Alabama's Richard Peek, an FLW Tour rookie this year, built a lead of nearly 3 pounds at the Rayovac FLW Series Championship Friday as he caught an 18-05 stringer that gave him a 2-day total of 31-04.
“I was pretty much a phone call away from not even coming to the tournament,” said Peek, whose wife is due to give birth to the couple’s first child this weekend. “But I decided to come on over and I’m glad I did.
“It’s all about timing right now. Yesterday I had a good flurry at about 1 o’clock and I caught three of the fish I weighed-in in that window. Today it happened around 10 a.m. and it was over by 11 a.m., but I caught four of my keepers in six casts."
He said the places he's keying on contain a lot of laydowns and other structure.
“It's all close to creek channels and bends, and I think when the fish pull up to feed you catch them. Today the wind got up after lunch. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to fish some of my places tomorrow because the waves might be too big.”
Right behind Peek in 2nd place is veteran Chris Baumgardner of North Carolina with 28-06.
Here's are the numbers for the anglers who'll be back on the water for the final day:
1. Richard Peek: 31-04
2. Chris Baumgardner: 28-06
3. (tie) Todd Auten: 28-00
4. (tie) Zach Birge: 28-00
5. George Kapiton: 27-15
6. Randy Haynes: 25-12
7. Jay Yelas: 25-03
8. Chris McCall: 25-00
9. Casey Gallagher: 24-08
10. Bryan Thrift: 24-03
