Gary Klein’s Tournament Diary: Lake Murray Day Two

Time and tournaments are running out. If I'm going to qualify to make the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. I need a big Day Two.

If you've looked at the standings, you know I'm in 62nd place with 9 1/2 pounds. It's definitely not a good position.

I didn't catch my first keeper on Day One until noon. My pattern needed the sun to shine, and we had overcast skies until about then. Day Two should be better for me.

I lost five or six keepers and had the opportunity to put together a 12 or 13 pound bag. That would have really helped. Still, I'm very confident that I can go out and catch them on Day Two.

I'm running a really distinct pattern, and it's kind of exciting despite the fact that I'm not catching big fish. Lake Murray is a lot of water, and it's the kind of place where you can run a pattern over the entire lake, so I should have plenty of chances on Day Two.

I spent a lot of time during the morning looking for schools of bass. I saw one during practice that had a lot of really big fish in it, but when I pulled into that area, there were already boats there, so I didn't fish it.

It's been a war out there for me this year. This late in the season, given my position in the standings, I feel I'm running out of events. Unfortunately, I don't really know what I can do differently. I analyze and analyze, but I'm not breaking through. It's frustrating.

The bottom line for me is that I have to enjoy my fishing; I have to catch 'em every day, and I'm doing that, but they're not the right ones.

I feel like I've had to fight for every bite. Nothing's been easy.

It'll change, though. I know it's going to get better, and maybe it'll begin here at Lake Murray.

I need a good bag on Day Two. I can still make the cut to the top 50, and, after that, who knows? Weights haven't been as high as I expected. If I can catch 16 to 18 pounds on the second day, I'll not only make the cut to 50, but I'll put myself in position to have a shot at fishing on Sunday with the top 12.

I'm locked and loaded. Let's see what happens.