AOY at halftime - Bassmaster

We’ve reached the halfway point of the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series season. It’s time to take stock of where the Elites stand in their quest to become the 2016 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year. AOY rankings also determine who makes the Bassmaster Classic. At this point Davy Hite (36th place) would be the last Elite to get a Classic berth with AOY points. But a lot can change in the next five tournaments, and Elites can also qualify for the Classic by winning an Open, BASSfest, or the Bassmaster Classic Bracket tournament in July. The following photos show the current AOY standings. You’ll notice some anglers have the same points but are ranked ahead of each other. This is using a tie breaker based on their Day 1 and 2 weights.

Greg Hackney, 1st Place, 462 points. Hackney was in position to start the Elite Series season with a victory on the St. Johns River, but Rick Clunn’s heroics left Hackney in second place. Still, consistency has put him in position for his second AOY title in three years. He’s finished second, 29th, 13th, sixth and 43rd so far this year.

Gerald Swindle, 2nd place, 434 points. Do you think Swindle might have been a little ticked about narrowly missing the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro? He’s fished like a man on a mission this year, finishing 40th, seventh, 30th, 10th and 34th.

Takahiro Omori, 3rd place, 420 points. It’s been a big year for the seasoned veterans of professional bass fishing, and Omori joined the party on Wheeler Lake with his first B.A.S.S. victory in 11 years. He missed the 2016 Classic, breaking a streak of four straight appearances. But he’s in prime position for a return trip in 2017.

Hank Cherry, 4th place, 417 points. Cherry switches from his usual black jersey to payday red when he makes a Saturday cut, and he’s worn a lot of red this year. He’s earned checks in four of the first five events, including a high point of sixth place at Toledo Bend.

Chris Zaldain, 5th place, 410 points. With the total package of fishing ability, good looks and California charisma, Zaldain has positioned himself for a career-defining year. He turned in back-to-back Top 10 finishes, placing 10th at Winyah Bay and third and Bull Shoals/Norfork.

Steve Kennedy, 6th Place, 407 points. Kennedy’s laid-back, happy-go-luck attitude at every event makes you forget sometimes what an incredible talent he really is. But a seventh-place finish at Bull Shoals/Norfork and a fourth-place finish at Wheeler have made him a serious contender for the AOY title.

Matt Herren, 7th place, 403 points. Herren has cashed a check at four of the five Elite Series events this year, including a fourth-place showing at Bull Shoals/Norfork. Though it doesn’t count in the AOY standings, he also deposited a $100,000 check for winning the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

Keith Combs, 8th place, 402 points. Combs set the tone for the season with a ninth-place finish in the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro. Since then, he’s had three Top 20 finishes on the Elite Series, including a sixth-place showing at Winyah Bay and a fourth-place at Toledo Bend.

Randall Tharp, 9th place, 399 points. After a tough season in 2015, Tharp has put the hammer down this year. He opened with finishes of 11th at the St. Johns River and 16th at Winyah Bay. Then he claimed his first Elite Series victory at Bull Shoals/Norfork, using his own 4X4 Randall Tharp Signature Series Jig. That’s a decent way to start a season.

Justin Lucas, 10th place, 393 points. Is it even news anymore that Lucas is in the Top 10 of the AOY standings? The California native turned Alabama resident has carved out a regular home for himself inside the Top 10, and he’s landed there this year by earning checks in four of the first five Elite Series events. Like a true competitor, he grumbled at Toledo Bend when he finished 65th and missed a check. It was only the fourth time in his career he’s failed to get paid.

Dave Lefebre, 11th place, 392 points. Since a difficult start on the St. Johns River, Lefebre has finished no worse than 33rd in four straight Elite Series events. He just missed a victory at Wheeler Lake, coming in second to Takahiro Omori.

Jacob Powroznik, 12th place, 390 points. Back-to-back Top 10 finishes at Winyah Bay and Bull Shoals/Norfork have put Powroznik in excellent shape for his third straight Classic appearance.

Randy Howell, 13th place, 387 points. The 2014 Bassmaster Classic champion has only missed one check this year, and he notched a Top 5 finish at Winyah Bay.

Bill Lowen, 14th place, 387 points. Every angler who enjoys fishing shallow water should be excited about Lowen’s spot in the standings. The Indiana resident, who says he doesn’t feel comfortable unless his trolling motor is kicking up mud, has earned a check in four of the five Elite Series events this year.

Brandon Palaniuk, 15th place, 375. Palaniuk missed a check in the second event of the season at Winyah Bay. But since then, he’s finished 11th, 47th and 21st to put himself in excellent position for a Classic berth.

James Elam, 16th place, 372 points. After a tough start in the season-opener on the St. Johns River, Elam is once again one of the hottest fishermen in the business – just as he was at the end of last season. He’s earned a check in four straight Elite Series events, including a 13th-place showing at Winyah Bay and an eighth-place finish at Wheeler Lake.

Drew Benton, 17th place, 370 points. Benton announced his presence on the Elite Series right out of the starting gate with a fourth-place finish in the season-opener on the St. Johns River. He’s earned checks in three of the four events since then, and he currently leads the Rookie of the Year race.

Edwin Evers, 18th place, 369 points. A Classic victory and all of the professional obligations that come with it can be a crippling distraction for some anglers. But Evers seems to have handled it just fine, earning checks in four of the first five Elite Series events. He finished 10th in the most recent Elite Series tournament on Toledo Bend.

Ish Monroe, 19th place, 366 points. Monroe very nearly put it all together at Toledo Bend for his fifth career B.A.S.S. victory. He wound up third, but he’s still in good position to earn his first Classic berth since 2014.

Aaron Martens, 20th place, 365 points. After the super-human results he had last year, it almost seems like Martens has been having a bad season in 2016. But he’s fresh off a 16th-place finish at Toledo Bend – his best of the year – and he’s comfortably inside the cut for his 18th career Classic berth.

Michael Iaconelli, 21st place, 358 points

Jason Christie, 22nd place, 357 points

John Crews Jr, 23rd place, 349 points

Bradley Roy, 24th place, 348 points

Kelly Jordon, 25th place, 348 points

David Mullins, 26th place, 347 points

Kevin VanDam, 27th place, 341 points

Stephen Browning, 28th place, 339 points

Cliff Pace, 29th place, 338 points

Dean Rojas, 30th place, 337 points

Brett Hite, 31st place, 332 points

Boyd Duckett, 32nd, 329 points

Brent Chapman, 33rd place, 329 points

Ott DeFoe, 34th place, 326 points

Cliff Crochet, 35th place, 326 points

Davy Hite, 36th place, 324 points

Brent Ehrler,37th place, 323 points

Jordan Lee, 38th place, 323 points

Alton Jones, 39th place, 319 points

Skeet Reese, 40th place, 317 points

Chris Lane, 41st place, 316 points

Bobby Lane Jr., 42nd place, 316 points

Andy Montgomery, 43rd place, 316 points

Clifford Pirch, 44th place, 315 points

Mark Menendez, 45th place, 313 points

Jared Lintner, 46th place, 308 points

Jason Williamson, 47th place, 308 points

Todd Faircloth, 48th place, 308 points

Rick Clunn, 49th place, 307 points

Shaw Grigsby Jr., 50th place, 305 points

Mike McClelland, 51st place, 300 points

Josh Bertrand, 52nd place, 298 points

Adrian Avena, 53rd place, 296 points

Kelley Jaye, 54th place, 295 points

Micah Frazier, 55th place, 294 points

Brandon Lester, 56th place, 292 points

Tommy Biffle, 57th place, 289 points

Gary Klein, 58th place, 287 points

Casey Ashley, 59th place, 287 points

Brian Snowden, 60th place, 284 points

Marty Robinson , 61st place, 280 points

Fred Roumbanis, 62nd place, 271 points

Dennis Tietje, 63rd place, 267 points

Paul Mueller, 64th place, 267 points

Cliff Prince, 65th place, 266 points

James Niggemeyer, 66th place, 265 points

Fletcher Shryock, 67th place, 261 points

Brandon Coulter, 68th place, 252 points

Clent Davis, 69th place, 249 points

Jeff Kriet, 70th place, 245 points

Russ Lane, 71st place, 244 points

Britt Myers, 72nd place, 241 points

Mark Davis, 73rd place, 239 points

Brandon Card, 74th place, 238 points

Koby Kreiger, 75th place, 234 points

Tim Horton, 76th place, 232 points

Keith Poche, 77th place, 231 points

Terry Scroggins, 78th place, 227 points

Morizo Shimizu, 79th place, 224 points

Seth Feider, 80th place, 224 points

Billy McCaghren Jr, 81st place, 222 points

Scott Rook, 82nd place, 220 points

Casey Scanlon, 83rd place, 218 points

David Williams, 84th place, 218 points

Greg Vinson, 85th place, 217 points

Carl Jocumsen, 86th place, 217 points

Randy Allen, 87th place, 215 points

Chad Morgenthaler, 88th place, 211 points

John Hunter Jr, 89th place, 209 points

Bernie Schultz, 90th place, 207 points

John Murray, 91st place, 207 points

Matt Lee, 92nd place, 201 points

Jonathon VanDam, 93rd place, 187 points

Ken Iyobe, 94th place, 176 points

Matt Reed, 95th place, 174 points

Brock Mosley, 96th place, 169 points

Shane Lineberger, 97th place, 165 points

David Walker, 98th place, 156 points

Luke Clausen, 99th place, 151 points

Chad Grigsby, 100th place, 148 points

Yusuke Miyazaki, 101st place, 144 points

J Todd Tucker, 102nd place, 141 points

Brett Preuett, 103rd place, 132 points

Jay Brainard, 104th place, 125 points

Chad Pipkens, 105th place, 116 points

Fabian Rodriguez, 106th place, 114 points

Kotaro Kiriyama, 107th place, 102 points

Paul Elias, 108th place, 88 points