Compare the top of the leaderboard from Day 1 to Day 2 and you’ll understand everything about how scarce consistency is in the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels. Only three anglers in Thursday’s top 10 were still there Friday, and one of those, Brandon Lester, dropped from first to sixth.
In other words, deciding which anglers should have Bassmaster LIVE! cameras today is a real crapshoot.
Day 1 Top 10 Day 2 Rise/Fall
1. Brandon Lester 6th – 5
2. Drew Benton 24th – 22
3. Cliff Crochet 49th – 46
4. Randall Tharp 14th – 10
5. Cliff Pace 32nd – 27
6. Jason Williamson 20th – 14
7. Mark Menendez 45th – 38
8. Greg Hackney 1st + 7
9. Dean Rojas 48th – 39
10. Jordan Lee 3rd + 7
Day 2 Top 10 Day 1 Rise/Fall
1. Greg Hackney 8th + 7
2. Terry Scroggins 37th + 35
3. Jordan Lee 10th + 7
4. Marty Robinson 25st + 21
5. Brent Ehrler 18th + 13
6. Brandon Lester 1st – 5
7. Bradley Roy 27th + 20
8. Billy McCaghren 13th + 5
9. Justin Lucas 68th + 59
10. Mike Iaconelli 22nd + 12
And, of course, the highest riser of all from Day 1 to Day 2 was Florida native Cliff Prince, who went from 95th to 18th with 23-1, anchored by the big bass of the tournament so far, a 10 ½-pounder. Prince might have produced something similar on Day 1, but he made a mistake in hitting a livewell aerator switch that left him with 5 dead bass and no opportunities to cull at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
A look at the overall numbers from Friday shows it was definitely more difficult than Thursday. The unexpectedly bright, though cloudy, skies were rain free all day, but that failed to produce a strong sight-fishing bite as predicted.
Day 1 Day 2
Bass weighed-in 547 520
Total weight 1,656-9 1,339-6
Average weight 3.03 lbs. 2.57 lbs.
Limits caught 109 96
Big bass 9-13 10-8