FLW Tour pro Jim Dillard caught a 16-15 sack on Thursday to grab the early lead at the Table Rock Lake Bassmaster Central Open in Missouri. He'll take a lead of more than 2 pounds over Elite Series veteran Tommy Biffle into day 2.
After a slow practice, Dillard’s first three bites were 4-pounders.
“The day went way better than I expected,” he said. “It turned into a good day.”
The Louisiana angler said he saw one of the 4-pounders he caught Thursday during practice earlier this week. He also saw some more 4-pounders today that he missed.
“They would follow my bait, so I know there are more in the area,” he said.
He hopes the cooler weather predicted for this week will turn the fish on as the tournament progresses.
“That would be nice,” he said. “I'm fishing a little shallow and a little deep. It just depends on what I run to. I'm basically running from waypoint to waypoint from around here (on the lower lake) to up lake.”
Here's how the initial Top 12 stacks up:
1. Jim Dillard: 16-15
2. Tommy Biffle: 14-12
3. James Watson: 14-05
4. Allen Rude: 13-14
5. James Elam: 13-04
6. Jay Brainard: 13-03
7. Matthew Delaney: 13-03
8. Tom Huynh: 12-15
9. Todd Castledine: 12-13
10. Justin Margraves: 12-12
11. Randy Sullivan: 12-03
12. Brent Algeo: 12-00
