Chenault leaps into the lead

In the 2010 Federation Nation Mid-Atlantic Divisional, ideal conditions help Virginia's Allan Chenault vault from 12th to 1st among individual anglers with the tournament's heaviest limit; the wind shifted and so did fortunes.

Day Two Mid Atlantic Divisional Results
SALISBURY, Md. — The wind shifted for Day Two of the Mid-Atlantic Divisional, and so did fortunes. Delaware extended its team lead slightly, but Virginia’s Allan Chenault vaulted from 12th to 1st among individual anglers with the tournament’s heaviest limit, 13-5.

Additionally, West Virginia’s Mike Moore checked in with three bass that weighed 13-2, including a 5-13 largemouth that bested the first day’s big bass by nearly 2 pounds. On Day One, Moore managed only two keepers that weighed 2-13.

Overall, competitors caught both more and bigger fish, with 236 keepers that weighed 357-8, compared to 215 weighing 313-2 on Wednesday.

“Conditions were ideal today,” said Don Denault, president of the Delaware Federation Nation. “We had a northwest wind and that really helped suck out the tide, and that falling tide got the bite going. The bite’s usually better on an outgoing tide.”

By comparison the wind blew briskly from the southwest on Day One, pushing water into the Nanticoke River and causing an unusually high tide.

Delaware’s Jim Short, who brought in a 7-9 limit, added, “As low as the tide was today, there are no more secrets out there. You could see everything.”

Still, the wind that benefited some did first-day leader Larry Taylor no favors. Following a 10-15 limit on Wednesday, he brought in a 6-12 bag on Day Two. His 17-11 places him in second behind Chenault who has 20-2.

“I had fewer bites today,” said Taylor, who lives in Maryland but is a club member in Delaware. “But I still think that I can get a limit tomorrow.”

Delaware’s Brian LaClair, also a Maryland resident, climbed from 7th to 3rd with a 9-7 limit, while Moore’s impressive three-fish bag catapulted him from 48th to 4th.

“I caught the two biggest ones on a spinnerbait and the smaller one on a buzzbait,” said Moore, who joked that “I catch ’em like that all the time.”

Also, he revealed that the spinnerbait was a ½-ounce Terminator in chartreuse/white. “I can tell you what I caught them on, but you have to find ’em,” he added.

On the team side, meanwhile, Delaware brought in 67 pounds for a two-day total of 129-14, compared to Virginia’s 120-7. Zimbabwe made the day’s biggest charge, claiming third place with 55-12. Darren Thornton led the way with an 8-6 limit.

On Day One, the team from Africa brought in 37-11 for fifth place among the seven teams.