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Greg Hackney’s predicament is strictly focused on the AOY title. He had a 15-pt lead over Aaron Martens and a 17-pt. advantage over Todd Faircloth. After Faircloth’s big day, Hackney leads him by just 10 points.
Photo: James Overstreet
Todd Faircloth cut Greg Hackney’s lead to just 10 points after Day 1 of the AOY Championship. Faircloth is in 10th in the standings while Hackney is 17th. Faircloth is just ounces from 6th place and could still easily cut into Hackney’s lead. The Texas native is making a big run though and the weather may play a factor in his ability to get to/fish his water.
Photo: Steve Bowman
Aaron Martens is the reigning Angler of the Year and came into the event 15 points behind Greg Hackney…now he is third in the standings and he fell to 19 points behind. He will need to move up from 21st considerably if he wants to repeat.
Photo: Shaye Baker
Jacob Powroznik was tied for 4th with Keith Combs coming into the AOY Championship and after 24-1 on Day 1 he has a 14 point cushion in the AOY standings. He is third in the event, but said he really can’t move anywhere because he is almost maxed out with points he can gain in Escanaba.
Photo: Shaye Baker
Mark Davis held the Angler of the Year lead for the longest time this year, but a mid-season slip pushed him down to the 5-7 region in the ranks. He is 12th after Day 1 and has a 7 point lead in the standings over Jared Lintner who is right behind him both in the AOY standings and Day 1 results.
Photo: Steve Bowman
Jared Lintner has had a consistent and quiet season to date. He has never dropped out of the Top 10 in the AOY standings and he is guaranteed to stay there no matter what happens the next few days.
Photo: Steve Bowman
Keith Combs dropped in the AOY standings after placing 25th after Day 1. Combs, like the rest of the Top 6, cant fall out of the Top 10 and he still has the opportunity to gain back points and retake 5th place in AOY. He is tied with Skeet Reese for 7th, but is just 8 points behind Mark Davis.
Photo: Seigo Saito
Skeet Reese came to the scales with over 21 pounds of smallmouth placing him in the Top 5. He can move as far up as 5th as well, but he would need those anglers to drop a few places in the Escanaba standings because he is almost maxed out sitting in 5th. He can’t gain many more points on his own.
Photo: James Overstreet
Dean Rojas may have the worst situation in the entire event because he theoretically can’t move in the standings. He is 4th after Day 1 and can’t improve his position except by just a few points. He trails Reese and Combs by 26 and leads Chris Lane by 32 points. Most likely Rojas will finish in 9th.
Photo: James Overstreet
Chris Lane jumped from 17th place into the final spot of the Top 10. Huge move for Lane as he is 6th in the Escanaba event after a great Day 1. He has a 7-point lead over 11th, but just a 10-point lead over 14th. They are tightly packed in.
Photo: Bassmaster Marshal
Casey Ashley was 10th in the standings before yesterday, but a 36 place spot after Day 1 dropped him 11th and stuck him in the mess where multiple anglers can jockey for position and move up for a little more money. Another incentive for the Top 15 anglers is the qualification into the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, which has been a big hit every year.
Photo: Chris Mitchell
John Crews bolstered his position with 18+ pounds on Day 1 and it put him in the thick of the anglers just outside of the Top 10. He only has a 1-point lead on 13th and 2 points on 14th.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Chad Morgenthaler has been around the Top 10 for most of the season and he is in the middle of the tight point battle. Most of these anglers hope to stay where they are or move up because of the money payout and the TTBC qualification.
Photo: Chris Mitchell
Justin Lucas got on a pattern on the final day of practice and it proved to be a good one as he bagged enough weight for a 14th place finish after Day 1. This jumped him up into the Top 15, which was something he emphasized during my day on the lake with him. Wasn’t much for him to prove other than a repeat berth to the TTBC where he did well last year.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Matt Herren has had a quiet year, but yet very solid. Herren is tied for 15th with Gerald Swindle, but he receives the nod due to the tiebreaker scenarios. Herren stubbed his toe with a 30th place finish after Day 1 and has plenty of room to move up.
Photo: Steve Bowman
Gerald Swindle cashed a check in every event this season, except for the final event at Cayuga Lake. His consistent year has shown in his steady AOY standing all season.
Photo: James Overstreet
Jason Christie is fishing carefree and stress less this week because everything is locked up in terms of the Bassmaster Classic. He is double qualified for the Classic and his next to last finish after Day 1 won’t upset him too much because he has plenty of room to jump higher up.
Photo: Tyler Reed
Paul Elias has notched a couple of Top 12’s this season and that has kept him high in the standings. Theoretically he can move up to as high as 11th, but he would need some of those anglers to struggle this event and he would need to jump up from his 23rd place showing thus far. Still money on the line for some of these anglers in the mid to high teens.
Photo: Darren Jacobson
Randall Tharp has made the transition to the Bassmaster Elite Series and has done well in his short time here. He is 35th in this tournament and can definitely move up to improve his AOY standing.
Photo: David Hunter Jones
David Walker rounds out the Top 20 in the AOY standings. He can move up and down in the standings just ever so slightly, but he is locked in the Classic.
Photo: James Overstreet
Edwin Evers stumbled on Day 1 at Escanaba and he is sitting in 47th place, but he is locked in the Classic and he is fighting for TTBC qualification and making a big jump on Day 2 of this event
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Brandon Palaniuk didn’t have his stereotypical smallmouth fishing day that we are so accustomed to seeing. He is sitting in 27th in the tournament and 22nd in Angler of the Year. Palaniuk and Evers are tied, but the tiebreaker gives Evers the advantage. Palaniuk can move past Evers with a good day 2, but other than that he needs to jump 8 points or fall 6 points to make any kind of AOY change.
Photo: David Hunter Jones
James Niggemeyer is 30 points behind the 15th place angler so the TTBC is theoretically hard to accomplish, but like you heard before he can still move around just a few spots especially since 28th place is just 5 points behind.
Photo: James Overstreet
Ott DeFoe had a very good Day 1 and moved up 8 spots in the AOY rank. This should have him feeling very confident going into Day 2 and finishing out the AOY race.
Photo: James Overstreet
Scott Rook struggled on Day 1 and his 44th place spot let him slip down the standings some because of how close all the points are. An improvement on Day 2 should have him feeling happy again even though he is in the Classic.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
Brandon Lester was one of the biggest movers of the day as the Elite Series rookie brought over 24 pounds to the scales to have him in 2nd overall. Lester was one of the bubble boys for the Classic as he was 33rd and depending how many double qualifiers there was, 33rd was cutting it close. Another solid bag on Day 2 should have him feeling very happy about his rookie season.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Cliff Crochet may have struggled on Day 1, but that doesn’t mean the “Cajun baby” was sad. In fact, he had a smile from ear to ear because he knew he only needed to catch one bass this week to get enough points to secure his spot in the Bassmaster Classic.
Photo: James Overstreet
Mike Iaconelli had a rough start to the season, but he has since rebounded and put together a fantastic ending to the 2014 season. He is already qualified due to his win on the Delaware River, but Ike wants to get himself double qualified. He is on his way to doing so.
Photo: James Overstreet
Morizo Shimizu was basically in the same boat as Cliff Crochet as they both struggled, but they both only needed to catch a fish to have enough points to punch their tickets. Even though he is in 48th, he is happy.
Photo: Seigo Saito
Brett Hite is the Day 1 leader at the AOY championship after smashing over 24 pounds of smallmouth. He was near that bubble spot for the Classic, even though he is already qualified because of his Lake Seminole victory. Now that he was successful on Day 1 he may just help out some guys if he gets double qualified.
Photo: James Overstreet
Randy Howell, the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Champion, is already qualified but he said backstage that he really wants to get double qualified just to do it. I think it is an accomplishment for an angler to double qualify and it makes them feel a lot better about their seasons.
Photo: James Overstreet
Mike McClelland won on Table Rock earlier this season and is going to Lake Hartwell for the Classic, but he can help his fellow Elite Series anglers out by punching his ticket again, thus extending the bump line down one more spot.
Photo: Seigo Saito
Bill Lowen is sitting in last place at the Escanaba event, but after looking at the AOY standings its hard to conceive that his 13 point lead over the bump spot would get eliminated unless every single angler below him finished in the Top 10 this week. I wouldn’t put it past them, but it’s very unlikely because Lowen can control his own destiny just by moving up 5-10 spots in the standings.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Bobby Lane still has some work to do to completely sure up his Classic spot. Three guys behind him in the AOY standings are in the Top 10 here at Escanaba. With Lane only having a 7-point cushion over 37th place in AOY (Timmy Horton), he can help open up that gap by moving up from 43 in the standings.
Photo: James Overstreet
Brian Snowden was on the outside looking in at the Bassmaster Classic, but after a great Day 1 at Escanaba he pulled himself inside the cut line. Two more days of solid fishing should keep him in the Classic cut.
Photo: Darren Jacobson
Andy Montgomery made a huge jump (9 places) in the AOY standings and he has himself inside the cut. Montgomery is a South Carolina fisherman so he definitely wants to punch his ticket to Lake Hartwell for the Classic.
Photo: James Overstreet
Tim Horton followed suit behind Snowden and Montgomery as a good Day 1 in Escanaba moved him inside the Classic cut for now. The points are tight, but being in the Top 10 this week should help.
Photo: James Overstreet
Clifford Pirch is a smallmouth specialist at times and with his middle of the pack finish after Day 1, he didn’t move in the standings. Pirch is in…but needs to move up this week to be for sure.
Photo: Bassmaster Marshal
Kevin Short has had one heck of a season and it would be a shame for him to take himself out of the Classic because of a bad finish here. Short dropped a couple spots after a 34th place finish after Day 1. He needs to move up 7-10 spots to probably feel comfortable.
Photo: James Overstreet
Chris Zaldain started off the season miserable, but just like Mike Iaconelli, has rebounded and finished strong. He is fantastic on smallmouth fisheries and is unofficially the first angler out of the Classic. If he can move from 18th to inside the Top 10 it would be hard to keep Zaldain out of the Classic.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Cliff Prince was the first man out of the Classic at the start of the event and now he is second in line. He has plenty of room to move up from 29th in the tournament to maybe sneak inside the Classic bump line.
Photo: Darren Jacobson
Bernie Schultz was in…now he is out. Schultz came into this event in 36th place and inside the cut by a few spots, but he is now behind the 8-ball and can help his own cause if he can move from the basement in this tournament to gain more points.
Photo: Bassmaster Marshl
Takahiro Omori is in the exact same boat as Schultz as Tak was in and now he is out. He is sitting in 41st and was one of the anglers who were eager to fish today in hopes of gaining some points.
Photo: Seigo Saito
Marty Robinson is 11 points out of the Classic cut line and as a South Carolina angler there is no doubt he wants to head home for the Classic. Robinson has some work to do as he is mid-pack in this event.
Photo: James Overstreet
Jeff Kriet isn’t out of the picture yet, but he is 18 points behind Kevin Short and needs everything to go his way from here on out. Kriet has room to move up though as he sits in 31st in this event.
Photo: James Overstreet
Alton Jones was the lucky bubble angler heading into this event, but a 40th place finish after Day 1 set him way back in the AOY race. He dropped 7 spots and now needs well over 20 pounds if he wants to gain all of his points back.
Photo: Steve Bowman
Steve Kennedy gave a thumbs down when he walked off the stage yesterday because he knows he needs more weight in this event if he wants to go to the Bassmaster Classic. Kennedy trails Kevin Short by 26 points. Very hard to comeback from that deficit.
Photo: James Overstreet
Terry Scroggins watched as the points standings shuffled during the Cayuga Lake event when he found himself as the last man in. Scroggins needed a Top 5 finish most likely to have a shot. He is in 33rd and needs some luck to go his way now.
Photo: James Overstreet
Davy Hite was one of the anglers who helped Scroggins stay in the Top 50. Hite came into this event in 49th and that’s where he sits now. He may be out of the race, but no harm in trying to move up.
Photo: James Overstreet
Casey Scanlon fell from 47th to 50th in the AOY race after the first day of competition. Scanlon is in the same boat as Scroggins and Hite, except he has to pass those guys as well.
Photo: Darren Jacobson
