After today's weigh-in the 107-man field will be reduced to the top 50. Here's the number to keep in mind – 32 lbs., 6 ounces. That would be double the 50th-place weight from Day 1 of 16-3 by Joe Sancho.
Two years ago here, 50th place on Day 1 was 17-3, and the cut weight ended up being 34-2, only 4 ounces short of the doubling-Day 1 formula. Even though many anglers expected the weights to be significantly less this year, based on practice, the results are starting to look remarkably the same.
And here's the thing about smallmouth bass-dominated fisheries everywhere: The 50 cut will be decided by ounces. In 2013, Chris Zaldain and Kurt Dove tied for 50th place at 34-2, and Zaldain made the cut on a tiebreaker.