Frank Talley started today in 9th place after weighing 16-5 Thursday, which was one of the better bags of the day. He’s worked his way into a comfort zone of eelgrass lines up the river. The fact that he’s already got four keepers makes him only more comfortable.
“My bite hasn’t been happening until 10 or 11,” Talley said on “Bassmaster LIVE” earlier today. He described how he’s working the outside wall of eelgrass with a Strike King Thunder Cricket vibrating jig and occasionally with a Strike King 1.5 squarebill crankbait. Talley has noticed schools of big gizzard shad swimming in and out of the eelgrass, and he believes bass are targeting them there.
Talley desperately wants to qualify for the 2021 Bassmaster Classic at Fort Worth, which is close to his hometown of Temple, Texas. And he’s well on his way, currently ranked 28th in the Angler of the Year standings. Talley’s best finish in his two years on the Elite Series was 13th at Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller last year. He’s on the verge of topping that this week.