If you’ve heard AOY leader Justin Lucas on “Bassmaster LIVE” lately, you know he’s a bit, um, exasperated. BASSTrakk indicates he has a limit weighing 9-4, which has him 19th place, unofficially.
“It’s starting to get a little frustrating how many people are out here,” Lucas said late this morning. “It’s just too small of a lake.”
Lucas reiterated that just now, noting, “It seems like there are 500 boats out here. During practice, it seemed like it was just us.”
Lucas would be a lot less frustrated if he knew the day Josh Bertrand was having, which he does not. BASSTrakk indicates Bertrand’s got only three bass in the boat and is in 46th place. To win the AOY title, Lucas simply needs to finish eight places above Bertrand, who trailed by nine points entering this event.
This feels like the most important day of the three-day tournament. Several anglers have noted that they expect the weights to go down as the fishing pressure goes up on Lake Chatuge. Lucas may be frustrated, but he may have taken a big step toward an AOY title today.