By BassFan Staff

The stage is set for a final-day shootout at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

With just 4 pounds, 4 ounces separating the 10 finalists, a group of anglers with 16 career Angler of the Year awards, seven Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup titles and two TTBC wins among them, there are bound to be some fireworks on the water at Lake Ray Roberts on Sunday.

The fishing got a bit tougher today – only one 20-pound limit was caught – but each finalist knows just about anything can happen in Texas.

Matt Herren has the distinct honor of being the man everyone will be chasing initially after he sacked 15-00 to up his total to a tournament-leading 34-08 through 2 days. He’s seeking his first big win and payday since an FLW Series victory in 2007.

“Anytime give yourself a chance going into the final day, you can’t ask for any more,” Herren said. “I’m shocked I made it this far. The only thing I had going this week was how to get a big bite. What I figured out in practice is gone. Today, I did what I figured out Friday. Tomorrow morning, I might have to figure something else out, but I seem to do my best work when flying by the seat of my pants.”

While Herren wings it, Andy Morgan will be looking to build upon his success from today. The three-time FLW Tour AOY caught a tournament-best 22-00 bag and made a 24-place move up the standings to get into contention for his first TTBC title. His 34-00 total is just 8 ounces back of Herren.

Bryan Thrift, a former TTBC winner, held onto 3rd with a 14-08 bag that gave him 33-12 while Dave Lefebre, another TTBC champ, stayed in 4th after bagging 13-04, which gave him 32-04.

Chris Zaldain, who led after day 1, slipped to 5th with a 10-12 stringer, but is only 2 1/2 pounds back with 32-00.

Here's a look at the Top 10 after day 2 of competition, with deficit margin from Herren indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Matt Herren: 34-08
2. Andy Morgan: 34-00 (0-08)
3. Bryan Thrift: 33-12 (0-12)
4. Dave Lefebre: 32-04 (2-04)
5. Chris Zaldain: 32-00 (2-08)
6. Kevin VanDam: 31-08 (3-00)
7. Cody Meyer: 31-04 (3-04)
8. Luke Clausen: 30-08 (4-00)
9. Greg Hackney: 30-04 (4-04)
10. Aaron Martens: 30-04 (4-04)

Morgan made the biggest jump of anyone in the field, but Kevin VanDam (11th to 6th), Cody Meyer (14th to 7th), Luke Clausen (17th to 8th) and Greg Hackney (19th to 9th) also fished their way into the final round today.

Scott Martin, the reigning FLW Tour AOY, experienced the biggest drop, falling to 27th from 6th after catching just two fish today. Tracey Adams bagged 18-08 today, the second-best stringer behind Morgan, but had to settle for 11th, just 4 ounces out of the cut.

By comparison, Jason Christie led after day 2 of last year’s TTBC at Lake Fork with 64-00. It's possible that 54 pounds won't even win this week.

All of the finalists have caught at least one fish so far weighing 4-04 or better – Morgan and Thrift have four apiece – so it’ll come down to who can string together multiple quality bites under what are expected to be overcast skies. Winds are expected to pick up out of the southeast at 10 to 20 mph.

Herren Hoping for Sun

> Day 2: 5, 15-00 (10, 34-08)

Herren is keenly aware of the man directly in his rear-view mirror on the leaderboard. When asked if today was generally a tougher day of fishing, he cracked, “It was for everybody but Andy. Andy clocked ‘em and caught a bunch, too.”

Herren’s morning struggles continued, but he made up for it with a 5-04 kicker. Still, he thinks he’s going to have to produce Sunday morning if he’s going to challenge for the win. Having sunshine has been vital to his catching fish.

“If it’s cloudy, I’m going to have to adjust,” he said. “It’s taking me too long to catch fish in the morning. I’m getting beat in the morning. Once the sun gets up, I can catch them, but I need to figure out that morning deal. I think whoever catches 20 (pounds) tomorrow will win.

“My deal has been the same – I need the sun. It clouded up this afternoon and I never got the bright skies and I struggled. I got the same number of bites as I did Friday. I don’t know if everything I have is toast. I do know I will fish my guts out and whatever happens happens.”



James Overstreet
Photo: James Overstreet

Bryan Thrift hopes to avoid having to flip on Sunday.

3rd: Thrift Went Flipping

> Day 2: 5, 14-08 (10, 33-12)

It was so tough on Ray Roberts today that Thrift broke out his flipping stick, a technique he loathes. He may want to stick with it considering it produced his two best fish of the day – a 4-08 and a 4-04.

“Today was a lot tougher,” he said. “The only chance I have to win is to get a couple big bites tomorrow. I need it to be cloudy and slick where I can throw moving baits down the bank and I don’t have to flip. If the flipping bite stays on, it’s game over because Andy Morgan’s going to win.”

He had his limit by 9:30 this morning, then added his two biggest fish by flipping a Damiki Knockout creature bait.

“When I did that, I said, ‘Andy’s gonna jack ‘em,’ because if I can catch two good ones he’s going to catch five,” he quipped.

For Sunday, he knows he has as good a shot as anyone in the Top 10 to win.

“With the weights as tight as they are, someone’s going to get lucky and catch a giant and win it,” he said. “Even a giant and four decent limit fish, it’ll be hard to beat that.”

4th: Lefebre Hung In There

> Day 2: 5, 13-04 (10, 32-04)

Lefebre had a day to forget from an execution standpoint, but still maintained his position in the standings and is a threat to win his second career TTBC on Sunday.

“We’re going to get practice conditions tomorrow and I had a decent practice,” he said. “At this point, any change is good right now. I’m just so happy to make the Top 10. I’m so relieved. I’m going to fish real free tomorrow. I’ll have two or three rods on the deck and just pick it apart.

“I’m excited. I thought I was out of it. I’m only 2 pounds out. That’s one bite.”

He lost several quality fish today that would’ve likely put him well ahead of Herren had he landed them.

“It should’ve been a 23- or 24-pound day, but I just lost them all,” he said. “It was ridiculous. It was all on me.”

James Overstreet
Photo: James Overstreet

Chris Zaldain had a much tougher day at Lake Ray Roberts on Saturday.

He broke off a 6-pounder and lost a 4 on the next cast and also lost another 4-pound caliber fish later on.

After doing most of his damage in the morning on Friday, today was a struggle early on. He got well in a hurry, catching five fish between 1:05 and 1:40 p.m., the biggest being 3 pounds.

“I’m going to treat any bites tomorrow before noon to be a bonus,” he added.

5th: Tougher Day for Zaldain

> Day 2: 5, 10-12 (10, 32-00)

Zaldain was able to feast on a morning shad spawn on Friday en route to seizing the day-1 lead. That pattern didn’t avail itself Saturday amid bright, sunny and turbid conditions.

“Today was the complete opposite,” he said. “I struggled.”

Where he caught 15 pounds Friday morning, he left there with two fish today. He’s hoping the front that’s expected to move in Sunday will prompt the area to turn back on.

“We’re supposed to have clouds Sunday so I’m really banking on that to get a good head start,” he said.

While he did manage 10 keeper bites, the most among the Top 5, he was lacking the kicker that punctuated his Friday stringer. He’s enthused by the potential of another big fish spot that he located for Sunday.

“My big fish area, there was only one fish there today, but I have another area that nobody else is fishing and it’s a little deeper and I think it’ll only get better with the falling water,” he said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“If you can catch a 4-pounder you’re back in the mix,” he said. “A limit of 4s is hard to come by right now. These fish are stingy. They’re not committing out deep and they’re leaving the shallows, but it’s hard to intercept them in between.”

7th: Meyer Had a Flurry

> Day 2: 5, 15-04 (10, 31-04)

At 9:30 this morning, Meyer had one fish on his scorecard, a 1-12 dink. At 9:31, he caught another that weighed the same. By 9:58, he finished out his limit and added a 3-pounder shortly after 10:30 that culled one of his small fish.

Those were the only bites he got today as he moved into the Top 10 despite losing an entire day of practice as punishment for missing the angler meeting Monday (Meyer had competed in the Sturgeon Bay Open in Wisconsin last weekend and used Monday as a travel day).

“It’s wide open,” he said. “It’s fishing super tough. Whoever catches ‘em tomorrow will win. You have to get a lucky big one.”

He’s had success flipping a creature bait on deeper willow trees. He thinks the receding water has forced fish that were shallow earlier in the week to suspend away from the cover and they’re not feeding as they normally would. Still, he was able to find one stretch today that was holding some fish.

“If it had stayed high, the weights would be lot better and the fishing would be better,” he added. “There are only so many stretches with fish on them and it’s a Saturday and Sunday in Texas. We’re not the only ones out there. There are a ton of locals fishing the same stuff we are.”

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 38 anglers, 24 limits (8 fewer than yesterday), 4 fours, 4 threes, 3 twos, 3 ones.

> There were four fish that measured 21 inches or longer that were brought to the weigh-in today, led by Brian Snowden's 7-pounder. Alton Jones (6-04), Adrian Avena (5-08) and Ish Monroe (5-00) also caught "overs". Zaldain's 7-12 from Friday continues to lead the big-bass pool and puts him in the driver's seat to take home a new Toyota Tundra if it holds up through Sunday.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., May 22 – Chance of Thunderstorms - 85°/66°
- Wind: From the SE at 10 to 15 mph

Day 2 Standings

> For complete standings, click here.