Fralick's two-day total of 38 pounds, 9 ounces gave him a thin cushion of 8 ounces over 2007 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif. Reese moved up from 13th place, thanks to his Saturday bag, a five-fish limit of 22 pounds, 9 ounces that gave him 38-1 overall.
Only the top 25 contenders advanced to Day Three and will compete for the $500,000 top prize. Adding to the suspense of Sunday's final round of competition, the record overall weight at a Classic - 56 pounds, 2 ounces - could fall.
Fralick, who qualified for his second Classic via the Central Open division, has been flipping a jig around grass and laydowns in one location. He credited his success in part to the fact that he fishes the Red River regularly, second only to his home waters in South Dakota, becoming quite comfortable on the Red's Port Lake in particular.
"I really just try to keep everything on a pretty even keel," Fralick said. "I didn't approach this tournament any differently than I approach any other."
While Fralick enjoyed relative solitude in his spot Friday, a few more anglers arrived Saturday. With the field cut to 25 for the final day of competition, he said he felt sure he would have to share Sunday only with Brian Snowden of Reeds Spring, Mo., who is in sixth with 34 pounds, 13 ounces.
Reese's Saturday haul - caught on a white Lucky Craft Redemption spinnerbait - was just shy of being the big bag of the day, an honor that went to fellow Elite Series pro Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., with a 22-11 haul.
"I had a game plan and it somewhat paid off a little bit better than I anticipated today. What's going to happen tomorrow with this cold front is a whole other story," Reese said. "I made an adjustment in some water and actually fished where I was supposed to be fishing, the really pretty water where the bass really were. I caught them and thought, well, why didn't I fish here yesterday?"
As Day One leader, 2007 Classic champ Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala., and several other front-runners struggled, Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla. (36-3), Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas (35-15) and Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala. (35-10), remained consistent, capitalizing on an aggressive bite that Martens called a "rampage."
"These fish, when they get a cold snap like this, they go on a feeding binge," Martens said. "The conditions aren't right for spawning, so they go ahead and start feeding again. If you were on them today, they were biting aggressively."
Martens added that the bite would stay strong regardless of the changing weather conditions. Sunday's temperature forecast for Sunday's 7:15 a.m. launch was in the low 30s.
"The weather before we got here was really, really warm," Evers said. "Air temperature changes a lot more quickly than water temperature, so what's really changing for our bodies is not changing the water like you think it would."
Most of the top five anglers believe a bag of 20 pounds or more will be possible.
"Somebody's going to bring in 20 pounds tomorrow," Fralick said. "This place just has a bunch of 4-pound class fish in it."
Added Reese: "I think this tournament is going to be won in the last two hours."
The 2008 Women's Tour Angler of the Year Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., who made history Friday in becoming the first woman to fish the Bassmaster Classic, finished the tournament in 47th place with a two-day total of 12 pounds, 2 ounces.
The 2008 Classic Champion, Alton Jones of Waco, Texas, made the cut in 21st place with 26-1 overall, while two-time Classic champion Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., the 2008 Angler of the Year, finished 30th with 23-11. Elite Series pro Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., withdrew from the competition at the start of Day Two because of illness.
The public is invited to attend the final launch and weigh-in and witness the crowning of the 2009 Classic champion.
The daily launches are set for 7:15 a.m. at the Red River South Marina, Highway 71 South in Bossier City. The daily weigh-ins will be at the CenturyTel Center, 2000 CenturyTel Center Drive, Bossier City. CenturyTel's doors will open Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
The 2009 Classic Outdoors Expo continues at the Shreveport Convention Center, 400 Caddo St. Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
All events are free and open to the public.
2009 Classic - Shreveport, LA 02/20-02/22 Red River, Shreveport La.
(PRO Division) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Jami Fralick Martin, S.D. 10 38-09 0
Day 1: 5 19-03 Day 2: 5 19-06
2. Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 10 38-01 0
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 22-09
3. Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. 10 36-03 0
Day 1: 5 17-00 Day 2: 5 19-03
4. Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 10 35-15 0
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 20-05
5. Aaron Martens Leeds, Ala. 10 35-10 0
Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 5 17-09
6. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, Mo. 10 34-13 0
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 19-04
7. Dave Wolak Wake Forest, N.C. 10 34-06 0
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 17-00
8. Mark Davis Mount Ida, Ark. 10 34-02 0
Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 5 22-07
9. Boyd Duckett Demopolis, Ala. 10 33-15 0
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 13-12
9. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 10 33-15 0
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 18-10
11. Casey Ashley Donalds, S.C. 10 32-08 0
Day 1: 5 9-13 Day 2: 5 22-11
12. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, Ariz 10 31-15 0
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 16-02
13. Bobby Lane Lakeland, Fla. 10 31-14 0
Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 18-12
14. Greg Pugh Cullman, Ala. 10 30-11 0
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 16-11
15. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, Ark. 10 30-06 0
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 16-08
16. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, Ky. 10 30-05 0
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 15-02
17. Bill Lowen North Bend, Ohio 10 29-10 0
Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 14-14
18. Bryan Schmidt Olney, Texas 10 29-00 0
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 13-11
19. Terry Fitzpatrick Waukon, Iowa 10 27-06 0
Day 1: 5 18-00 Day 2: 5 9-06
20. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 10 26-06 0
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 13-13
21. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 10 26-01 0
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 12-12
22. Kenyon Hill Norman, Okla. 10 25-12 0
Day 1: 5 9-00 Day 2: 5 16-12
23. Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 10 25-05 0
Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 9-02
23. Jay Evans Corvallis, Mont. 10 25-05 0
Day 1: 5 9-12 Day 2: 5 15-09
25. Shaw Grigsby Gainesville, Fla. 10 25-02 0
Day 1: 5 8-11 Day 2: 5 16-07
26. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, Fla. 10 24-14 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 5 14-06
27. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, Kan. 10 24-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 11-03
27. Scott Rook Little Rock, Ark. 8 24-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-11 Day 2: 3 6-11
29. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, Okla. 8 23-12 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-04 Day 2: 3 5-08
30. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 9 23-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 4-04 Day 2: 5 19-07
31. Scott Parker Londonderry, N.H. 10 22-12 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 12-05
32. Matt Herren Trussville, Ala. 8 21-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 3 7-07
33. Davy Hite Ninety Six, S.C. 8 21-01 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-12 Day 2: 3 10-05
34. Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 7 19-12 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 2-13 Day 2: 5 16-15
35. Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 10 19-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 8-08
35. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 10 19-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 9-02 Day 2: 5 10-04
37. Waine Pittman Villa Rica, Ga. 9 18-12 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 7-09 Day 2: 5 11-03
37. Mike Burns Allen, Texas 7 18-12 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 2 3-05
39. Peter Thliveros St Augustine, Fla. 8 18-09 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 6-00 Day 2: 5 12-09
40. Rick Morris Virginia Beach, Va. 5 17-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 6-10 Day 2: 3 10-06
41. Ish Monroe Hughson, Calif. 8 16-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 6-08 Day 2: 5 9-12
42. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, Fla. 9 16-03 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 4 5-00
43. Rick Clunn Ava, Mo. 7 15-15 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 2 5-04
44. Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, N.C. 6 15-08 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 0-00 Day 2: 5 15-08
45. Bryan Hudgins Orange Park, Fla. 6 13-07 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 1-05 Day 2: 5 12-02
46. David Williams Maiden, N.C. 6 13-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 1 1-14
47. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, Ala. 7 12-02 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 3-06 Day 2: 5 8-12
48. Byron Velvick Del Rio, Texas 5 9-15 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 1-00 Day 2: 4 8-15
49. Ken Baumgardner Monongahela, Pa. 6 9-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 6-10 Day 2: 2 3-01
50. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, Ala. 4 8-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 1-10 Day 2: 3 6-10
51. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, Ala. 5 7-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 7-11 Day 2: 0 0-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 39 223 584-00
2 38 223 655-09
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77 446 1239-09