A Vegas card dealer couldn’t have shuffled a deck of cards any better than what happened Saturday with the standings on Day 2 of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.
In typical Conroe fashion, the big fish cooperated for some and went AWOL for others, thus leading to a stunning leaderboard.
The most notable change was Day 1 leader Kelly Jordon of Texas, who started the day with a 7 pound 8 ounce cushion, falling from first to eighth place. Other notable changes include Michael Iaconelli’s leap from eighth place to third and Todd Auten of South Carolina going from 14th to sixth. But most notably, Oklahoma veteran Edwin Evers jumped all the way from 25th place to fourth.
Here’s a look at the Tundra 10 who will fish Sunday with their total fish and total weight. Their standing from yesterday is in parenthesis.
1) Brian Snowden – 10: 36-08 (2nd)
2) Dave Lefebre – 10: 33-00 (4th)
3) Mike Iaconelli – 8: 32-05 (8th)
4) Edwin Evers – 10: 30-04 (25th)
5) Keith Combs – 10: 29-04 (6th)
6) Todd Auten – 10: 28-08 (14th)
7) Rusty Salewske – 10: 28-04 (9th)
8) Kelly Jordon – 6: 28-00 (1st)
9) Russ Lane – 10: 27-08 (11th)
10) Takahiro Omori – 10: 27-00 (16th)
With only the Tundra 10 fishing Sunday, there will be less pressure and the anglers will have more freedom to move around. But Conroe is known as a lake that doesn’t handle pressure very well, and overnight temperatures are supposed to drop another 5 degrees. That may have an effect on the bite.
Here’s a look at what the top anglers had to say about their day.
Snowden – Dead day didn’t hurt him
Brian Snowden’s day started off good but quickly slowed down. Fortunately, he got the right bites at the right time.
“The day overall was dead compared to yesterday,” he said. “There wasn’t any fish or bait movement like there has been, which really surprised me.
“The morning started off great, though. I had three fish in the first hour and then I got the big fish at 10 a.m. Overall, I only caught six keeper fish but I caught a lot of shorts.”
He didn’t have any problems with traffic.
“I didn’t have anyone around me at all,” he said. “Kelly and I have been rotating a couple spots but I’ve mostly been fishing some areas off the beaten path. Hopefully the locals let me have it one more day.”
He’s pumped about being in the lead going into the final day.
“Most guys say it’s better to be in second or third going into the last day but I’m loving being in first. I could have a bad day like Kelly did (Saturday) but anything can happen.
“I do have a few spots that produced in practice that were good that no one has fished yet. Hopefully they’ll produce for me.”
Lefebre – Waiting to pounce
Dave Lefebre seems to own this lake. He won last year’s event and is poised to snatch it from the grasp of Snowden. He might, if he can keep some big ones pinned.
“Today started out just like Friday – not good,” he said. “I lost a 4 1/2 pounder on my first cast trying to swing it into the boat. Then a couple casts later I lost a 3-pounder. If I can just convert everything (Sunday), I have a chance.”
He caught an “over” – a bass measuring at least 21 inches - Saturday at 9 a.m., had his limit by noon and caught six keepers total.
Iaconelli – Two days, two “overs”
Although Ike only caught three fish, and one of them, a 9-08 toad, made up for the missing fish. But Sunday, he’ll have to capitalize on all his bites.
“I had six bites and only put three in the boat,” he said. “Thankfully the big fish got me into the cut.
“(Sunday) I have to catch everything in order to win. If I do that, I’ll have a chance.”
This is his first time on Lake Conroe and he’s just covering as much water as he can.
“I’m fishing the shaky head and football head (jig) fast and using them to feel my way around,” he said. “If I feel a hard bottom, I know to slow down – if not, I keep moving. It’s kind of like what I was doing at (Lake) Jordan (in the Bassmaster post-season).
“I’m also using the conditions and spot to determine what bait I’m throwing. If it’s windy I’m throwing the football head and if it’s calm and there’s minimal cover, I’m using the shaky head.”
His tackle consists of a 3/8-ounce Berkley Gripper Jig in natural craw, and he’s using a 6-inch Berkley Power Shaky Head worm (color – The General) that he’s cutting down to five inches. He’s throwing the football head on 15-pound line and the shaky head on 6-pound line. He caught his big fish on the shaky head.
“Today I fished about 60 percent new water,” he added. “Two of my good fish today came from water I hadn’t fished before.
“Sunday I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing and hope it pans out,” he added. “There’s no way I’m changing my game plan.”
Evers – One day makes a difference
Evers made a stellar jump from mid-pack to being in contention. What changed? His fish bit today
“I didn’t do anything different than I did (Friday) but today, my fish bit,” he said. “I caught three early and had my limit by 9 a.m. and by the end of the day, I had 11 keepers.”
His strategy is going to be the same.
“I’m going to keep running,” he said. “I’ll just run the same areas and hope it all comes together. Anything can happen – look what (Kelly) Jordon did yesterday and what Brian (Snowden) did today.”
Combs – On a roll
“I thought I messed up today,” Combs said. “I figured I’d need 13 to 14 pounds but it all worked out.
“I didn’t fish any different than I did Friday,” he added. “I’m running hard and fishing as much water as I can. Today I made 45 stops and had 11 keepers.”
He’s fishing all by himself.
“I haven’t seen anyone fishing my areas but I think the boat traffic today hurt the bite,” he said. “In fact, I didn’t catch a fish after 11 a.m.. If that happens again Sunday, I’ll probably have to slow down a little and fish more methodically.”
Others in the top 10
Auten – “I had about 8 or 9 keepers, about the same as Friday. I caught chunkier fish but I didn’t get any of the big bites. I made the top 10 and I’m happy to be here to fish another day.”
Salewske – “This has been a dream come true. Now I just have to figure out the morning bite better. That’s my only problem I have. My fish are biting late. I’m trying to talk the tournament officials into letting me fish an extra hour.
Jordon – “I got first shot today on my best spot and it was deader than a hammer. Then is seemed all the small fish moved in on my spots and chased the quality fish off.”
Sunday’s launch starts at 7:30 a.m. at Papa’s on the Lake. Weigh-in begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Lone Star Convention & Expo Center in Conroe.
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