DENISON, Texas — At the end of the Day One weigh-in on Lake Texoma, the race for three Bassmaster Classic berths was tighter than ever."This was the toughest day of fishing I've had in a long time," said Jerry Williams, who fell out of the points lead with a dismal Day One showing of 5 pounds, 12 ounces that left him in 65th place for the tournament.
On top of that, Aaron Johnson, previously second in the points, didn't even cross the weigh-in stage Thursday. As a result, the Classic race received a big shake-up.Now leading the Central Open points unofficially is Texas native Michael Burns with 790 points. Billy Mccaghren sits in second with 769, while Elite Series pro Jami Fralick occupies the third spot with 759 points.Lost fish plagued Williams on the water, and it was only thanks to a last-minute decision to run completely across the lake that he was able to boat three keepers late in the day.
If Williams can recover tomorrow, he stands a good chance of moving right back into the Classic picture and he can look back on his Day One decision to change gears as a decisive moment.
Burns, the unofficial points leader, had a great deal to celebrate. He lives only 60 miles from the lake and considers himself a local, which may have helped on a day when only 15 anglers managed to bring in over 11 pounds.Burns sits in sixth and brought in 13-5, but was still cautiously optimistic about Day Two."I think I can get a limit tomorrow," he said. "However, I caught all smallmouth today and they can be here one minute, gone the next, so I might zero tomorrow — we'll just have to see."Fralick was ecstatic to be sitting in third in the points race after breaking down not far from the launch to start the day."This morning I was in a hurry to get a new boat," Fralick said. "I knew I had to just settle down. The worst thing you can do on a lake like this is speed up and fish too fast."
After picking up the spare boat that the Nitro service crew had with them, Fralick was able to get back on the water and boat 10-11, leaving him in 17th place.A full day of fishing Friday could give the young South Dakota pro plenty of time to keep himself firmly entrenched at the top of the standings, but Fralick insists that he is not thinking too far ahead."If I start thinking ahead of this tournament, things won't go right."
All points standings referred to in this article are unofficial until the completion of the tournament.
Visit Bassmaster.com for full coverage of the Central Open 3 from Lake Texoma, Texas., Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2008. Daily weigh-ins with live streaming video and real-time leaderboards start at 4:35 p.m. ET.