James Elam caught the first bass of Day 3 with a 3-pound, 5-ounce smallmouth at 6:48 a.m., according to the BASSTrakk Twitter feed. Elam is probably locked in to the top 40 already, as he began the day in 19th place with 26-5.
The Tulsa, Okla., native already had his Classic berth all but sewed up after winning the Central Open at Fort Gibson recently. (He must compete in the final Central Open at Table Rock Lake to make it official.) It's Elam being double-qualified that extends the AOY Classic berths to its current projected number of 40.
It been a special four weeks for Elam, who desperately wanted to qualify for the 2016 Classic since it's on his home lake – Grand Lake O' The Cherokees. He was 50th in the AOY standings entering the last regular season Elite Series tournament at Lake St. Clair, where he finished 10th. Getting double-qualified for the Classic was the last thing on his mind at Detroit. He was just trying to make sure he stayed in the AOY top 50 so he would qualify to fish here this week.