Ott DeFoe caught a 17-05 stringer for the second straight day at the Douglas Lake Bassmaster Northern Open to retain the top slot with on day remaining.
“My bites were more solid today,” said DeFoe, who pushed his total to 34-10. “I had four bass that were 3-pounders and then I had a big one of 4-13. Yesterday I had one fish that was probably 4, another good one, a 3 1/2 and a couple more that were over 2 pounds.”
DeFoe caught the 4-13 at about 10 o’clock, which allowed him to cull out a 13-incher. He once again navigated the river with his Tracker tunnel-hull aluminum boat, which he ran over shoals as shallow as 8 to 10 inches to reach the same areas he fished on day 1.
“One section that was good to me yesterday was good to me again today,” he said. “The river is falling. It was really high this morning and then it fell really hard. It should fall steadily tomorrow and that is what I would like for it to do.”
The three-time B.A.S.S. winner caught all of his bass on one lure today. On day 1, he relied on three lures to complete his limit. He declined to identify any of them.
With 2nd-place Drew Benton fishing some of the same spots, DeFoe is considering running farther up the river tomorrow. “I could go all the way up river to North Carolina if I wanted to,” he said. “I just don’t see the need.”
Benton moved into second place with 31-07 after catching a 16-14 limit today.
“It was tougher today, actually,” he said. “It was a grind because I got only six keeper bites all day.”
Here are the totals for the 12 anglers who advanced to the final day:
1. Ott DeFoe: 34-10
2. Drew Benton: 31-07
3. Hunter Shryock: 29-15
4. David Williams: 29-02
5. Brian Latimer: 28-15
6. Toshinari Namiki: 25-03
7. Wil Hardy: 24-11
8. Alex Wetherell: 24-07
9. Mike Huff: 24-00
10. Allen Brooks: 23-15
11. Al Farace Jr.: 22-02
12. Brad Burkhart: 22-01
