Clifford Pirch weighed a bag on day 2 of the WON Bass U.S. Open that was less than half the size of the one he brought in the previous day, but he nonetheless will carry a substantial lead into the final day at Nevada's Lake Mead.
The two-time U.S. Open winner's 7.48 stringer, which was only a pound heavier than his biggest single fish from day 1, pushed his total to 23.07. He has an advantage of a little more than 2 pounds over 2nd-place Zack Holwerda, who caught 12.29.
"I had an area in mind when I set out this morning, but then changed and decided to stay closer and I didn't quite get the bites I thought I would," Pirch said. "The weather slicked off and we didn't get the amount of breeze that we expected and it made the bite a little tougher for me.
"I've got an area that was a key piece in my strategy for this tournament. I haven't gone to it yet and I'm pretty sure nobody else has found it. I'm going to go there tomorrow, and hopefully I didn't leave too much room on the table today for someone else to sneak in."
Holwerda said execution was the key to his big day.
"I've been catching the quality fish here that I needed throughout practice, but yesterday I lost a few that mattered," he said. "I've been able to duplicate this pattern over all of the different conditions we've had, but I like the calmer weather and I'm hoping that it will play into my hands tomorrow again."
Here are the totals that the Top 12 will carry into the final day:
1. Clifford Pirch: 23.07
2. Zack Holwerda: 21.02
3. Brett Leber: 20.37
4. Douglas Jones: 19.72
5. Gabe Bolivar: 18.88
6. Tony Lain: 18.74
7. Todd Woods: 18.66
8. Donnie Scroggins: 18.57
9. Pete Marino: 17.57
10. Luke Clausen: 17.42
11. Kyle Grover: 17.21
12. Bill Brown: 17.20
For complete day-2 standings, click here.
