This is only Brad Whatley’s 15th B.A.S.S. tournament. When he qualified through the Opens last year for the Elite Series this year, he had a tough decision to make. The 48-year-old married father of three was faced with quitting a good job as a supervisor of a Cooper Tire & Rubber manufacturing plant in Texarkana, Ark.
Whatley probably feels like he made the right decision now, especially after catching a 7-pounder at 12:55. Paired with another 6-8 he followed with at 1:54, the Bivins, Texas, resident has topped the 20-pound mark and currently sits in third place with 20-4, unofficially.