Fisher Anaya can’t fully explain why he caught 26 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 2 of the 2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound and only three bass weighing only 9-7 on Day 1.
The mega-bag, however, lifted Anaya from 68th place all the way to 12th, a tournament-saving move and one that launched the Alabama pro back into Pro-Guide Batteries Rookie of the Year contention.
“I guess they got hungry,” Anaya remarked.
Anaya was just one of several anglers who made hefty comebacks on the mighty Albemarle Sound. While the run west was just as rough, the fishing overall seemed much better across the system on Day 2. 76 anglers achieved limits compared to the 63 limits caught on Day 1.
Two of the three biggest bags hit the scales on Friday as well.
Others, meanwhile, suffered disappointing setbacks.
Here are the have and have nots of Day 2 in eastern North Carolina.
The Haves
A lot of the comebacks were a result of a key area change.
Although he felt the greater potential was in other rivers, JT Thompkins felt he could catch 20 pounds in the Pasquotank River on Day 1. He only managed three bass that weighed 5-1. That, and calmer conditions, sent JT Thompkins to the west, where he landed on the biggest school of bass he’s ever seen.
“I should have had a decent bag yesterday and just didn’t make it happen. I pulled the trigger today and made the run,” Thompkins said. “That seems to be a morning school deal. We are shooting for 27 pounds every day.”
Pat Schlapper’s Day 1 area was also disappointing. He turned to his Mississippi River roots, switched areas and cracked a 23-12 sack.
“Where I went yesterday, I caught some really big ones in practice, but they were really random. I thought I could get five of them to bite and only got one,” Schlapper said. “Today I went to my other area and had a good bag early. I should’ve had a gigantic bag. It is a different style of fishing.
“No one else is fishing the way I’m fishing. It was fun today.”
While it wasn’t the most dramatic improvement of the day, Trey McKinney might have caught the most impactful 21-5 of the season on Day 2, a limit that lifted him back into the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year lead and vaulted him from 34th to 17th.
Unlike Thompkins and Schlapper, McKinney returned to the same area where he had labored to catch 14 pounds the first day but switched up his rotation. That made all the difference.
“Timing was the main difference. I rotated through all of my spots a lot differently,” McKinney said. “What caused a lot of the bad fishing yesterday was the water coming up. It gave the bass a lot more places to hide. We need this wind to blow as hard as it can out of the north.
“But each day, I’ve seen more and more.”
Jordan Lee, meanwhile, ran back to the same area he landed just 8-4 in on Day 1 and found the bass to be more active on Day 2. He opened the morning by catching an 8-0 and jumped all the way from 78th to 21st.
Brandon Lester made the most of his early boat draw and caught 24-1 on Day 1, which lifted him from 60th to 19th.
The Have Nots
After a risky but excellent Day 1, Jason Christie had a miserable second day. He caught only four fish and lost three that would have filled his limit. Then, as he was making his way back to weigh-in, a seagull decided to fly in front of cameraman Jake Latendresse and hit him square in the head.
Christie’s four bass did weigh over 15 pounds, and he remained in the Top 10 with a total of 39-9,
Justin Hamner entered the day in third place, ran back to the same two-mile stretch on Day 2 and returned with four bass and dropped to 22nd.
