By BassFan Staff

Jason Christie extended his lead from 4 pounds to 5 on day 2 of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic. Afterward, he sounded like a guy who was happy just to slip into the Top 10 and advance to the final day.

"I just didn't get many bites," he said after catching a 26 1/2-pound stringer that pushed his total to 64-00. "I only got eight and I boated seven of them. I really struggled and I don't know what to expect tomorrow. I'll just go out and wing it and see what happens."

His closest pursuer is Chris Lane, who sacked 28-12 on day 2 for a 59-00 total. Lane, who won a Bassmaster Elite Series event on the same Sabine River system 2 months ago, leads a pack of anglers who are tightly bunched behind the leader.

Shad Schenck boxed 28-08 to move up one place to 3rd with 58-12. John Crews slid two positions to 4th as a 25-04 stringer gave him a 58-08 aggregate.

Brent Ehrler completed the Top 5 with a 29-04 bag that gave him a 58-04 total.

Here's a look at the 10 competitors who'll fish on Monday, with their deficit margins indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Jason Christie: 64-00
2. Chris Lane: 59-00 (5-00)
3. Shad Schenck: 58-12 (5-04)
4. John Crews: 58-08 (5-08)
5. Brent Ehrler: 58-04 (5-12)
6. Andy Morgan: 57-04 (6-12)
7. Casey Ashley: 55-08 (8-08)
8. Brandon Palaniuk: 48-12 (15-04)
9. Mike Iaconelli: 48-04 (15-08)
10. Keith Combs: 48-00 (16-00)

It was another foul-weather day in east Texas as thunderstorms continued to pound the region. Early in the day, organizers made the decision to cancel all of the event's peripheral activities for safety reasons and close the venue to the public.

The weather's direct impact on the fishing appeared negligible as numerous 25-pound-plus stringers came to the scale for a second straight day. Mike Iaconelli made the biggest upward move among the final-day qualifiers with a 31-04 haul that gained him 14 places.

Iaconelli claimed the place that was formerly occupied by Kevin VanDam. Just as he did 2 weeks earlier at the Lake Havasu Elite Series, KVD followed an excellent day 1 with a miserable day 2 – he weighed just a single 2 3/4-pounder on Sunday and plummeted to 30th place in the 35-angler field.

More thunderstorms are in store for the final day, with the most severe weather expected in the afternoon hours. WeatherChannel.com pegs the chance of rain at 90 percent.

Christie Had Dry Spell

> Day 2: 5, 26-08 (10, 64-00)

Christie boated his first keeper at about 8:30, but then went several hours without boxing No. 2. He didn't go completely bite-less during that period, though – he hooked and lost an 8-pounder.

"That kind of hurt a little bit," he said. "I was fortunate to catch a couple of good ones in the last hour to keep me up there."

One of those was a 6 1/2-pounder, which was his biggest fish of the day.

He made a mid-day move to shallow water in a quest to catch his second keeper, but that was fruitless. He went back offshore after about 45 minutes and spent the rest of the day there.



Octagon Events
Photo: Octagon Events

Chris Lane's shallow-water program continues to pay dividends.

He doesn't have a target weight in mind for the final day.

"I'm just going to go out and catch all I can catch," he said. "If I had 30 pounds I'd probably feel okay, but if somebody had a perfect day they could catch a giant bag, so I won't be really comfortable with anything.

"All I can do is go fishing and catch what bites."

2nd: Lane Stayed Shallow

> Day 2: 5, 28-12 (10, 59-00)

Lane continued to fish much shallower water than most of the leaders and it paid off for him again.

"I really think there's still fish coming up to spawn," he said. "The ones I'm catching are fat and healthy and full of eggs.

His bag was headed up by a 7 1/2-pounder. He said he lost one fish that might've improved his sack by a half-pound or so.

That was the first fish he's lost during the event – somewhat remarkable because he's throwing a frog.

"I'm not going to change anything about the way I'm fishing tomorrow, but I might run some pockets I haven't fished yet," he said. "I pull my Atlas jackplate up and get in the trees and hope to not hit any of them. If you can find water that's 4 to 5 feet deep with grass in it, you're ready to go."

He thinks he'll need at least one extremely large bite on day 3 to have a shot at catching Christie.

"I really wanted to come to the stage with an 'over' (a fish exceeding 24 inches), but I haven't gotten to do it yet. Maybe tomorrow I'll stick an absolute moose."

3rd: Schenck Caught Everything

> Day 2: 5, 28-08 (10, 58-12)

Schenck's weight was down 1 3/4 pounds from day 1, but he said he actually had a better day.

"It was better because I got 12 bites instead of nine and I boated them all," he said. "I didn't catch any really big fish, but I had a 6-05 and a bunch of 5 1/2s."

He has one key offshore area that's surrendered almost all of his weight through the first 2 days. He made a bait change today that helped when the action got slow and also upsized his rod and line so he could put a bit more pressure on the on the hefty fish.

Just like day 1, he had no company at his primary locale. He doesn't anticipate having any on the final day, either.

Octagon Events
Photo: Octagon Events

Shad Schenck boated all 12 bites he got on day 2.

"These guys pretty much respect that," he said. "Anyhow, that's the least of my worries. The main thing for me will be getting the key bites, and then No. 2 will be converting them."

He made his final upgrade at 11:30 – just about the time the current reached its peak as the Sabine River Authority was forced to let much of the newly arrived water out the lower end.

"Everybody's been saying that the bite gets worse here with the current. I didn't believe it until I saw it today."

4th: Slower Going for Crews

> Day 2: 5, 25-04 (10, 58-08)

Crews' weight was off by 8 pounds from day 1.

"It was kind of tough," he said. "I was lucky that I got a couple of key bites that allowed me to end up with a decent weight.

"I really thought I was on to something, then I'd do it for another hour or 2 and not get another bite, so I'd change up and just get a bite here or there. It was a grind."

He had fish weighing 6 3/4-pounds and 6-even in his bag, but was forced to weigh a 3-12.

"I've got some ideas about some new stuff to try tomorrow and you never know what might happen. I think it's still wide open and anything over 30 could give me a chance to win.

"I'm one bite away from being right up there."

5th: Ehrler Loaded Up Early

> Day 2: 5, 29-04 (10, 58-04)

Ehrler had all of his weight by 9:30. The fact that he pulled off of his best place so early gives him confidence that he might be able to run down Christie on Monday.

"I'm behind a little bit, but I really think I have a chance," he said. "It's a longshot, but I'm not just going to go out there and go through the motions. I feel like I've got an opportunity to win."

He's fishing deep water and rotating through several different baits. He had a 7-12 in his bag and lost one that he thinks was at least that size.

"I didn't see it, but I couldn't stop it."

Catching at least 30 pounds will be his goal for the final day.

"I'd feel really good if I had 33," he said. "I've got one special area that I haven't really put the hurt on it yet. I don't know what's left, but if it's what I think is there, I should be able to catch a good bag."

Notable

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