OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – The leaderboard did some serious shuffling on Day 2 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division event on Lake of the Ozarks. With breezy, damp weather combined with dropping temperatures rolling in, the pros who adapted best shot up the leaderboard. Today, three pros caught more than 20 pounds, and David Brand walloped 21 pounds, 5 ounces to jump from 14th into the lead with a 36-7 total.
Dropping one spot after catching 15-10 for a 35-3 total, Chad Satterlee stayed very much in the mix, and Cole Breeden, Brad Jelinek and Joe Bennett round out the top five. With a cold, clear day on tap for Championship Thursday, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen – certainly there’s a chance for even more movement on the leaderboard.
In the lead on the co-angler side, Justin Girton has now limited two days in a row and boasts a 26-1 total. In pursuit, Jason Sandidge has tallied 20-13 through two days and is the only other co-angler to limit both days.
Big Day 2 boosts Brand
On Day 1, Brand didn’t make the most of his three hours of LiveScope. On Day 2, that was emphatically not the case, as the local angler and vice president of Piros Sign Company put the pedal down on cut day.
“It was fun, man, it was fun,” he said. “It was one of those deals, it’s a pocket that I knew about; I’ve caught ‘em before in it. They weren’t really in there in practice, but I ran in and checked today, and it was loaded.”
Both days, Brand has started right out of the gate with his LiveScope on.
“I feel like the bite was better first thing in the morning – for me, anyway,” he said. “My strategy was ‘let’s get in there, let’s go for it.’ Partly because I think the bite is better, but also to get there before anybody else gets to it. There are fish that are moving up and down and in and out, but there’s also a group of fish hanging out on brushpiles and stumps.”
That strategy didn’t entirely work on Day 1, but he still came out of the day very much in position.
“Yesterday, at the end of my three-hour ‘Scope time, I was freaking out – I had a 4-pounder and a spotted bass and that was it. I was like ‘oh man, I’ve got to go figure this out.’ I ended up catching almost everything without ‘Scope yesterday, just fishing secondary points and channel banks – places that hold fish.”
Given a chance at a re-do on Day 2, Brand tried a new starting hole, and it paid off.
“Today, I ended up finding some big ones on ‘Scope first thing,” he said. “It’s a nice little mixture. I had my three big ones on ‘Scope, I caught a limit on it, but I ended up culling my No. 4 and No. 5 fish multiple times without ‘Scope.”
Fishing on his home lake, Brand isn’t too worried about the weather change coming. In fact, to hear him tell it, he’s more worried about finishing up some work than stressing about hoisting a trophy.
“I haven’t really thought about it – I’ve been thinking about stuff I need to do on the laptop,” he said. “I’m really blessed, I’m fortunate that my wife, Hillary, and our kids are so supportive of my fishing obsession. I’m not stressed at all. I want to win, absolutely, I feel like I’m around fish, and if things go well, I can, but at the end of the day, if I don’t, I don’t.”
Satterlee still in the hunt
Despite forgetting his LiveScope graph in the truck, Satterlee still put up a solid Day 2. Turns out, it’s very possible to catch a good bag without all the modern amenities.
“I’m still just junk fishing, running around, fishing what looks good,” said the Illinois angler. “I just never had a really big bite – I caught quite a few keepers, a dozen, maybe 15. I just never had a big bite.”
As for the stress of Day 3 and a shot to win big, Satterlee and Brand are perhaps the most relaxed tournament leaders you could find.
“I’m going to go out and fish – it is what it is,” he said. “Sometimes you catch ‘em, sometimes you don’t.”
Top 10 pros
1. David Brand – 36 – 7 (10)
2. Chad Satterlee – 35 – 3 (10)
3. Cole Breeden – 34 – 7 (10)
4. Brad Jeline – 33 – 7 (10)
5. Joe Bennett – 32 – 6 (10)
6. Cory Steckler – 31 – 7 (10)
7. BJ Fitzgerald – 31 – 3 (10)
8. Andy Newcomb – 31 – 2 (10)
9. Adam Boehle – 31 – 0 (10)
10. Jeremy Johnson – 30 – 15 (10)