Smith Lake Day 2 Coverage
Look for plenty of limits at weigh-in
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1:45 That’s a wrap
Weigh-in starts at 3:00 p.m. CT and that’s where we’re headed. Only the top 30 fish tomorrow, and we should see a lot of limits and a lot of movement on the leaderboard today considering how tight the weights are. So tune in or come out – the weather is lovely and we’ve got spots galore.
1:30 Cobb and Lambert
Brandon Cobb and Jason Lambert both have limits for about 10 pounds.
1:23 Canada update
Cory Johnston has a limit for around 10 pounds.
1:14 Not much for Niggemeyer
James Niggemeyer did really well on day one, but he’s scuffling today. The Texas pro has five, but he says they aren’t much and he’s had to really switch up.
1:08 Updates on a few rough days
Bradley Dortch has a limit, but it’s just for 8 pounds. Luke Dunkin and Cody Kelley are both shy of a limit.
12:55 More limits
Barry Wilson and Tom Monsoor each have limits for around 10 pounds. Michael Neal does not – he’s got three ultra-dinks.
12:50 Watson limits
James Watson threw a shaky head all day yesterday and says he’s never doing that again. Now he’s frogging and flipping pockets and has amassed a small limit.
12:34 Wendlandt update
Clark Wendlandt says he’s got about 13 pounds or so. He’s in a four-way tie for 60th, so that should move him up and at least get him a check today.
12:25 Another limit
Jim Jones says he’s got a small limit.
12:18 Fisher
Mark Fisher has three in the boat. Fisher started the day in 122nd, so he’s got some work to do this afternoon.
12:12 Cortiana
Kyle Cortiana has a limit for about 10 pounds, but one of them is a 5-pounder. He can really make up some ground with another cull or two.
12:07 Davis culls again
Clent Davis just culled up by about a pound. He’s got 11+ now for sure and seems to be heating up as the day goes on.
11:47 Three for Douglas, Colson
Josh Douglas only has three, but one of them is a good one. So, he’s got a fifth of a comeback day in the livewell. Ramie Colson has a small limit.
11:45 A handful of limits
Austin Felix, Shawn Murphy and Gary Yamamoto all have small limits.
11:23 Arey alert!
We have found Matt Arey and he says he has 10 pounds. He's currently fishing docks and thinks that bite will only get better as the day goes on.
11:13 Five for Dobson
Jeff Dobson just flashed us five on the way out of a pocket. No word on the size obviously, but he’s done the limit part.
11:03 Thrift takes a while
Bryan Thrift finally caught his fifth keeper and none of them are particularly large. But, he’s the best in the world and he’s got a lot of time left.
10:52 Smith is up to three
Blake Smith has three in the boat now, and he’s decided to make the switch from Rock Creek to Ryan Creek. We’ll see how it works out for him at weigh-in – it seems like a long way to run to catch two bass.
10:39 Davis culls
Clent Davis just culled up by about a half pound. That should put him right around the 10-pound mark.
10:27 The water and the weather
It has turned into a spectacular day in Alabama – the sun is shining and it’s lovely and warm. The water level has fallen about 0.1 feet since takeoff, and is now just a bit more than 3.5 feet over full pool.
10:25 Skippers for Setzer
Braxton Setzer says he’s just got five small ones. On the plus side, he thinks the increasing sun is making the bite better.
10:20 Davis has one good one
Clent Davis just caught about a 3-pounder and has four small fish to go with it. A couple more 3-pounders and the Montevallo, Ala., pro will be sitting real purty.
10:12 Meyer again
Cody Meyer has about 12 pounds in the box now. He’s fished both Ryan and Rock today.
9:59 Johnston limits
Chris Johnston is working on a limit for about 9 pounds at the moment. Johnston started the day in 39th and Bryan Thrift started the day in 23rd, so he should try to catch some more bass to stay in striking position for AOY.
9:48 Hahner is culling
Cody Hahner culled up to about 10 pounds with a 3-pounder a little bit ago. He started the day in 26th, so he may be about to make his first cut on Tour.
9:24 Hollowell, debris
Todd Hollowell has three for about 6 pounds in the early going.
It has taken a ton of rain over the last few days, but there is finally some significant debris in Smith. Up in Rock Creek, there are logs and whatnot floating around and it’s going to increase the risk that someone hits something, but it shouldn’t really be a huge factor – Smith isn’t so big that the runs take forever at a moderate speed.
9:22 Williams rolls
We put a poll up on twitter a bit ago asking folks which species would win at Smith Lake. Inexplicably, a bunch of people voted early for largemouths. David Williams has probably just buried that possibility, as he just culled with a 4-pound spotted bass to get up into the low teens.
9:07 Williams is sitting pretty
Basically just skipping docks, Williams just culled again and has about 11 or 12 pounds in the boat. With the entire day left to catch a kicker or two, he’s locked in for the top 30 and he’s got the inside track on the lead and FLW Live for sure.
9:02 Gussy!
Jeff Gustafson has four skippers in the box.
8:55 Williams has a limit, Smith has his kickers
We’re pretty sure that David Williams has filled out his limit now, but we’ve only been watching from a distance.
The story so far is really Blake Smith. The Florida pro rolled to his starting school and struck out, but he picked up a frog about 10 minutes ago and caught a 3-pounder and a 5-pounder back-to-back. So, he’s crushing so far.
8:37 A handful of updates
We pulled into one pocket that is loaded with dudes. Jason Reyes has three for 6+, Andrew Upshaw has two good ones for about 5 pounds, JT Kenney is on a blank and Jeff Sprague has one small one.
8:28 Meyer culls
Cody Meyer has caught a few more keepers and culled to about 10 pounds. We’ll surely get back on him later in the day for another update from the spotted bass king.
8:16 Two for Castledine
Todd Castledine has two small keepers to start off. Also, the fog is lifting in earnest now.
7:58 Reehm and J-Mac
Jared McMillan and Clark Reehm are both fishless and they say things have changed yet again. Both of them started on places they felt were sure-fire, but they didn’t get any bites. It figures that folks will have to adjust every day – with the water falling it’s going to keep things in flux.
7:50 Meyer, Gainey, Thompson
Cody Meyer has already assembled a limit for about 9 pounds. Nick Gainey has two skippers in the boat. Joe Thompson hasn't caught anything so far.
7:40 Williams gets another
David Williams just caught his third keeper.
7:25 We found Williams
It took some doing, but we’ve found David Williams and lost Blake Smith. Williams is skipping docks and has two in the box.
6:50 Fog
There wasn’t a fog delay this morning, but there is a fair amount of fog on the lake in places. It ought to burn off quickly, but some pros may be a little slower than usual getting to their starting places today.
6:30 It’s going to be a beautiful day
Day two of the FLW Tour presented by T-H Marine on Smith Lake could hardly be more different than day one. Crisp and cool with some fog at takeoff, the sun is coming and there isn’t a hint of rain in the forecast. The only evidence of the recent soaking Smith has gotten is the still-flooded lawn near takeoff and a little extra stain in the usually gin-clear water near the dam.
Leading the way on day one, David Williams caught all largemouths, but the folks behind him all targeted just spots or a mix of the two species. Overall, spotted bass made up the bulk of the weight brought to the scale, and that figures to be the case again today. But, like on day one, mixing in some kicker largemouths may be key for some pros.
As far as techniques go, there has been plenty of finesse action, but that’s hardly the only thing going. Some bigger swimbaits have made an appearance, as well as almost anything you can imagine that would be good for picking through flooded cover.
With the water continuing to drop and more sun, the conditions are certainly different, but the fishing should still be pretty good.
Conditions
Temperature at takeoff: 50 degrees
Forecast high: 74 degrees
Sky: clear
Precipitation: 0 percent chance of rain
Wind: light and variable
Water level: 513.76 Feet (tracker)
Tournament Details
Folgers Morning Takeoff: 6:30 a.m. CT at Smith Lake Dam Access, 7482 Smith Lake Dam Road, Jasper, Ala.
Weigh-in: Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. CT at Smith Lake Dam Access and 4 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday at Smith Lake Dam Access
FLW Expo: 12 to 4 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday at Smith Lake Dam Access
FLW Live: Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. CT