Cherokee Lake has a well-earned reputation for being the place where consistency goes to die. That has proven true in the first two days here. On one hand, only four anglers in the Day 1 top 12 fell out on Day 2, but they dropped like rocks: Cliff Crochet, from 1st to 44th; Jordon Lee, from 7th to 35th; Brent Ehrler, from 9th to 68th; and Mark Davis, from 11th to 40th. Ehrler missing the cut had to be particularly painful for him.
On the other hand, there were anglers who did a U-turn in a positive direction, led by Randall Tharp, who jumped from 59th to 6th, thanks to the first 20-pound bag of the tournament (20-11) and the big bass so far, a 5-5 largemouth. Others making big jumps included: Ott DeFoe, from 31st to 9th; John Crews, from 31st to 13th, Hank Cherry, from 59th to 23rd; Paul Mueller, from 58th to 27th; and Aaron Martens, from 77th to 36th.
Here’s a look at those who made the highest jumps and sharpest falls in the standings from Day 1 to Day 2 in the Bassmaster Elite at Cherokee Lake:
+53 – Randall Tharp, 59th to 6th
+41 – Aaron Martens, 77th to 36th
+36 – Hank Cherry, 59th to 23rd
+34 – Mike McClelland, 80th to 46th
+33 – Terry Scroggins, 83rd to 50th
+32 – Jared Lintner, 99th to 67th
+31 – Paul Mueller, 58th to 27th
–59 – Brent Ehrler, 9th to 69th
–50 – Matt Lee, 44th to 94th
–50 – Koby Kreiger, 25th to 75th
–44 – Cliff Crochet, 1st to 45th
–35 – Kevin VanDam, 27th to 62nd
–31 – Stetson Blaylock, 59th to 70th
–31 – Ish Monroe, 21st to 52nd