9 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Man that's a soul crushing blow.

 

That 7 minutes potentially cost him a blue trophy, AOY trophy, and $200k 

 

ETA:  and it cost him the Crush City monster bag....would have been tough to top 16lb+ 

WOW......his weight was just now DQ'd for the entire day because a family member actually called him on the phone and alerted him he was late.     He self reported.  

 

Absolutely mind boggling.

McKinney's Day 2 weight disqualified at Smith Lake - Bassmaster

 

Finished 93rd.

Woof even worse. Will be interested to see AOY now. 
 

According to BassTrak this morning he’s moved to 3rd in the AOY race. Hamner is 1st and Huff 2nd. 

all the talent it seems this kid has, it shows he's still a kid. the penalty for blowing thru a no wake zone and now this. with that size of a bag i'd be setting at the tanks 30 minutes early. his weight is now zero for day 2 due to taking a call and someone telling him he was late. he may get back in AOY depending on how good he fishes for smallmouth, but this would have separated him in the rankings. 

No net rule is dangerous for the anglers. Auten with a hook in his hand..

Come on Taku!!!!!!!!     I'd have to say him or Cox are my favorite pro anglers.    

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

No net rule is dangerous for the anglers. Auten with a hook in his hand..

Minor flesh wound . It’s particularly dangerous for the fish 😂 

That was so cool watching Cory see that big Stripe on FFS and drop down 30ft and watch the fish spin on it and eat.

 

FFS might be bad for the sport, but man is it some crazy cool technology.   

Well apparently there’s still a few hundred million spotted bass in smith lake so I don’t think it’s bad for the sport 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well apparently there’s still a few hundred million spotted bass in smith lake so I don’t think it’s bad for the sport 

There’s more spots in smith than people in the whole state 

Nothing like Chick-fil-A delivery on the water. 
 

As for Trey, I don’t know what to say. Hats off to him for self reporting though. 

You just can’t root against taku but I am pulling for Robert Gee since he’s from Knoxville 

Here’s some footage debunking the myth of fish being lethargic during hot weather. Things are going wild!!! The anglers said they were barfing herring, shad, crawfish, and bluegill all over the boat 

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8z1S-juFat/?igsh=MWhncHNlampsZGhyOA==

I really hope Robert Gee wins.

 

Agree with the sentiment that all of these folks are cool and I'm rooting for all of them but I just really like that dude and I really feel like he's working hard for it right now.  🙂

Taku catches a nice one, culling with scales, fizzing the catch, icing down the live well and talking the whole time, I wanted to hear him but those guys couldn’t shut up, the co host dude shoulda told them to shush 🤫 

 

“ Spotted bass Disneyland “ -taku 

Really want Taku to win it, but I'd be okay with Robert winning as well.   I don't won't anybody but those two to win it though.     Those two are arguably the most likable guys on the Elites.  

 

The Japanese anglers fascinate and impress me the most, just look at the baits Taku is using.   Two rigs I've never seen before, I've seen the baits but never rigged that way.  

26 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Really want Taku to win it, but I'd be okay with Robert winning as well.   I don't won't anybody but those two to win it though.     Those two are arguably the most likable guys on the Elites.  

 

The Japanese anglers fascinate and impress me the most, just look at the baits Taku is using.   Two rigs I've never seen before, I've seen the baits but never rigged that way.  

 

 

Agree.  Taku is my other 'rooting for him' guy right now.  I'd like to see either of these guys win this one - Taku maybe a little more even now.  He's worked HARD for years and he's well deserving of a blue trophy.

3 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

 

 

Agree.  Taku is my other 'rooting for him' guy right now.  I'd like to see either of these guys win this one - Taku maybe a little more even now.  He's worked HARD for years and he's well deserving of a blue trophy.

When you listen to the interviews from guys like Taku and Carl J on Mercer's podcast, it's incredible to see what they've achieved.   

 

It's dang near impossible to become an Elite Series angler as an American but imagine doing it leaving your entire universe on the other side of the globe.   

 

Let's GOOOOOOOOOOO!  

 

Taku time just caught 5.4 😮

 

Please let that be a Spot.    This thing might just be over after that fish. 

@AlabamaSpothunter, I was thinking the same thing 

Absolutely EPIC catch....Jake's camera went down and he still captured it all on his cellphone.

 

Absolutely unreal, most exciting catch of the year.   Second place goes to Hamners 11+ on Fork.  

 

UNREAL!!!  Never heard Jake that excited.   

It was!!! Taku tackled Jake in the boat 😂 

Imagine catching a 5-6lb Spot on the final day of an Elite Series derby to win it.   I got chicken skin just watching all that.  

 

I didn't think Fork could be topped, but this one has been just as exciting for me.  

 

And to think we still have SLR left.  

 

I like how it was stripping line off his reel and he said, “Striper?” 

Fat Lady singing.

I already loved Jake's take on Mercer podcast, but I can't wait for this weds. now.

 

He's the real MVP as far as the fan is concerned.    The fact he was able to bring this fish catch to the world is amazing, hopefully he gets the credit he derserves.   Not to mention Taku will always have this memory to look back on.   What a fish!  

 

ETA:  Caught using a dropshot fuzzy dice.....peak Japanese bait awesomeness 😎