JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 12, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is still on top at the FLW Tournament at the Cherokee Lake after catching five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Upshaw’s two-day total of 36-4 will lead the final 30 pros into the third day of the event, with pro Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, in second with 34-8 and Lowrance pro Austin Felix of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, right on his heels in third with 34-5. With weights this close together, there is sure to be some movement on the leaderboard heading into Championship Sunday, when the final 10 pros will take the water with their sights set on the top award of up to $125,000.
“I actually started right where I caught my last big one yesterday. I went through the exact same spot and I caught a 4½- and a 2¾-pounder,” said Upshaw, who is fishing in his eighth season on the FLW Tour. “There was enough boats around me that I figured I better stay in there and catch my limit, so I went ahead and caught a limit of 2½-pounders and the one big one.
“After that I just started running new water – places where I’d had bites in practice,” continued Upshaw. “The first place I pulled up to I caught a 3, and then the next spot I caught a 3½, a 3 and a 3¼ – it was a day. I hit two new places today and I still have about 15 other spots I haven’t even touched.”
Upshaw said he caught more keepers Friday than he did Thursday, and again brought all smallmouth to the weigh-in stage.
“I wasn’t sure I could catch what I caught today. I was pretty certain I could catch 16 [pounds] and I got lucky with that big one this morning,” said Upshaw. “A 4½-pounder is a big deal here. These guys are catching 3-pounders and a lot of them, but catching a 4-pounder is really hard, and today I was just fortunate enough to do it.”
Heading into the weekend, Upshaw said he has a couple of options for catching fish.
“I did figure out something late in the day today. I just started practicing – trying to figure out a way I could catch them completely different than what I have been doing and I was able to catch about 14 pounds doing that,” said Upshaw. “I could run around and catch them – and not spawners – which was nice. But, I’m not really worried about that for tomorrow. That’s more of a day four kind of thing. Overall, I can’t complain about today – it was a great day.”
The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Cherokee Lake are:
1st: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 36-4
2nd: Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., 10 bass, 34-8
3rd: Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 10 bass, 34-5
4th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., 10 bass, 34-0
5th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 10 bass, 33-9
6th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 33-9
7th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 10 bass, 33-7
8th: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 33-4
9th: Derrick Snavely, Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-14
10th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 32-7
11th: Andy Young, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 32-3
12th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 32-3
13th: Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., 10 bass, 32-2
14th: J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 10 bass, 31-12
15th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 31-11
16th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 31-10
17th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., 10 bass, 31-5
18th: Jon Englund, Farwell, Minn., 10 bass, 31-3
19th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 31-2
20th: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 10 bass, 31-2
21st: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 30-14
22nd: Dakota Ebare, Denham Springs, La., 10 bass, 30-12
23rd: Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-12
24th: Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 30-11
25th: Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 30-11
26th: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 10 bass, 30-4
27th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 10 bass, 30-3
28th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-2
29th: Jason Meninger, Saint Augustine, Fla., 10 bass, 29-14
30th: Larry Nixon, Quitman, Ark., 10 bass, 29-12
Hensley Powell of Whitwell, Tennessee, earned the $500 Big Bass award Friday after bringing a bass to the scale weighing 5 pounds even – the heaviest fish of the day. Overall there were 786 bass weighing 2,120 pounds, 13 ounces, caught by 162 pros Friday. The catch included 147 five-bass limits.