Welcher whacks 'em on Day 2

Elite pro Kyle Welcher began the second day of Classic competition near Green Pond Landing, working a cove for bass feeding on bait pods.

The weather could be a factor today, as it changed from nice and sunny yesterday to overcast and foggy. A predicted warmup doesn’t seem likely, with high humidity producing bone-chilling temperatures in the low 50s. That said, water temps were registering just shy of of 60 degrees.

The windy weather of yesterday changed to the slightest of breezes that blew directly into the cove Welc

It didn’t take long for the young pro to hook up, but it turned out to be the wrong species.

Welcher had to smile about the big striper after chasing it around for 5 to 10 minutes.

But he quickly was pulling in his first keeper bass.

And then another, although his two-fish total was just over 3 pounds.

Spectators gathered on the banks of the cove just off the road to watch.

Finally, Welcher decided it was time to move on.

His next stop was in a marina just down the lake.

Welcher didn’t waste time putting his best fish of the morning, a 3-pounder, in the boat.

He continued working the bank near the entrance to the marina.

Meanwhile, Elite pro Bryan Schmitt hooked a solid bass about 50 yards away in the same cove.

Unfortunately, the fish came unzipped. “I just lost a 4- to 5-pounder,” Schmitt lamented. “There’s a lot of them in here; I don’t know why they won’t bite.”

Welcher continued to work the marina, fishing his way deeper into the cove.

He broke off in some brush on the hookset. “That was a good fish,” he said after he re-rigged.

The next cast resulted in a hookup in the same brush pile.

Welcher pulled on the bass for a few minutes, trying to get it to swim out of the brush pile. The fish stubbornly refused. “It’s still on there,” Welcher said. “I can feel it, but it’s hung up.”