“I’m 100 percent looking that far ahead,” he said. “I want to make it there, and when I heard about this I had to enter, even if it meant missing a week of school to be here. I’ve treated this tournament just like every other big event I’ve fished. It feels the same and I want to win it just as bad.”
He used his electronics expertise and a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader to get off to a fast start this morning, landing four of his five smallmouth in his starting area, but after that, things got a little slow.
“I really only caught five good ones today and I only culled two or three times” he explained. “I tried to lay off of them as much as I could but I knew I had to have 16 pounds. I’ve been averaging 14 pounds a day in practice all week, but 90 percent of them have been smallmouth. That’s not a good thing because they tend to move in and out a lot quicker. I finally caught another 3 1/2 pounder about 2:30 that got me to my final weight.”
Tomorrow he will return to that same starting spot and hope that there are still enough fish left to maintain his lead. He’ll have to be consistent, because Price is an old hand on the lakes of East Tennessee. He likewise got off to a strong start today, with a limit of smallmouth in the livewell by 9:30 a.m., but after that “it got real slow.” He culled up by ounces over the course of the day and eventually backed off of his bronzeback bite to look for a kicker largemouth.
He found the one that he needed at the end of the day, a largemouth that allowed him to cull by over a pound, yet despite the plan coming to fruition he doesn’t necessarily plan to follow it on Saturday.
“I intend to spend more time smallmouth fishing tomorrow,” he explained. “At the end of the day I still had two small ones that I could have culled, but I was trying to save them for later in the week. My weight was a little higher than I expected, but I expected them to bite pretty steady all day and they didn’t do that.”
He typically fishes the local lakes including Cherokee, Douglas and Norris an average of four to five days a week and expects that personal history to provide him with an edge if things get tough. He’ll still chase largemouth tomorrow but for a shorter overall window.
Kentucky boater Kevin True landed the Big Bass of the Day, a 5 pound 6 ounce largemouth.
Kevin Seymour of New York holds the nonboater lead, with a three-bass limit weighing 8-13. That puts him nearly a pound over fellow New York Clifford Chilson in second with 7-15. Five other co-anglers also weighed in limits of 7 pounds or more.
Julie Price of West Virginia landed the biggest bass of the day on the co-angler side. It weighed 3-11 and she currently sits in 16th place.
The full field of anglers will take off from TVA Cherokee Dam Launch tomorrow beginning at 7:10 a.m. ET and return for weigh-in at 3:10 p.m. The Top 20 boaters and nonboaters after Day 2 will advance to Sunday’s final round.
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About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
