Brent Ehrler made a strong statement last month when he nearly won the season-opener on Okeechobee, a place where he has never done well.

Today, as FLW Tour stop #2 got underway, Ehrler continued to fish well and took the early lead. He has 17-08 which puts him a half-pound ahead of Dave Lefebre and exactly a pound in front of Wayne Houser whose 5-fish limit weighed 16-08.

Randy Haynes is 4th with 16-02.

Brandon McMillan and Koby Kreiger began the season in disappointing fashion on their home lake, Okeechobee. They bounced back today by checking in at 5th and 6th, respectively.

And that rookie who pulled off the win over Ehrler on Okeechobee, Drew Benton, is currently just outside the top 10 in 11th place with a weight of 14-04.

Could Benton and Ehrler be in for another head-to-head shootout? Both are making good decisions and executing well at this point in the young season.

All of the fish Ehrler weighed-in were spotted bass. He said he was running about 20 minutes from the launch site and visiting some locations multiple times throughout the day. A late stop on a previously unproductive area produced some key fish for him today.

Smith has a reputation for getting stingy when pressured so we’ll see how the bite holds up on Friday.