If you finish in the top 35 of the final Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, you are guaranteed a berth in the 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic. That number usually extends a few more places, based on double-qualifiers. For instance, as the 2018 Classic champ, Jordan Lee is automatically qualified for the 2019 Classic. However, Lee isn’t going to finish in the AOY top 35 this year, so he isn’t a double-qualifier. Neither is Drew Benton, who earned an automatic berth with his win at Texas Fest on Lake Travis.
This season is different too because of the new Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Championship. Previously, at this time some double-qualifiers would have been determined based on Opens victories by Elite Series anglers who were also in the AOY top 35. But this year those double-qualifiers, if any, won’t be known until the Opens Championship Oct. 18-20 on Table Rock Lake.
All that is to say that finishing in the top 35 in the AOY final standings Sunday seems more important than ever. And there was a lot of movement around the top 35 “bubble” on Day 1. Remember, no points are earned on a single tournament day. The points are based solely on the final standings. However, the daily updated standings during a tournament indicate a trend. Below you’ll see who is trending up and who is trending down around that top 35 bubble based on the Day 1 standings:
| Trending Up | ||
| Bill Lowen | +6 | (37th to 31st) |
| Keith Poche | +4 | (31st to 27th) |
| Jake Whitaker | +8 | (32nd to 24th) |
| Chad Pipkens | +5 | (39th to 34th) |
| Jason Christie | +4 | (41st to 37th) |
| Trending Down | ||
| Chris Zaldain | -12 | (23rd to 35th) |
| Cliff Pace | -8 | (25th to 33rd) |
| Jared Lintner | -6 | (34th to 40th) |
| Scott Rook | -5 | (36th to 41st) |
| Edwin Evers | -4 | (35th to 39th) |