By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
FORT WORTH, Texas — All it took was 63 magical minutes on Lake Ray Roberts for Easton Fothergill to take complete control of the Bassmaster Classic.
The 22-year-old native of Grand Rapids, Minn., entered Day 2 of the Classic in third place, less than two pounds out of the lead. He had high hopes for Saturday morning, but it didn’t start out exactly as he planned, with only one bass in his livewell at 10 a.m.
Then, what he called “the 180” started — and what a turnaround it was.
Between 10:28 a.m. and 11:31 a.m., Fothergill caught three hogs that added a whopping 19-10 to his total. He finished the day with a limit of five bass weighing 29-6, giving him a two-day total of 54-5, exactly 8 1/2 pounds more than his nearest competitor.
No lead is too big, but the Classic compass clearly points to the young ace from the North Star State. And barring a complete collapse on Sunday, coupled with one of his closest competitors yanking a huge sack of bass, Fothergill is a day away from winning the Ray Scott Bassmaster Classic Trophy and the $300,000 prize that goes with it.
Fothergill used sonar electronics to pinpoint his best bass. His flurry began when a jerkbait yielded a 6-13 cruising near the water’s surface. A 5-13 followed a half-hour later and 20 minutes after that, the Bassmaster Elite Series rookie dropped the hammer on a 7-pound hog.
There was no doubt Fothergill realized the significance of the moment as he hoisted that fat bass for nearby spectator boats to see.
“We’ve got a shot to win tomorrow, boys,” he told the camera operator aboard his boat, his rapid breathing and quivering voice audible through the words of confidence.
Fothergill said a key adjustment was vital to his big swing on Saturday.
“All week long it’s been extremely windy and the fish I’ve been catching have been at the base of trees, at the bottom, on the rockpiles,” he said. “Today, they were suspended. A lot of the fish I caught were about 2 feet to 6 inches under the water. They were on the surface … I caught that first one on a jerkbait, but ultimately, I’ve been throwing a 3/32-ounce Neko (rig) all week long and today I went to a 1/32-ounce Neko. I was basically throwing it on their heads, but the key was to throw it extremely soft. That’s how high up they were. I had to make no splash, be super stealthy.”
Fothergill’s propensity to boat big bass was on display Friday, as well, when he caught fish weighing 6-4 and 6-8. He finished Day 1 in third place with 24-15, putting him only 1-15 behind leader Trey McKinney.
Following with the heaviest bag of the tournament was huge, but Fothergill knows there’s plenty of work to be done if he’s to win the 55th edition of the Classic.
“I’ve got to do my best to block (that lead) out,” he said. “We’re in Texas. All I can do is go catch the five biggest ones and see what happens.”
Canadian pro Cory Johnston entered the day in second place and remains there with 45-13. He said Ray Roberts’ bass are preparing to spawn, which compels him to fish staging areas and target feisty bass looking to get to shallow beds.
“I think I had six bites today,” he said. “Nothing was easy, but I think I figured something out today. I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”
Johnston said warmer water temperatures (61.5 degrees where he was fishing mid-afternoon) could help produce big bags on Sunday.
“One hundred percent, they want to spawn,” he said. “They’re ready and they’re coming … I caught all my fish shallow today, 2 feet, 3 feet. I’m just reeling moving baits. If I could see them better, I’d love to fish the spawn. But the water is still a little dingy. I think prespawn is the way to win.”
Tennessee’s Hunter Shryock is third with 44-13. He only had three fish for eight pounds until a switch in strategy drew him back into the championship fray. Shryock finished Day 2 with a 23-1 bag.
“I had to slow down and start flipping, which really hadn’t shown itself all week,” he said. “(It could have been) the water clearing up. The water may have dropped a little bit. Whatever the reason … I was able to salvage the day … I caught a 7-10 and a 6 in the last hour and a half that obviously catapulted me. I feel like I could catch five of those the way things were going.”
Lee Livesay, a Longview, Texas, resident and one of the pre-tournament favorites, is in fourth place with 44-9. He caught 21-9 on Friday to follow a 23-pound bag on Day 1.
His main lures on Saturday included a pink ChatterBait (with a pink trailer), as well as a 6th Sense Texas-rigged Whale he reeled through milfoil on Ray Roberts.
“I’ll do about the same thing tomorrow, but I want to find a fresh group of fish,” Livesay said. “You can’t go doing anything crazy. I’ll open up a couple new areas, try a couple new techniques. But I know the deal. I have to get lucky and have a couple of those 6-pounders eat. And a couple other guys have to stumble.”
Livesay likes his chances, despite trailing Fothergill by nearly 10 pounds.
“It’s Texas and it’s my backyard,” he said. “You never know what happens on the last day.”
Florida veteran John Cox is in fifth place with 44-8. McKinney, the 20-year-old phenom from Carbondale, Ill., who led Day 1 with 26-9, dropped to sixth overall after managing a 15-13 limit on Saturday. The cutline was 28-15.
Tennessee's John Garrett maintained his lead for the $2,500 Mercury Big Bass prize with the 8-12 largemouth he caught Friday. Fellow Tennessean Brandon Lester won $1,000 for having the big bass (8-6) on Saturday.
The final takeoff is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. CT from Isle du Bois at Lake Ray Roberts State Park in Pilot Point, Texas. The final weigh-in will begin at 5 p.m. at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
Day 2 Standings
1. Easton Fothergill -- Grand Rapids , MN -- 10, 54-05
Day 1: 5, 24-15 -- Day 2: 5, 29-06
2. Cory Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 45-13
Day 1: 5, 25-09 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04
3. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 10, 44-13
Day 1: 5, 21-12 -- Day 2: 5, 23-01
4. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 10, 44-09
Day 1: 5, 23-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-09
5. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 10, 44-08
Day 1: 5, 22-00 -- Day 2: 5, 22-08
6. Trey McKinney -- Carbondale, IL -- 10, 42-06
Day 1: 5, 26-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13
7. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 39-14
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 22-12
8. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 9, 37-04
Day 1: 4, 11-07 -- Day 2: 5, 25-13
9. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 9, 37-04
Day 1: 4, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 23-05
10. Tyler Williams -- Belgrade, ME -- 10, 36-06
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-13
11. Patrick Walters -- Eutawville, SC -- 10, 35-14
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 23-01
12. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 10, 35-01
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03
13. Ben Milliken -- Omaha, NE -- 7, 34-13
Day 1: 2, 08-02 -- Day 2: 5, 26-11
14. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 10, 34-04
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14
15. Jay Przekurat -- Plover, WI -- 9, 34-00
Day 1: 5, 23-07 -- Day 2: 4, 10-09
16. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 10, 33-09
Day 1: 5, 21-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01
17. Jordan Lee -- Cullman, AL -- 8, 33-03
Day 1: 3, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00
18. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 33-03
Day 1: 5, 17-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13
19. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 33-01
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09
20. Kyoya Fujita -- Yamanashi, JAPAN -- 9, 32-10
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 4, 10-12
21. Jeremiah Kindy -- Benton, AR -- 10, 32-08
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11
22. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 8, 32-05
Day 1: 5, 18-14 -- Day 2: 3, 13-07
23. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 9, 31-13
Day 1: 5, 21-05 -- Day 2: 4, 10-08
24. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 9, 30-00
Day 1: 4, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02
25. Connor Jacob -- Peoria, IL -- 10, 28-15
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.
26. John Garrett -- Union City, TN -- 6, 27-08 -- $11,000
Day 1: 3, 16-13 -- Day 2: 3, 10-11
27. Jeremy Knepp -- Montgomery, IN -- 8, 27-05 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 3, 10-01
28. Chris Zaldain -- Boyd, TX -- 7, 26-05 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 2, 07-10
29. Jeff Gustafson -- Kenora, ON -- 10, 26-03 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08
30. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 6, 25-10 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 20-09 -- Day 2: 2, 05-01
31. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 9, 25-06 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 4, 13-04
32. Bobby Bakewell -- Orlando, FL -- 5, 24-08 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 07-01 -- Day 2: 3, 17-07
33. Wesley Gore -- Clanton, AL -- 7, 24-07 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 14-09 -- Day 2: 3, 09-14
34. Kyle Austin -- Ridgeville, SC -- 8, 23-08 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 07-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14
35. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 7, 23-07 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 05-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01
36. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 7, 22-10 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 07-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02
37. Cody Stahl -- Barnsville, GA -- 6, 22-07 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 08-08 -- Day 2: 4, 13-15
38. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 7, 22-06 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 04-07 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15
39. Alex Redwine -- Blue Ash, OH -- 10, 21-12 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01
40. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA -- 7, 21-04 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 12-00 -- Day 2: 3, 09-04
41. Cooper Gallant -- Bowmanville, ON -- 6, 20-10 -- $10,000
Day 1: 1, 02-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15
42. Robert Gee -- Knoxville, TN -- 6, 20-05 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 1, 04-03
43. Kyle Patrick -- Cooperstown, NY -- 7, 19-03 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 10-14 -- Day 2: 3, 08-05
44. JT Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 5, 17-14 -- $10,000
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14
45. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 7, 16-13 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 2, 03-14
46. Tyler Campbell -- Martin, GA -- 6, 15-12 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 06-12 -- Day 2: 4, 09-00
47. Alex Wetherell -- Middletown, CT -- 4, 15-02 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 09-13 -- Day 2: 1, 05-05
48. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 5, 14-15 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 13-06 -- Day 2: 1, 01-09
49. Cody Huff -- Ava, MO -- 4, 14-11 -- $10,000
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 4, 14-11
50. Dylan Akins -- Flowery Branch, GA -- 4, 14-07 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 14-07 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00
51. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 4, 14-00 -- $10,000
Day 1: 1, 03-12 -- Day 2: 3, 10-04
52. Taku Ito -- Dalton GA -- 3, 11-07 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 11-07 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00
53. Logan Parks -- Auburn, AL -- 4, 10-15 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 10-15 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00
54. Kyle Norsetter -- Cottage Grove, WI -- 3, 10-03 -- $10,000
Day 1: 1, 03-07 -- Day 2: 2, 06-12
55. Blake Capps -- Muskogee, OK -- 3, 08-10 -- $10,000
Day 1: 1, 02-13 -- Day 2: 2, 05-13
56. Josh Butler -- Hayden, AL -- 1, 04-09 -- $10,000
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 1, 04-09
