The National Anthem marks the start of each Forrest Wood Cup weigh-in at the Columbia Center in Columbia, S.C. Perhaps it would be appropriate to end each weigh-in with the theme to Sanford and Son. Nearly every pro in the Top 10 is junk-fishing.
Michael Bennett junked up 15-05 today at Lake Murray to move up nine spots and lead the cut with 27-04. He fished about 30 spots, he said. And he's the big buzz among the pros backstage who think he's got a "knack" for catching clear-water cruising fish.
Day-1 leader Mark Rose caught 6-04 and comfortably made the cut in 2nd with 26-06. He didn't lay off, he said. He just had a tough day. He's running the bank and throwing at stuff too, but he's been concentrating on a single area.
Past Cup champion Brent Ehrler, who's got the same aura as Bennett when it comes to junking clear-water fish, caught a big 14-12 and moved up from 11th to make the cut in 3rd with 26-01. He's throwing topwater.
Terry Bolton caught the day's best bag at 15-12. He added that to his 9-14 yesterday and climbed 14 spots to make the cut in 4th with 25-10. He's junking too – running new water all the time and mixing in a lot of docks.
TBF National Champion Brian Travis sacked 9-02 and moved down two spots to make the cut in 5th. He runs a Stratos, so his top earning potential if he wins is $500,000 (vs. $1 million available to Ranger owners).
Chris Baumgarder also moved into the cut (from 14th to 6th). He's covering water and running banks, but he might have had a little extra mojo today. His son Ryan turned 12 today, and he told his dad this morning that he'd catch 12 pounds. Baumgarder came in with 12-12.
Dave Lefebre, at this point, seems to be the major exception inside the Top 10. He said he's got two solid patterns working, and he's been fishing behind people and catching fish. He weighed 12-02 today and climbed from 12th to make the cut in a tie for 7th with 23-00.
Jay Yelas flipped up 12-09 today in the River and improved seven spots to make the cut in 8th. Yelas is the only other non-Ranger owner in the Top 10 (he runs a Skeeter).
Kevin Vida's sight-fishing for shallow schoolers, and said he lost four fish today that might have put him in the top spot. He came in comparatively light with 5-06, and dropped seven spots from his day-1 position to make the cut in 9th with 22-11.
And Dion Hibdon, who's fishing brush that he planted, was the last man in the cut. He caught 11-15 for 22-01 total, which moved him up six spots.
Bud Pruitt was the first out. He posted 7-12 today and missed tying Hibdon by 8 ounces.
Weights are now zeroed, and the best 2-day weight wins.
Those who fell out of the cut included: Pruitt (4th to 11th), Ron Shuffield (5th to 16th), Koby Kreiger (6th to 26th), Larry Nixon (6th to 38th), Carl Svebek III (8th to 12th), and Andy Montgomery (9th to 13th).
Conditions seem to have settled out after the severe cold front that blew through Tuesday and Wednesday, but clearly, the deep bite's nearly dead. Some feel the cold weather put the deep fish off their holding areas and into a late-summer transition phase, which could be why so many schools of fish are starting to run as wolfpacks on the banks.
Local Anthony Gagliardi, as an example, limped in with 2-05 and fell from 17th to finish 48th. His deep fish just disappeared.
Thunderstorms did move into the area around the time of weigh-in, but it's not clear whether the lake received, or will receive, rain. The potential for a downpour exists, which could funk up some of the shallow areas.
Thunderstorms are also a threat tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon.
Bennett Started Over
"It's a little shocking," Bennett said of his 15-pound catch. "I had about one fish at 9:00, and I finally gave up everything I was doing and went fishing again. I just started over every few hours. I found the right stretch and caught three decent ones and I had a limit at about 12:00. Then I just drove around the lake looking for stuff to catch."
He noted his good stretch today was a "shallower" stretch, but aside from that, it was one and done on the other spots. So he doesn't expect that stretch to have anything tomorrow, so he'll fish all new water again.
"I don't know what to think at this point," he added. "Today I caught five fish total. I had one small one come off. I don't know. I'm going to go out and see what happens. I found a few areas that look like what I need to fish, but I don't know if they've been hit.
"I dialed into a little pattern today, but I still have an open mind. Today, the spots where I caught them were a little bit different than where I caught them yesterday, so I'm not sure what to think."
He's been catching a few deep and a few shallow each day, and described his technique as a combination of power and finesse.
About risking everything at this point on new water, he said: "I went to stuff I never even practiced on today – stuff I never even looked at. I think that's the main key for me – approaching each area with an open mind, and fishing what I think I need to fish.
"Anytime you're fishing new water it's an adventure. There's a risk that you're not around fish, or around ones that'll bite. It's nerve-wracking. You don't know if you'll catch one fish, zero fish, or 20 fish. You just have no idea. But that's why I like fishing new water. It's an adventure."