Lowen staying in the hunt

Bill Lowen has spent a lot of time returning phone calls and accepting congratulations for his Elite Series victory at Pickwick Lake two weeks ago. It continued at the Day 1 weigh-in, when his duck hunting pal Clint Shipman surprised him on stage with a replica of the 8-pound, 5-ounce bass Lowen caught at Pickwick.

However, Lowen is too much of a competitor to rest on that achievement. And he enjoys river fishing too much to let the Sabine River get anything less than his full attention. Lowen starts the day “on the bubble.” He finished in 49th place with 7-2 yesterday. The field will be cut to the top 49 after today’s weigh-in. Lowen had three keepers in the boat by 8 a.m. today, including the 2 1/2-pounder shown here.

Don’t count out Lowen or anyone else who had 7 pounds or so on Day 1. When Greg Hackney won here in 2018, he had 7-5 one day. When Todd Faircloth won here in 2013 he had 7-14 one day.