – he’s got a 5-pounder and some small ones to fill out the rest of his limit. Also, Greg Bohannan has a limit for about 11 pounds.
12:50 More updates
Brandon McMillan believes that having a GoPro is a curse, but so far he doesn’t need the help. After a strong start, Big Mac has just four little ones well past noon. Jay Kendrick, who also did well on day one, has a small limit to his credit. Braxton Setzer also has a limit, and his is worth about 10 pounds.
12:40 LeHew is moving again
After some time in the pads, Shane LeHew has pulled out a lipless and is headed for some offshore grass. He’s been really versatile today, and is one good one away from a really nice limit.
12:31 A couple reports
Timmy Thompkins has four little ones in the livewell. Matt Arey is in similar straits, but he’s at least got a limit. Chris Whitson also has a limit, and though it isn't huge, we don't have a read on the actual size.
12:24 Cox limits, Schmitt culls
John Cox as filled his limit out with a 2-pounder. He’s not on the leading pace from day one, but he’s for sure on a cut-making pace. Bryan Schmitt might be on that pace too. He’s culled up some with a 3-pounder on a frog and is having another solid day.
12:10 Tough going for Tennessee
Jason Lambert has zero bass so far. Andy Morgan has a tiny limit and says he’s on plan C. He’s got some time life, and he usually hits some fish before he gets halfway through the alphabet.
12:05 LeHew is back in the pads
Shane LeHew has left his sight-fishing deal as the wind has picked up and moved back to the pads. He and Brandon Cobb are now fishing near each other and having something of a team meeting. Cobb says he’s got about what he caught on day one.
11:55 Cox lands another
After about an hour spent on here, Cox has managed to pluck his fourth keeper off her bed. It’s a solid fish, perhaps 3 pounds, which pushes him up past 10 pounds and just one shy of a limit.
11:52 Littles for Hays, Schmitt is doing ok
Dylan Hays has three little ones – he caught one before the Apopka lock and two after.
Doing better, Bryan Schmitt has a limit for about 11 pounds. One of them is a 4-pounder, so he’s got a good base to build from.
11:40 Thrift has made a few culls, Cox has three
Bryan Thrift has made a few small upgrades since we last checked in with him. He’s got 13 or 14 pounds in the boat now.
John Cox did catch one off that bed, but it was only about 2 pounds. So, now he’s got three medium/small fish to get his day going. He's still wokring that same bed, so he probably jsut caught the buck off it.
11:28 Atkins has a good limit
Justin Atkins has a limit for 13 pounds now. He’s got one big one and three real dinkers, so each cull will be pretty impactful. He's also catching some slab crappie.
11:22 Cox is on one
John Cox has been working one on a bed for the past 20 minutes or so. No word on how big it is, but it’s probably at least decent.
11:10 Moynagh limits
Jim Moynagh has filled out his limit with some more dinks. He’s got five, but they might be the smallest ones in the lake.
11:05 Felix lands a good one
Took about 25 minutes, but Austin Felix finally landed the 5-pounder he was working on. Turns out it’s all of 5 and gives him a limit.
11:00 Make it four for LeHew
Shane LeHew’s fourth is another 2-pounder. He’s caught each of the last three keepers sight-fishing and we estimate his weight at about 13 or 14 pounds.
10:57 Thrift limits
Bryan Thrift’s fifth keeper is just a little dude. Knowing Thrift, he’ll cull that one out by the end of the day. Thrift set an FLW Tour record of four consecutive top-10 finishes down at Travis. He’d like to extend that streak this week.
10:53 Cox has his second
Fishing way back in a canal near Beauclair, John Cox caught himself a 3-pounder for number two. Cox has a very late check-in today, so a slow pace really isn’t much of a concern for him.
10:43 Another for LeHew
Shane LeHew’s third fish isn’t nearly the size of his first, but it is about 2 pounds, which ain’t half bad.
Jim Moynagh just caught his third keeper as well, but all his are tiny. Zack Birge has three keepers as well and is headed into Harris through the Dead River. Still down in the Apopka Canal, Austin Felix has four now, and is working on a 5-pounder on a bed.
Also, it's worth noting that Jeff Dobson never did catch that big one on a bed. He's hunting for more now.
10:35 Thrift’s little flurry
Fishing offshore grass with a lipless in Griffin, Thrift has very quickly caught three keepers. He’s got four keepers total now, and they’re all decent quality. He probably has more than 10 pounds.
10:27 Two fish
Bryan Thrift just caught his third keeper – it’s not anything special. Jim Moynagh just caught his second keeper, which is really small.
10:23 Two for “Smoke”
Over in Griffin, Bryan Thrift has two in the box and he says one of them is a 3-pounder.
10:20 LeHew adds another
Shane LeHew just plucked a 4-pounder off a bed for his second fish. Now he’s got about 10 pounds or more with just two bass.
10:05 Still one for Frederick and Cox
Both John Cox and Tim Frederick are still stuck with one small keeper. Though Shane LeHew only has the one, it’s a big one – he’s in the lead now. Having started his day fishing pads, LeHew is now moving around looking for beds.
Down by Apopka, Austin Felix has three little keepers. Over in Griffin, Carl Jocumsen’s second keeper goes over the 2-pound mark.
9:45 Moynagh has one
Jim Moynagh is fishing pads in a canal with a spinning rod. He’s got one little fish in the boat so far.
Day one GoPro highlights
9:30 Griffin report
Over in Griffin, a pretty good group of anglers is getting going in the offshore grass there. Josh Douglas caught a small keeper a minute ago, and Clark Wendlandt landed a 3-pounder for his third keeper. Michael Neal is also on the board with a little guy.
9:21 Shane “Big Fish” LeHew is at it again
Shane LeHew said he got lucky on day one, but he’s getting lucky today as well. The Carolina kid just landed a 7-pounder for his first keeper of the day.
9:15 Jeff Dobson has made it into Apopka
Making the long run, Jeff Dobson has started his day in the canal leading into Apopka. He’s headed for a big one he left on a bed on day one.
9:10 Cox has one, Wendlandt has two
Flipping some reeds, John Cox has started his day with a small keeper. Clark Wendlandt is fishing offshore grass, and he just added a small keeper to go with his initial 2-pounder.
9:03 Cox has stopped, Jocumsen is fishing too
John Cox has stopped down in a canal near Beauclair and is fishing now. Over in Griffin, Carl Jocumsen finally got to his water and caught a small keeper almost immediately.
8:58 Wendlandt has one
Fishing over in Griffin, Clark Wendlandt started his day with a chunky 2-pounder. He weighed almost 17 pounds on day one and was tied for 20th. Another good day could make it two cuts in a row for the Texas pro.
8:47 Frederick is on the board
Tim Frederick missed a big blowup on a frog and shortly thereafter boxed up a small keeper.
8:38 Cox is heading far afield
John Cox is heading into the Dora Canal now. He’s got a long day on the water, and it looks like he intends to use it to cover some ground. On day one he nearly made it to Apopka – there’s a good chance he’ll head back that way today as well.
Meanwhile, the first wave of boats just rolled into Griffin.
8:30 Griffin conditions
Our OTW crew just dropped in a Lake Griffin. Unlike day one, there’s no fog in sight there. We don’t know exactly how far the fogless section extends, but it sure bodes well for the anglers making the run and looking to trim as many seconds as possible.
8:28 Moynagh report
Jim Moynagh started out on the east side of Harris, but he quickly picked up and moved because another boat was where he wanted to be. Now he’s headed on down toward Little Harris, where we’ll hopefully learn a little about how he’s fishing.
8:22 Cobb breaks the ice
Fishing near Shane LeHew, Brandon Cobb is the first pro on the board. It’s nothing more than a dink, but it’s the first keeper of the day for Cobb.
8:12 LeHew and Frederick start in Little Harris
Both Shane LeHew and Tim Frederick have started the day pretty close in Little Harris. LeHew appears to have his area to himself at the moment, but there’s enough fog that visibility is still fairly limited.
Takeoff finally completed a few minutes ago, so the whole field is now either running or fishing.
7:45 Game on
It took 45 minutes, but we’re rolling now. Day two is underway!
7:35 Still waiting
The fog is going to clear eventually, it’s got to, but for now things are still pretty socked in at takeoff. Also, for those wondering, a fog delay doesn’t change weigh-in – the pros will need to be back at the same time as usual.
7:00 Cox leads the pack again and we're waiting on fog
Day two of the FLW Tour presented by Ranger is underway on the Harris Chain and it all feels right. Finally, after two miserable tournaments to start the year, John Cox is catching bass again. With 25 pounds, 11 ounces on day one, Cox took the lead early in weigh-in and held on the whole time. Today he’s got a long day to fish, a full tank of gas and as much knowledge as anyone when it comes to fishing the Harris Chain.
It’s a little foggy in Harris today, so we’ll be in a delay for at least a little, but hopefully it doesn’t impact things too much. Because of the long runs some of the anglers are making, time is of the essence. If the fogs sticks around too long, it might hurt folks going to Griffin or elsewhere, like Carl Jocumsen or Jeff Dobson.
Whatever the fog does, it looks like another good day for fishing. The wind isn’t supposed to be too bad, and it's going to be nice and warm again once the sun gets up. The fishing was great on day one – hopefully it’ll be good today as well.
Cox in action on day one
Conditions
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Forecast high: 86 degrees
Sky: clear
Precipitation: 10 percent chance of rain
Wind: W at 11 mph
Tournament Details
Folgers Morning Takeoff: 7 a.m. ET at Ski Beach Park, Lake Harris Drive, Leesburg, Fla.
Weigh-in: Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. ET at Ski Beach Park and 4 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday at Ski Beach Park.
FLW Expo: 12 to 4 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday at Ski Beach Park
FLW Live: Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET