Trolling motor batteries may be the most important type of equipment on some of the top 16 finalist’s boats tomorrow during the conclusion of the Bass Pro Shops PAA Tournament Series event on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
James Watson
Day 2 leader James Watson of Waynesville, Missouri explained, “I’m burning down a lot of bank and running my trolling motor wide open. I run big, giant AGM batteries by Pro-Guide. I depend on them because I am a bank beater. That’s all I’ve been doing yesterday and today, and what I plan to do again tomorrow - running the bank burning up the trolling motor.”
Watson’s Day 2 limit of 15.58 pounds almost doubled his Day 1 catch of 15.98, giving Watson a two-day total of 31.56 pounds.
Big kicker fish have become huge factors, wild cards in this event.
Watson switched places with Day 1 leader Shane Long primarily based on the strength of a 5.92 pound kicker that Watson caught on topwater in about two feet of water today.
Just like on Day 1 and 2, whoever gets dealt a big kicker bass on Table Rock tomorrow, they will most assuredly rocket up in the final results.
Shane Long
Day 1 leader Shane Long of Willard, Missouri brought 12.12 to the scale and is in second right now with 29.65 pounds. “I had five keeper bites today – and I put them all in the boat. I know where they live and I made a really bad mistake this morning. I went to some new water that’s the same kind of water as I’ve been fishing to get the big bites – but it wasn’t the same. I had to scramble back to the same areas I was in yesterday in order to catch what I got today. So I’m going to stay in there tomorrow and I’m going to grind it out.”
The morning bite, the very first thing in the morning is critical to Long and to several of the other finalists.
“They’re up feeding real well in the morning, and getting those early morning bites is crucial. I screwed up and didn’t capitalize on it today. So I’m going to rethink my options - and I’m going to bring it hard tomorrow,” said a determined Long.
Jim Dillard
Yesterday, Jim Dillard’s 42nd birthday, he had 13.56.
Dillard, from Houston, AR did a little better than that today with 14.44 pounds for a two-day total of 28 pounds even, putting him in 3rd place.
“I think my trolling motor batteries are dead as doornails after today. The only thing I had to slow down for were the docks. If the docks weren’t in my way, I could have covered more water.”
Like some others, Dillard isn’t fishing the same areas twice. He said, “I know what to look for, I’m sticking with one bait primarily and just covering water as fast as I can possibly move my boat.”
Dillard’s fishing pretty shallow. “The way this lake is situated now, being late in the year, with really no thermocline, with the water up a little over normal pool in the bushes, it’s a shallow water paradise out there. When it’s clear, you can see those fish coming for the bait. There’s no point in me fishing out deep tomorrow.”
The field tomorrow will be whittled down to only the top 16 pros that advance to Day 3.
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Hometown | State | Day 1 & 2 Total Weight | Deficit |
| 1 | James | Watson | Waynesville | MO | 31.56 | |
| 2 | Shane | Long | Willard | MO | 29.65 | -1.91 |
| 3 | Jim | Dillard | Houston | AR | 28.00 | -3.56 |
| 4 | Stacey | King | Reeds Spring | MO | 27.56 | -4.00 |
| 5 | Jeff | Hager | Alexis | NC | 26.40 | -5.16 |
| 6 | Brian | Snowden | Reeds Spring | MO | 26.01 | -5.55 |
| 7 | Casey | Scanlon | Lenexa | KS | 25.49 | -6.07 |
| 8 | Kelly | Power | Cape Fair | MO | 25.22 | -6.34 |
| 9 | Shinichi | Fukae | Palestine | TX | 25.22 | -6.34 |
| 10 | Fred | Roumbanis | Bixby | OK | 24.99 | -6.57 |
| 11 | Matt | Reed | Madisonville | TX | 23.71 | -7.85 |
| 12 | Brandon | Coulter | Knoxville | TN | 22.56 | -9.00 |
| 13 | Matt | Jones | Spokane | MO | 21.57 | -9.99 |
| 14 | Mike | McClelland | Bella Vista | AR | 21.56 | -10.00 |
| 15 | Eric | Olliverson | Lampe | MO | 21.26 | -10.30 |
| 16 | Tommy | Brown | Louisville | TN | 20.58 | -10.98 |
Pros are competing for a first place prize valued at $39,000 including a 2013 Nitro Z8, equipped with a Mercury 225 Optimax (retail value of $36,000) plus $3,000 cash. The event will pay down 16 places.
Stay tuned for the PAA’s Day 3 Morning Story tomorrow. In it, we’ll run down what the finalists in 4th through 16th have to say.
Co-Angler Results
Co-angler competition concluded on Day 2.
Adam Caldwell of Republic, MO won the co-angler competition and $3,000 with a two-day total of 5 bass weighing 12.42 pounds, followed by co-angler Brandon Durr, also of Republic, MO, in second place with 4 bass weighing 10.86 pounds for two days and $1,300.
Caldwell caught the big bass of Day 2 on the co-angler side, weighing 3.73 lbs. Durr had the big bass (4.72 lbs.) on the co-angler side for Day 1. Both co-anglers earned the Daily Big Bass award of $250 for their respective catches.
Co-anglers also earned valuable points toward the co-angler of the year race. The top co-angler points at the end of the year will win the 2013 Co-Angler of the Year trophy.
Day 3 Weigh-in and Awards
The final weigh-in and awards will be at Branson Landing by the fountain on Saturday at 4:30 pm.
Also on Saturday from 12:30-3:30 pm, stop by to meet and greet the pros prior to final weigh-in at Bass Pro Shops at Branson Landing.