How do you handicap these final three matchups in the Classic Bracket when every trend over the past three days disappeared by Thursday afternoon? Scott Rook went from zero Wednesday to hero Thursday. Greg Vinson went from hero Tuesday and Wednesday to zero Thursday. After topping 16 pounds Tuesday and catching a limit in three hours Wednesday, No. 1 seeded Fred Roumbanis seemed like a sure bet to make today’s finals, and Rook eliminated him.
Further complicating any handicapping is today’s rain. Both Scott Rook and Chris Lane have advanced by relying almost exclusively on a topwater River2Sea Whopper Plopper.
“That’s not good for a topwater bite,” Rook said about the predicted rain. “I might have to change up and figure something else out.”
One thing you can count on today: Chris Lane caught the 4-pound, 10-ounce spotted bass yesterday in a marina slip on a jerkbait – not a Whopper Plopper. There’s no rain falling under the roof of that marina slip. Lane caught the big bass of the tournament at 8:16 a.m. yesterday. If I were going to put any money on anything today, it would be that Lane starts fishing there.