After two rounds of the first Bassmaster Elite Series event to utilize two lakes, two anglers are tied for the lead.
Chris Zaldain of San Jose, Calif., and Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., each totaled 30 pounds, 14 ounces after Friday's second round of the Elite Series event on Bull Shoals Lake near Mountain Home. Thursday's opening round was held on nearby Norfork Lake.
Bassmaster Elite Series
Leaders after Friday’s second round of the Bassmaster Elite Series event being held Norfork Lake and Bull Shoals Lake. Friday’s fishing was held on Bull Shoals, as will today’s. The field was cut to the top 50 anglers after the second round. After today’s third round, all but the top 12 will be eliminated for the final round, which will be on Norfork:
DAY 2 TOTAL
POS. ANGLER, HOMETOWN FISH WGT FISH WGT
1.) Bill Lowen, Brookville, Ind .......................................... 5 17-4 10 30-14
(tie) Chris Zaldain, San Jose, Calif. ................................ 5 14-12 10 30-14
3.) Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala. ...................................... 5 14-13 10 30-10
4.) Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J. ...................................... 5 15-15 10 29-15
5.) Randall Tharp, Port St. Joe, Fla. ................................ 5 13-12 10 29-4
6.) David Mullins, Mount Carmel, Tenn. .......................... 5 13-13 10 28-11
7.) Carl Jocumsen, Frisco, Texas ..................................... 5 17-0 10 28-9
8.) Matt Herren, Ashville, Ala. .......................................... 5 11-6 10 28-6
9.) Jacob Powroznik, Port Haywood, Va. ........................ 5 15-8 10 28-1
10.) Greg Hackney, Gonzales, La. .................................... 5 13-0 10 27-12
ARKANSANS
11.) Mike McClelland, Bella Vista .................................... 5 16-10 10 27-11
25.) Mark Davis, Mount Ida ............................................. 5 13-10 10 25-12
64.) Stephen Browning, Hot Springs .............................. 5 17-8 7 22-7
77.) Scott Rook, Little Rock ............................................. 5 10-4 10 21-0
79.) Billy McCaghren, Mayflower .................................... 5 12-6 9 20-14
The field of 108 anglers was cut to the top 50 after Friday's round and will be trimmed to the top 12 after today's round, which also will be held on Bull Shoals. The anglers will return to Norfork for Sunday's championship round.
Two Arkansans advanced to today's third round. Bella Vista's Mike McCelland had a limit of five bass weighing 16-10 on Friday -- including the day's big bass at 5-6 -- and jumped from 40th to 11th with a 27-11 total. Mount Ida's Mark Davis had 13-10 on Friday, dropping one spot to 25th with a 25-12 total.
Zaldain caught 16-2 in the opening round and jumped from third place to the lead after weighing in a 14-12 stringer Friday.
"For me, [Friday] was all about just hanging in there," Zaldain said. "Days 2 and 3 on Bull Shoals are the meat of the tournament. You don't have to completely knock it out of the park. You just need better-than-average days to make it back to Norfork Sunday."
After having a big opening day on Norfork, Zaldain said there were times when his mind drifted back to that lake Friday. But he stayed focused on Bull Shoals and put together a five-bass limit with a drop shot rig.
He said the finesse approach allowed him to go behind other anglers, catching fish they might have missed. But the bite slowed for him around midday.
"I had a real bad lull about 11:30," said Zaldain, who has two career Elite Series victories. "On the way back in, I did check a couple of areas where I've done well here in the past, and I had a couple of bites doing that. So I have those if I need them."
While Zaldain had his big day on Norfork, Lowen used Bull Shoals to make a big move Friday.
After weighing a 13-10 stringer at Norfork in the first round, the shallow-water specialist who grew up fishing the Ohio River caught 17-4 Friday and moved from 11th place into a tie for the lead.
"I'm fishing for some bass that a lot of guys are missing because they're not fishing shallow enough," said Lowen, who has no victories and three second-place finishes in 108 career Elite Series starts. "If my trolling motor is not turning up mud, I can't catch them.
"I'm fishing the way I like to fish. And any time you can do that, it's a big plus because you feel confident making adjustments when you need to."
Although some anglers were bothered by the dropping water level at Bull Shoals, Lowen said it played to his strengths. In addition to climbing the leaderboard Friday, he said he identified several new lures the fish will bite going into today's round.
"It's a huge plus when you can have three or four baits that will catch them in your area," he said. "I noticed that the water level has dropped about 6 inches, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm actually glad it happened."
Instead of creating a distraction, Zaldain said the possibility of returning to Norfork is providing an incentive to fish harder.
"In the back of my head, I know what's waiting for me at Norfork," he said. "There's no certainty in fishing. But just seeing the fish I saw on Norfork gives me all of the confidence to get after them and do what I need to do here."
Keith Poche of Pike Road, Ala., was 4 ounces behind Zaldain and Lowen at 30-10. Adrian Avena (29-15) of Vineland, N.J., and Randall Tharp (29-4) of Port St. Joe, Fla., rounded out the top five. Greg Hackney (27-12), who is originally from Star City and now lives in Gonzales, La., is in 10th place.
Today's takeoff is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. at Bull Shoals Boat Dock. Sunday's takeoff will be at 6:15 a.m. at Lake Norfork Marina.
Daily weigh-ins will be held at 3:45 p.m. on the campus of Arkansas State-Mountain Home.
Sports on 04/23/2016