GREENVILLE, S.C. — Yesterday, you could have counted out all the B.A.S.S. Nation anglers except for Paul Mueller. But Coby Carden threw himself into the mix today. He will not sit back and let another Classic win just slip away from him.
Carden of the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation ended Day 2 of the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro with 29 pounds in seventh place. His comrade Mueller fell just behind with 27-15 in eighth place. They are the only two B.A.S.S. Nation anglers to remain in competition on Day 3 of the Classic.
"I did the same thing today that I did yesterday," said Carden on stage, "but they just got bigger.
"I'm fishing with a lot of confidence. I'm not worried at all."
Carden has weighed in a limit both days, but his Day 2 weight was double his Day 1 weight.
Mueller, whose Day 2 weight in 2014 was a record-breaker, came in today with 14 pounds, 3 ounces, only a little bit more than he weighed in yesterday.
"I started off strong this morning with a lot of little fish," said Mueller, of the Connecticut B.A.S.S. Nation, "and then I didn't catch anything else for a long time after that."
Jeff Lugar, who competed last year alongside Carden and Mueller, ended in 48th place with 9-2. Steve Lund of Arizona had one big fish today that weighed 4-15. He ended in 54th place.
"I can't wait to see the Classic on TV to see what the pros are doing on this lake," said Lund. "That's how you learn. So tomorrow, I get to go enjoy the expo and sit back and watch my first Classic weigh-in in person."
Teb Jones of Mississippi and Troy Diede of South Dakota both came in fishless today. Jones finished in 51st place and Diede in 55th.
Tune in to Bassmaster.com tomorrow to see how Carden and Mueller do!