Chris Zaldain had already posted at extraordinary day by 9:30 this morning. We've been watching him for the last 30 minutes. He's caught a few fish, but he needs a good one to help the limit he's already boxed. It includes a 9-pounder, a 5 and three 3-pounders. That adds up to 23 pounds, if his estimates are close.
Zaldain held up the 9-pounder for Steve Bowman to photograph.
"I caught those two big ones on 6-pound-test line," Zaldain said. "It was a Gong Show."
But after getting dragged around for awhile, he landed them both. Zaldain is fishing an area that he'd planned to use if the wind blew today, which it has not. He's got a plan for the rest of the tournament that doesn't include this place.
And he's not done yet today.
"I'm going to keep working," Zaldain said. "I feel relaxed. It's never like this."
Zaldain is one of those guys who has had a tough start this season. He really needed a day like the one he's already had so far.