CLEWISTON, Fla. – Staying steady in Florida is never easy, and it was particularly not easy on Day 2 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division event on Lake Okeechobee. While the leaderboard jumbled up behind him, with some notable rises and drops, Robert Branagh brought 24 pounds, 2 ounces to the scale to up his total to 56-4 – two extremely good days of fishing. Staying in second, Parker Knudsen tallied 19-14 on the day for a 51-15 total – good, but off the blistering pace set by Branagh.
On the Strike King co-angler side, Alan Hults has put two days in the upper teens together for a 36-8 total and a share of the lead. Tied by weight, Garrett Vick also has 36-8, but he’s done it with a big Day 1 and only 9-10 on Day 2. Close behind, Rich Frey has totaled up 33-6, which certainly puts him in the hunt. All told, the co-angler weigh-in on Championship Saturday should be pretty exciting.
Slow start doesn’t stop Branagh
The afternoon bite is usually good in Florida, but getting there in a fit state to take advantage of it isn’t easy. While Branagh had most of his weight by 9:30 in the morning on Day 1, that was not exactly the case on Day 2.
“My day was real slow,” said Branagh. “At 12 o’clock, I had 13 pounds in the boat. I went to my primary spot, of course, there’s some locals on it, and another tournament boat. So, I fished it a little bit, left it, went to my secondary spot, caught a limit, and then went to my third spot and culled every fish and jumped off two 8s.”
Lost fish don’t count in the standings, but even landing one of them would have Branagh way ahead of the field, even if he did happen to big-eye them a little.
“Tomorrow, I feel if this rain doesn’t screw them up too bad, I should be okay,” said Branagh. “I should be able to put another 20 on the scale. Tomorrow’s a shorter day, so I’m going to go where I caught them in the afternoon and stick it out there all day.”
Throwing a Bruiser Baits Bullet, Branagh opted to remain coy about his exact pattern, in part because he thinks he’s on to something special.
“Lake Okeechobee right now is fishing so small,” he said. “You’ve got about three key areas with 50 boats. So, it’s like a needle in a haystack. Is the fish going to bite my bait, or is it going bite, you know, the next boat over? I don’t feel that in a tournament of this caliber, you can consistently have a good bag doing that. You might stumble on a good bag one day and fall off the next day. What I’m doing, nobody’s doing. And even if there’s boats in there, they’re not doing what I’m doing. So, I think my chances are a lot better.”
The owner of Aqua Tech Marine, Branagh is not a full-time fisherman, but he’s on the cusp of a second Toyota Series win in just a few years.
“If I win, I win,” Branagh said. “My goal was to make it in the cut so my wife would come to the weigh-in for the first time, and she’s coming. I would be elated to win this again, I mean, I’m a working man, I don’t get to fish every day. I’m just a working man with 11 employees, and I work seven days a week sometimes. So, occasionally, when you can make the cut against these guys with my lifestyle, it’s an accomplishment on its own.”
Top 10 pros
1. Robert Branagh – 56 – 4 (10)
2. Parker Knudsen – 51 – 15 (10)
3. Steve Lopez – 49 – 3 (10)
4. Bobby Bakewell – 48 – 1 (10)
5. Dillon McMillan – 44 – 5 (10)
6. Kyle Glasgow – 43 – 5 (10)
7. Hunter Weston – 41 – 11 (10)
8. Tracen Phillips – 40 – 11 (10)
8. Justin Morgan – 40 – 11 (10)
10. Kyle Cortiana – 39 – 6 (10)