Elite Analysis — Day 2 Lake Fork

This week, I learned that Jadyn Fielder, grandson of former major leaguer Cecil Fielder, and son of former major leaguer Prince Fielder (combined home run totals: 638, a tidy and symmetrical 319 apiece) hit a home run in his first professional at bat.

That made me feel old, but not quite as old as looking at today’s Elite Series results from Lake Fork. Our Top 6 is a Gen Z freak show, with leader Kyoya Fujita the old man of the bunch.

Fujita just turned 29.

He and sixth place angler Jay Przekurat are the only two of the bunch born outside of this century. The others – Trey McKinney, Paul Marks, Tucker Smith and JT Thompkins – are mostly of legal drinking age, but have no concept of an internet-free world. Clearly, they know a lot about fishing. Four of them have won Elite Series events. JT Thompkins won both a Bassmaster Open and an Opens points title. Tucker Smith was half of the winning team who won a cool million bucks in a tournament hosted by Johnny Morris. Plenty of veterans would give anything for those credentials.

With short memories, though, the youngsters may not fully appreciate how special their youthful accomplishments are. They might also not fully recognize the importance of time and timing – and that’s what this tournament is going to come down to in the end. Time and again throughout the weigh-in we heard anglers speak of brief spurts of activity punctuating long periods of ineffectiveness. Some talked of getting on the right rotation, while others got behind and never caught up.

As Jason Christie (20^th, 46-4, and old enough to be the parent of any member of the Top 6) said onstage, “We fished for 8 hours and we had about 30 minutes of fun.”

Wes Logan (39^th, 41-5) made slightly better use of the clock: “It was a bad day, half the day.”

Whether you’re hoping to capitalize on an early shad spawn, or waiting for the sun to get at the right angle to see a bed fish, timing is everything this week. That’s my takeaway as we hit the halfway point not only of this tournament, but of the season. The clock is ticking and it doesn’t wait for anyone.

Here are some more miscellaneous notes and quotes from a hectic day on Lake Fork:

Cut Weight – This was the rare instance where the expected cut weight was meaningfully below two times the first day mark. Yesterday, 50^th place was 20-01, and today it’s 38-10, 1 ½ pounds below double.

30 for 30 – Only the Top 3 anglers – Fujita, McKinney and Marks – have hit the 30-pound mark both days. Fujita is the only one with 31 or more both days, but his 34-pound bag today was smaller than the 34-5 that Tucker Smith weighed to jump from 20^th to fourth.

School’s Out for Summer – The Top 10 includes two rookies and two sophomores. Seven of the Top 16 come from those two classes.

Name Game – Two of three Kyles, three of four Brandons and both Smiths made the cut to Saturday.

Deep in the Heart of Texas – Five of seven Texas residents failed to make the cut to Saturday, including two-time winner Lee Livesay, who finished 90^th. Brad Whatley (19^th, 46-8) is the highest-ranking among his cohort heading into Saturday. He’ll be joined by Chris Zaldain (38^th, 41-6).

Big Stage, Big Bags, Big Fish – Yesterday we had six bags over 30 pounds, topping out at the 33-09 that Buddy Gross produced. Today there were eight bags over 30, including two over 34. We’ve yet to see a double-digit bass landed. Jay Przekurat (6^th, 58-9) caught a 9-14 on Day 1, and Kyle Norsetter (45^th, 40-9) caught one that weighed the same amount today.

Pitching a Perfect Game – All of the Top 10 anglers are on pace to earn Century Belts.

Jeff Gustafson – “Are you sure everyone was on the same lake as me?” The 2023 Classic Champ fell from 90^th to 95^th and has yet to cash an Elite Series check this year.

Need a Full Dance Card – Day 1 leader Buddy Gross only managed four fish today and slipped to ninth with 53-12. He was the only member of the Top 10 who did not have a limit both days. Amongst the Top 50, Brandon Palaniuk (11^th, 49-12) was the only other angler with nine bass over two days. John Garrett caught only three today and slipped from 10^th to 50^th (eight bass for 38-10).

Doubled Up, Uno — Paul Marks (3rd, 62-7)  is only a little more than two and a half pounds out of the lead after winning the last tournament at Lake Hartwell. Who was the first angler to win back-to-back regular season Elite events? Edwin Evers, who won BASSfest at Kentucky Lake in 2015, then followed it up with a win at the St. Lawrence River.

Doubled Up, Dos – Two past Fork winners, McKinney (2^nd, 62-12) and Patrick Walters (8^th, 53-13), are currently in the Top 10. Brandon Cobb is 21^st. Of course, Lee Livesay won Elite events here in 2021 and 2022.

Kenta Culling – “I can’t wait to see BASS Live tomorrow,” said Kenta Kimura (65^th, 34-11), who was dead last after Day 1 and caught 31-7 today to jump up 37 places. He reported drinking eight energy drinks today.

Big Movers (Up) – Reigning AOY Chris Johnston caught 30-1 today and jumped from 63^rd to 15^th. Mark Frazier caught 31-11 and rose from 77^th to 18^th. Tucker Smith’s points gain may have been smaller, but he had less room to move – his 34-5 moved him from 20^th to fourth.

Big Movers (Down) – Kyle Welcher caught a 7-pounder in the first few minutes and thought he was onto something. Alas, he did not land another keeper and fell from 21^st to 73^rd. Emil Wagner caught almost 17 pounds less today than he did yesterday and fell from 14^th to 52^nd, less than a pound out of the cut. Garrett caught almost 19 pounds less today than he did yesterday but snuck into the cut by 9 ounces. Dakota Ebare only scratched out one fish today and missed out on what would have been his first Elite Series check, dropping from sixth to 75^th, the worst finish so far in his mystifyingly difficult season.

Beau Browning (61^st, 35-12) -– “Ready to go down to the Sabine and get up in that dirt.” Browning is an exceptional angler on his own, and has the pedigree of an Arkansas river rat.

Step it Up, Kyoya – With an even 65 pounds, leader Kyota Fujita is on pace to amass 130 pounds over four days. That would still put him 15 ounces behind Trey McKinney’s winning weight from 2024.

Tucker Smith (4^th, 59-9) – “Today it seemed like there was not a lot of pressure on my stuff.”

Fork Then and Now – McKinney is the only member of last year’s Lake Fork Top 10 currently inside the Top 10 again, with Tyler Williams in 12^th being close. Six of last year’s Top 10 are inside the cut to Saturday.

Jay Przekurat (6^th, 58-9) – “I had one flurry today that saved the day.”

Fujita’s Excellence – Not counting this tournament, Kyoya Fujita has fished 36 Bassmaster events and finished in the top three on seven occasions. Take out Opens and Classics and he’s a ridiculous six for 25.

Pat Schlapper – “I don’t really care if I catch a bass tomorrow because today was unbelievable and I’m going to have fun either way.” He caught 26-13 and jumped from 71^st to 30^th.

Hot and Cold – Trey McKinney is in position to get his fourth Top 10 finish in the last five B.A.S.S. events, the sole outlier being an 11^th place finish at Hartwell. He’s had a couple of bombs in his short career (93^rd at Smith Lake last year and 89^th at the St. Johns River this year) but there’s been far more good than bad. He only has one Elite finish between 22^nd and 89^th.

Greg Hackney (17^th, 46-12) – “Right now we’re just glad to get to Saturday.” This is his first cut to Day 3 in an Elite Series event this year.

And if you still have time after reading this, apparently there’s a party at the Neon Moon tonight.