KIMBERLING CITY, Mo.— More heat and more humidity didn’t keep the fish from biting even better on Day Two of the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Central Divisional presented by Yahama and Skeeter.
As a result, six of the eight teams brought in more bass than they did on Day One at Table Rock Lake. But it was Arkansas that profited the most, squeezing past a strong Oklahoma team for the team lead after Day Two.
Going into Friday’s final round, the anglers from the Razorback state have amassed 223 pounds, 2 ounces. That’s 3 pounds, 4 ounces better than the defending champion Sooners.
Last year on this same fishery, Oklahoma won with 264-4. If fishing stays as good as it has been for two days, five or six teams could surpass that total.
Kansas is in third, Texas fourth, Missouri fifth, Nebraska sixth, Louisiana seventh and Mississippi eighth.
“The fishing was fantastic today,” said Texas’ Brannon Long, who brought in one of Day Two’s 45 limits, 10 more than on Wednesday.
Missouri’s Chuck Bonnett would agree, as he claimed the day’s biggest bass, a 7-7 largemouth. And while quite a few 4- and 5-pounders were caught on Wednesday, anglers brought in 5- and 6-pounders today.
Louisiana’s David Cavell revealed that he used a flipping stick to catch a 6-pounder and an 18-9 limit. That suggests that the largemouth bass still are in the flooded trees and brush, following an historic high water level in late April. But he was the only one to talk about patterns.
Nebraska’s Pat Klausen, a non-boater, held onto the individual lead with another of those limits. His weighed 13-8, giving him 33-11 and a slim lead over Texas’ Tom Jessop who has 32. Jessop captured the Lone Star state’s berth in the National Championship last year.
Klausen brought in a 20-3 bag on Wednesday, still the tournament’s heaviest limit. He had said that he thought his technique would hold up but wasn’t as confident about being able to duplicate the size of the fish he caught on Day One.
Surprisingly, Arkansas’ leader, Josh Wray, is just in eighth place overall, but his team accounted for eight of today’s limits.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, has Jared Miller in third, Shawn Clark in fourth and Dale Hightower in seventh. Hightower won here last year for his state and went on to compete in the Bassmaster Classic.