Thursday on the river
Opening-round cuts to be made in Central Division tourney
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Day two is under way at the EverStart Series Central Division contest on the Red River. While sunny skies and soaring temperatures dominated the first day of action, today could be a slightly different – and cooler – story as clouds and a weather front moves through the area.
It’s still pretty warm in northern Louisiana; takeoff temperatures were in the high 70s and highs are expected to reach almost 90 again. But the cloud cover and the possibility of some rain by afternoon could cool things off slightly – and stir up the fishing a little bit.
Danny Gulledge of Hamburg, Ark., took a strong lead in the Pro Division Wednesday with a weight of 18 pounds, 8 ounces. Chris Darby of Mount Ida, Ark., leads the co-anglers with 10-2.
Both divisions will be cut to the top 20 anglers apiece based on a two-day combined weight following Thursday’s fishing action. For a 158-boat field, catch weights were relatively light on day one. So look for the pros to need around 16 pounds to make the cut and the co-anglers 9 or 10 pounds.
Thursday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at Morgan’s Landing located at 160 Rufus Morgan Road near Natchitoches.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:09 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 77 degrees
Expected high temperature: 87 degrees
Water temperature at the ramp: 89 degrees
Wind: from the south at 3 mph
Relative humidity: 94 percent
Day’s outlook: afternoon thunderstorms
Day-two links: