Card Comes Up Aces On Day 2 At Lake Fork

By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

Brandon Card committed to a spot he called the “Hammer Hole” and nailed down a limit of 28-01 to lead after day 2 of the Lake Fork Bassmaster Elite Series in Texas.

Rising from 3rd place, Card bolstered his day-1 weight of 27-06 for a two-day total of 55-07 that leads 2nd-place Quentin Cappo by 11 ounces.

Working in Little Caney Creek, Card’s key spot was a subtle point adjacent to multiple spawning pockets with a creek channel in close proximity. What’s interesting is that Card encountered this fish-laden staging area on his way to inspect other spots.

“I’m really fortunate I found this spot,” he said. “It didn’t look like much when I saw it on my side scan, but it looked like just enough to make me want to make a cast in there.

“I caught them at the mouth of Little Caney really good (during the Elite event) in 2019. I had two giant schools, so I checked that out and they weren’t there. So, I just kept going farther in there.”

With two fish over 6 pounds in his bag, Card did most of his work with a Yo-Zuri 3DB 110 jerkbait. He also caught fish on a 3DB 110 Deep, a Yo-Zuri Hardcore Crank 3+ and a 4-inch hand-poured swimbait on a 1/2-ounce lead-head.

“Changing angles and trying to stay fresh on the baits was important,” he said. “I’m just thinking, ‘What else can I throw out there?’ I’ll rig up some new stuff tonight.”

Noting that he had his weight by about 9:45 a.m., Card said, “What a morning. There wasn’t much to speak of after the morning. I did catch a 4 1/2-pounder that didn’t help, but I couldn’t get on anything (productive) after I left the Hammer Hole.

“Hopefully, that place keeps reloading. It’s a pretty magical spot.”

Addressing the obvious question of why he left the Hammer Hole, Card said that his bite slowed down – possibly a casualty of meteorological disruptions from an approaching storm system that prompted B.A.S.S. to move up Friday’s weigh-in by one hour.

“Also, I didn’t want to just sit there and protect the spot, and I didn’t want to just sit there and keep fishing,” Card said of his fish-management strategy. “I didn’t want to catch a 4-pounder that didn’t help today because I might need it for tomorrow.”

Card’s largest fish – a 6-12 – bit the swimbait after he effectively retrieved the bait through a labyrinth of submerged timber off a deeper section of his point. Thinking he may be onto something, he repeated his cast, but at that point the wheels came off.

“The very next cast, I hung up,” he said. “I didn’t want to go in there and get it, so I broke it off and tied on another one. I threw back out there and, on the next cast, I got hung again and had to break that one off.

“Literally two casts later, I get hung again and break off the third swimbait. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ It’s like I couldn’t get back in there after I caught the big one. I’ll have to rig up a jighead with a weedguard tonight.”

Holding steady in 2nd place, Cappo added 25-13 to the 28-15 he caught Thursday to keep himself in contention with 54-12. Returning to the Caney Creek areas he fished on day 1, Cappo anchored his bag with a 7-01 shortly before 9 a.m.

“My main area was a little underwater point with a root ball from an old tree,” he said. “They stage right there coming in and out, so if you can hit that root ball with a crankbait and deflect, they’ll come out and attack it.”

Wind exposure is key to Cappo’s success, and both days he saw clear examples of how an increase in surface disturbance would trigger feeding. Also, his area holds scattered pods of big gizzard shad, so he threw sizable baits — a Strike King KVD 4.0 squarebill and a Strike King Sexy Dawg topwater.

“They were eating kind of funny today,” he said. “I could tell by the way they were grabbing my crankbait. But it’s just one of those deals where you have to keep your head down and go because you know it’s going to happen, you just don’t know when.

“I was fortunate, because with an hour (before check-in), I had three big bites (3-15, 5-11 and 6-3). You just have to let it happen, and it definitely happened today.”

Day-1 leader Patrick Walters saw a dramatic decline to the intense action that produced his 32-14 opening-day bag (second-largest of the event behind 4th-place Taku Ito’s day-2 limit of 33-03). On Friday, Walters started strong with an 8-12 at 7:18, but quality bites eluded him the rest of the day and he weighed a limit of 15-07.

Having won his first Elite title on Fork last year with a four-day total of 104-12, Walters remained committed to the game plan of hunting fish with his Garmin Panoptix LiveScope. He’s throwing jerkbaits over contour breaks for staging pre-spawners.

“I guess it was the weather conditions; something changed pressure-wise,” he said. “The fish are still there on all the spots I fished today. The bad thing was they would come look at your bait and almost take a nip at it. They would follow your bait for 40 feet and never commit.

“I’m going all in (tomorrow) because if I can catch them, it’s going to be a big bag. If I don’t, it’s going to be a very little bag.”

Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., took the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 9-13 largemouth.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. CT at Sabine River Authority (SRA) – Lake Fork. The weigh-in will be held at SRA at 3 p.m.

Only the Top 10 anglers after Saturday’s weigh-in will advance to the final round with a chance to win the $100,000 first-place prize.

Live coverage of the event can be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast the action live with the leaders beginning at 7 a.m. CT.

Day 2 Standings

1. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 10, 55-07 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 27-06 -- Day 2: 5, 28-01

2. Quentin Cappo -- Prairieville, LA -- 10, 54-12 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 28-15 -- Day 2: 5, 25-13

3. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 10, 48-05 -- 98 -- $1,000
Day 1: 5, 32-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07

4. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 10, 48-04 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 5, 33-03

5. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 10, 46-11 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 25-15 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12

6. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 10, 44-08 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 25-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-08

7. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 10, 44-02 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 25-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07

8. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 10, 43-13 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 23-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13

9. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 10, 43-04 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 25-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14

10. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 10, 43-01 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 22-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14

11. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 43-00 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 24-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08

12. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 10, 42-11 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 27-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10

13. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 10, 42-01 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 21-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12

14. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 10, 41-12 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 25-13

15. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, ON -- 10, 40-15 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-12

16. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 10, 40-03 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15

17. Joshua Stracner -- Vandiver, AL -- 10, 39-14 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 24-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03

18. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 39-13 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 24-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-11

19. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 10, 39-13 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00

20. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 10, 39-11 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-10

21. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 10, 39-00 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 22-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03

22. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 10, 38-06 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-13

23. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 38-05 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 20-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-06

24. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 10, 38-03 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13

25. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 10, 38-02 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 21-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13

26. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 10, 38-00 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04

27. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 10, 37-13 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 22-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04

28. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 10, 37-12 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 23-12 -- Day 2: 5, 14-00

29. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 10, 37-10 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12

30. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 37-08 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-06

31. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 10, 37-01 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13

32. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 36-10 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15

33. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 10, 36-09 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 18-02 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07

34. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 10, 36-04 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 24-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03

35. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 10, 36-04 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10

36. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 10, 36-03 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01

37. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 9, 36-01 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 4, 14-03

38. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 10, 36-00 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05

39. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 10, 35-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-07

40. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 35-10 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 21-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01

41. Derek Hudnall -- Denham Springs, LA -- 10, 35-06 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12

42. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 9, 35-04 -- 59
Day 1: 4, 11-04 -- Day 2: 5, 24-00

43. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 10, 35-00 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 20-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14

44. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 10, 34-10 -- 57 -- $1,000
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05

45. Cody Hollen -- Beaverton, OR -- 10, 34-10 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15

46. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 10, 34-07 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01

47. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 9, 33-07 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 20-02 -- Day 2: 4, 13-05

48. Jay Yelas -- Lincoln City, OR -- 10, 32-07 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 11-02 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05

49. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 32-03 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 11-07 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.

50. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 10, 32-01 -- 51 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08

51. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 9, 32-00 -- 50 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 4, 10-14

52. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 10, 32-00 -- 49 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15

53. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 10, 31-14 -- 48 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08

54. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 10, 31-12 -- 47 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15

55. Garrett Paquette -- Canton, MI -- 8, 30-13 -- 46 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 3, 12-15

56. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 8, 29-12 -- 45 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 20-15 -- Day 2: 3, 08-13

57. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 9, 29-11 -- 44 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 4, 10-15

58. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 10, 29-10 -- 43 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10

59. Destin DeMarion -- Grove City, PA -- 10, 29-10 -- 42 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04

60. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 10, 29-08 -- 41 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10

61. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 8, 29-06 -- 40 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 3, 09-15

62. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 10, 28-15 -- 39 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00

63. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 8, 28-06 -- 38 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 10-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06

64. Chris Groh -- Spring Grove, IL -- 10, 27-13 -- 37 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 10-01

65. Mike Huff -- Corbin, KY -- 8, 27-08 -- 36 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 10-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14

66. Darold Gleason -- Many, LA -- 7, 27-04 -- 35 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 22-05 -- Day 2: 2, 04-15

67. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 9, 26-15 -- 34 -- $2,500
Day 1: 4, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09

68. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 9, 26-14 -- 33 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 4, 07-08

69. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 26-12 -- 32 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05

70. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 7, 26-11 -- 31 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 22-03 -- Day 2: 2, 04-08

71. Rick Morris -- Lake Gaston, VA -- 10, 26-03 -- 30 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03

72. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 8, 26-00 -- 29 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 20-09 -- Day 2: 3, 05-07

73. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 10, 26-00 -- 28 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05

74. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 10, 25-14 -- 27 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14

75. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 25-13 -- 26 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07

76. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 10, 25-12 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06

77. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 7, 25-08 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 2, 09-14

78. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 25-04 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01

79. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 7, 24-14 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 2, 03-00

80. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 10, 24-07 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 11-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00

81. Dale Hightower -- Mannford, OK -- 7, 22-13 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 2, 03-06

82. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 7, 22-07 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 2, 04-03

83. Kyle Monti -- Okeechobee, FL -- 8, 22-04 -- 18
Day 1: 3, 10-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12

84. Randy Pierson -- Oakdale, CA -- 10, 22-01 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 10-03

85. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 6, 22-00 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 1, 01-15

86. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 6, 22-00 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 1, 03-09

87. Bill Weidler -- Helena, AL -- 7, 22-00 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 2, 07-02

88. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 6, 21-14 -- 13
Day 1: 4, 16-01 -- Day 2: 2, 05-13

89. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 7, 21-13 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 2, 05-02

90. Rob Digh -- Denver, NC -- 7, 21-00 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 2, 07-15

91. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 7, 20-10 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 2, 06-11

92. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 6, 19-03 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 1, 02-01

93. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 5, 18-11 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

94. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 9, 18-10 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 09-11 -- Day 2: 4, 08-15

95. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 6, 17-12 -- 6
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 1, 01-06

96. Gary Clouse -- Winchester, TN -- 6, 13-11 -- 5
Day 1: 3, 08-08 -- Day 2: 3, 05-03

97. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 6, 12-13 -- 4
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 1, 01-03

98. Harvey Horne -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 09-15 -- 3
Day 1: 3, 05-10 -- Day 2: 2, 04-05

99. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 2, 05-11 -- 2
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 2, 05-11