American National pro Shane Long of Missouri leaped into the lead with 16.78 pounds Friday for a two-day total of 29.28 going into the final day on Table Rock in the PAA Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series presented by Carrot Stix.
Long had a big bass of 4.60 pounds in his limit and leads by a little more than two pounds over fellow Mizzou angler Kelly Power, who had 26.75 including a 5.12-kicker.
“I got lucky, got quality bites and put them in the boat,” Long said. “I lost a big one Thursday and I think that may come back to haunt me.”
The rest of the top ten: Brian Snowden, Missouri, 26.49; Gary Klein, Texas, 24.80, Dave Lefebre, Pennsylvania, 24.73; Terry Butcher, Oklahoma, 24.32; Rick Clunn, Missouri, 24.21; Stacey King, Missouri, 23.70; Matt Reed, Texas, 23.56; Ronnie Wagner, Texas, 22.63.
The field was cut to the Top 24 following Friday’s competition. Those pros will fish Saturday on Table Rock for a total purse of $194,000 including $5,000 to the winner and a new Nitro Z-8 rigged with a Mercury 225 and T-H Marine Atlas Jackplate. Saturday’s launch will be at Table Rock State Park Marina, with the 4:30 p.m. weigh-in to be held at The Fountain at Branson Landing.
Long is competing in his first PAA Tournament Series event and is happy to be at the top of the leaderboard.
“Shoot yeah, I’m glad to be there,” he said. “If you’re not confident then you don’t need to be in it.”
Light limits and some long faces still could be found among the field as Table Rock’s autumn turnover affected many pros.
“You’re going to have to start calling me the one-day wonder,” said Skeeter pro Harold Allen of Texas, who had just two keepers Friday weighing 3.40 for a total of 18 pounds. “I did the same thing at Cherokee in the first tournament… bust a big bag one day and not the next. The longer I do this, the less I know.”
Snowden knew Table Rock would be crazy this time of year with the combination of the shad and bass migration along with the thermocline turnover making things tough. Several pros again reported catching bass everywhere from 60 feet to dirt shallow under the high, sunny bluebird skies. More of the same is expected Saturday.
“It was a tough day and there weren’t a lot of bites,” Snowden said. “I caught more keepers but just not any big ones. I’ll go run and gun in some areas I have more confidence in tomorrow and see what happens.”
Points chase tightens
Also on the line Saturday will be the PAA Tournament Series points championship, with the top four anglers in contention for the title fishing on the final day.
Lucky Craft pro Takahiro Omori of Texas, Megabass pro Aaron Martens of Alabama, Gene Larew pro Tommy Biffle of Oklahoma and Nitro pro Edwin Evers of Oklahoma all made the cut. Evers led the group going into the tournament with Biffle trailing by just a hair, followed by Omori in fourth and Martens in fifth.
Evers and Biffle bombed on the first day here but rebounded Friday, with Biffle moving from 40th to 17th (19.82 pounds, total) and Evers advancing 12 positions to make the cut in the final spot by a few hundredths of an ounce. Evers has 16.88 pounds.
Omori stayed steady and is again in 11th place with 22.43 pounds, while Martens is right behind him with 22.20 pounds.
“I had six keeper bites (Friday) and caught four of them, and I don’t know what will happen Saturday,” Omori said. “I’m just going fishing and will see what happens.”
Biffle surged after sticking around in his best area and milking it for all it’s worth with his flipping stick.
“I had a pretty good day but lost a couple of key fish that would have helped,” he said. “I had one 4-pounder that came off two (separate) times, lost another 4-pounder and had a third big fish that came off. But I know where they are and I’ll be back.”
Evers figured he’d be the first or second man out of the cut after struggling to catch 10.14 pounds Friday. That put him in 23rd place with a handful of pros remaining to weigh in, including his brother-in-law, Terry Butcher. When Butcher’s 12.83 pounds was good enough to put him in sixth place, it bumped Evers to the final cut spot.
Evers was chatting with family and friends and not paying close attention when the last angler – Rob Burns of Texas – came to the scales. Burns finished with 16.62 pounds – just six one-hundredths behind Evers and out of the cut.
The PAA Tournament Series Angler of the Year will receive free entry fees to the 2011 PAA Tournament Series along with an automatic berth in the 2011 PAA All Star Series tournament. The latter will be held on a lake and at a date still to be determined.
About the PAA – The Professional Anglers Association is a non-profit organization that gives professional anglers a unified voice in order to aid in the growth of the sport of professional bass fishing. The PAA also aims to administer educational programs to the average angler, to increase enjoyment of the sport, and to embrace sound conservation practices to further the future of the sport.
PAA Associate Sponsors: The PAA Tournament Series is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, E21 Carrot Stix, Lazer Trokar, Markel Insurance, Phoenix Boats, Nitro Boats, T-H Marine, Fishouflage, SolarBat, U.S. Reel, Sign Designs, BoatU.S. Foundation, Mercury Marine and Jasper Engines and Transmissions.
PAA Hosts:
Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, Branson Tourism Center, Branson Landing, Table Rock State Park.
