Day 1 of the Power-Pole Bassmaster Elite at the St. Johns River was surprisingly good, and Day 2 topped it. Even veteran Florida anglers like Bernie Schultz were surprised by both the number and size of the bass caught Friday from the St. Johns.
“I didn’t see this happening,” said the 64-year-old Gainesville, Fla., pro, who is in 23rd place with 33 pounds, 13 ounces. “They’re catching the fire out of them, and a lot of 20-pound-plus stringers. That’s a shock. I thought two, maybe three guys would catch them pretty good, but, no, this is a slugfest.”
There were 10 bags of 20 pounds or more weighed-in on Day 1. That number increased to 15 on Day 2, and three of them topped Robbie Latuso’s big bag of 25-2 on Thursday: 26-6 by Lee Livesay, 25-12 by Scott Canterbury and 25-11 by tournament leader Chris Johnston.
The following is a comparison of Days 1 and 2 of the last two Elite Series tournaments held on the St. Johns River:
| Day 2 | 2/8/19 | 3/18/16 |
| 1st place | 47-0 | 39-6 |
| 10th place | 38-2 | 36-5 |
| 25th plac3 | 32-10 | 32-5 |
| 35th place | 29-7 | 28-12 |
| 50th place | 24-3 | 28-12 |
| Big bass | 10-4 | 10-8 |
| # of limits | 64/75 | 96/110 |
| % of limits | 85% | 87% |
| Ave. bass wt. | 3.09 lbs. | 2.58 lbs. |
| Day 1 | 2/7/19 | 3/17/16 |
| 1st place | 25-2 | 23-13 |
| 10th place | 20-8 | 20-15 |
| 25th place | 16-13 | 18-9 |
| 35th place | 13-7 | 17-3 |
| 50th place | 11-5 | 15-7 |
| Big bass | 11-2 | 9-13 |
| # of limits | 57/75 | 109/110 |
| % of limits | 76% | 99% |
| Ave. bass wt. | 3.03 lbs. | 3.02 lbs. |