Amid all the eye popping smallmouth catches that are sure to come across the scales later today is another must watch for the week. It’s the points race for Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, and not necessarily at the top end of the standings. Bradley Roy holds first place with 617 points. Just 10 points behind him is Justin Lucas, who is having a comeback year. Brent Chapman, who led earlier this year, has 602 points. Those calculations are based on this morning and will change at the weigh-in later today.
What happens on both sides of 50th place is the reason why the bottom of the AOY scoreboard is important. The cutoff for making the post-season Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship is 50th place. The names on that list have championship resumes and all those anglers are making a last-chance run to fish next month at Chatuge Lake in north Georgia.
On that list are Randy Howell (50th), Boyd Duckett (53rd), John Crews Jr. (54th), Dustin Connell (55th) and Chris Lane (58th).So is Scott Rook (51st), who currently is third place in the tournament according to BASSTrakk. Roy and Lucas are up there too, with Lucas in seventh and Roy close behind in ninth.