As usual in a tournament dominated by smallmouth bass, the Day 2 cut line for the top 40 anglers who advanced to fish Day 3 came down to a single ounce. Clent Davis was the last man in, with a 40th-place total of 33-0. Stetson Blaylock was the first man out, with a 41st-place total of 32-15.
Those making big moves from outside the top 40 on Day 1 to inside the cut on Day 2 included the following: Ray Hanselman Jr., who went from 60th to 39th; Skylar Hamilton, who jumped from 60th to 33rd; Carl Jocumsen, who zoomed from 66th to 27th; Frank Talley, who went from 65th to 32nd; and Bill Lowen, who moved from 54th to 36th; and Jeff Gustafson improved 35 places in the standings, going from 47th to 12th with his 23-2 bag.
Brandon Palaniuk and Chad Pipkens were tied for 40th place with 17-8 after Day 1. Both had big rallies Friday. Palaniuk weighed 21-15 to jump to 13th place; Pipkens sacked 21-7 to move into 16th place.