Hanselman has big-time potential

Elite Series rookie Ray Hanselman has some big-time potential on Lake Travis today. His second-place bag of 16 pounds, 13 ounces includes only three fish: a 5-13, a 3-7 and a 7-9, caught at 8:23.

After landing the 7-9, Hanselman told his judge, “Dude, I’m not getting a lot of bites, but when I get one, it’s a good one.”

Hanselman has some big-time potential on the Elite Series as well. The 45-year-old, Del Rio, Texas, resident has a track record that includes three victories in Costa Series events in Texas in 2015 – on Lake Texoma, Sam Rayburn Reservoir and Lake Amistad. Then he won the Costa Series Championship on the Ohio River that year.

If this early big fish bite dies, and Hanselman thinks that may be happening now, he’s got a backup plan where he believes he can fill his 5-bass limit with some better than average keepers.