Just got back from the weigh in and most of the field did as expected. Lots of 11 and 12 # limits, a few 14's,15's and 16's. Clunn caught a big 'un, just under 7# but Boyd Duckett, who weighed near the end, put 19-5 on the scale and is leading after Day 1. Ike had just over 9, Van Dam had a light bag too. Nobody really said a whole lot about specific baits but I saw lots of flukes, jigs, cranks, blades and shaky worms tied on when they were at the dock. Junk fishing at its finest.....Smith Mtn Lake.

Here's the Top 12:

1. Boyd Duckett: 5. 19-05

2. Bryan Hudgins: 5, 16-06

3. Ish Monroe: 5, 16-03

4. Rick Clunn: 5, 15-11

5. Morizo Shimizu: 5, 15-03

6. Rick Morris: 5, 15-01

7. Gary Klein: 5, 14-05

8. Tim Horton: 5, 13-14

9. Mark Menendez: 5, 13-13

10. Matt Sphar: 5, 13-10

11. Denny Brauer: 5, 13-09

12. Matt Reed: 5, 13-06

12. Britt Myers: 5, 13-06

If you plan on attending a weigh-in, especially Sat or Sun, you may want to get there plenty early so you can park somewhat close.....the joint is going to be packed!

That's awesome.  I just got on here to see if you had posted anything about the tournament, because I figured you'd be there.  Thanks for the report!  

Who did you end up following?

Nobody today....had to work. Tomorrow morning I'm just going to sit under Halesford Bridge and follow the first boat that comes by.....hopefully its Duckett or Clunn. Duckett is fishing deep and I'm sure Clunn's got the crankbait workin'.

I wanted to follow McClelland but he doesnt seem to be on 'em like I expected.

Day 2 was interesting and Duckett is still leading. I hear he's catching most of his bass on a drop shot in one of the major rivers that feeds the lake. Saw Skeet today throwing a swimbait, Kriet was crankin' and wormin', Rogers couldnt catch his breath and saw Ike working some docks over with a shaky head. Ike moved up quite a few spots today and made the cut along with KVD.

Ish had a bad day and slipped way down. Clunn did the same. Both still made the cut. Here's the Top 50:

1 BOYD DUCKETT DEMOPOLIS, AL 5    19-5 5    14-9 10    33-14 $1,000.00

2 CASEY ASHLEY DONALDS, SC 5    11-1 5    22-0 10    33-1 $1,000.00

3 DEAN ROJAS GRAND SALINE, TX 5    13-2 5    18-5 10    31-7 $1,000.00

4 SKEET REESE AUBURN, CA 5    13-1 5    17-9 10    30-10 $0.00

5 SHAW E GRIGSBY, JR GAINESVILLE, FL 5    12-11 5    16-8 10    29-3 $0.00

6 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 5    12-10 5    15-14 10    28-8 $0.00

7 MATTHEW SPHAR PAVILION, NY 5    13-10 5    14-5 10    27-15 $0.00

8 DAVID WOLAK WAKE FOREST, NC 5    11-8 5    16-5 10    27-13 $0.00

9 FRED ROUMBANIS AUBURN, CA 5    10-11 5    16-4 10    26-15 $0.00

10 CHRIS LANE WINTER HAVEN, FL 5    12-8 5    14-5 10    26-13 $0.00

11 MORIZO SHIMIZU MURRIETA, CA 5    15-3 5    11-4 10    26-7 $0.00

12 MARK TUCKER SAINT LOUIS, MO 5    12-1 5    14-5 10    26-6 $0.00

13 MIKE WURM HOT SPRINGS, AR 5    12-4 5    13-14 10    26-2 $0.00

14 JAMES NIGGEMEYER VAN, TX 5    10-4 5    15-13 10    26-1 $0.00

15 MARK TYLER VIAN, OK 5    11-11 5    14-5 10    26-0 $0.00

16 STEPHEN BROWNING HOT SPRINGS, AR 5    12-0 5    13-12 10    25-12  

17 BRYAN HUDGINS ORANGE PARK, FL 5    16-6 5    9-5 10    25-11 $0.00

18 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 5    12-1 5    13-7 10    25-8 $0.00

19 KURT DOVE FAIRFAX, VA 5    11-11 5    13-9 10    25-4 $0.00

20 RICK CLUNN AVA, MO 5    15-11 5    9-1 10    24-12 $1,000.00

21 TIMMY HORTON MUSCLE SHOALS, AL 5    13-14 5    10-13 10    24-11 $0.00

22 DENNY BRAUER CAMDENTON, MO 5    13-9 4    10-15 9    24-8 $0.00

23 RANDY HOWELL SPRINGVILLE, AL 5    12-0 5    12-7 10    24-7 $0.00

24 TERRY SCROGGINS SAN MATEO, FL 5    12-8 5    11-13 10    24-5 $0.00

24 MICHAEL IACONELLI RUNNEMEDE, NJ 5    9-8 5    14-13 10    24-5 $0.00

26 PETER E THLIVEROS JACKSONVILLE, FL 5    9-6 5    14-14 10    24-4 $0.00

27 CLIFF PACE PETAL, MS 5    10-15 5    13-3 10    24-2 $0.00

28 JEREMY STARKS CHARLESTON, WV 5    10-15 5    13-0 10    23-15 $0.00

28 RUSSELL LANE PRATTVILLE, AL 5    11-11 5    12-4 10    23-15 $0.00

30 ISHAMA MONROE HUGHSON, CA 5    16-3 3    7-11 8    23-14 $0.00

30 JASON QUINN LAKE WYLIE, SC 5    13-0 5    10-14 10    23-14 $0.00

32 JEFF REYNOLDS IDABEL, OK 5    13-4 5    10-7 10    23-11 $0.00

33 GARY KLEIN WEATHERFORD, TX 5    14-5 5    8-15 10    23-4 $0.00

34 KELLY JORDON MINEOLA, TX 5    13-1 5    10-2 10    23-3 $0.00

35 LEE BAILEY BOAZ, AL 5    12-11 5    10-6 10    23-1 $0.00

36 BRADLEY STRINGER HUNTINGTON, TX 5    9-7 5    13-4 10    22-11 $0.00

36 MARTY STONE FAYETTEVILLE, NC 5    13-4 5    9-7 10    22-11 $0.00

38 EDWIN EVERS TALALA, OK 4    11-11 5    10-12 9    22-7 $0.00

39 JOHN CREWS SALEM, VA 4    7-11 5    14-8 9    22-3 $0.00

40 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 5    11-11 5    10-6 10    22-1 $0.00

41 RAY SEDGWICK CROSS, SC 5    12-3 5    9-10 10    21-13 $0.00

42 JARED LINTNER ARROYO GRANDE, CA 5    11-11 5    10-0 10    21-11 $0.00

43 MARK MENENDEZ PADUCAH, KY 5    13-13 3    7-12 8    21-9 $0.00

43 DAVY HITE NINETY SIX, SC 5    9-8 5    12-1 10    21-9 $0.00

45 JAMES KENNEDY LACOMBE, LA 5    9-10 5    11-8 10    21-2 $0.00

46 KEVIN VANDAM KALAMAZOO, MI 5    9-15 5    11-1 10    21-0 $0.00

47 GERALD SWINDLE WARRIOR, AL 5    11-3 5    9-9 10    20-12 $0.00

48 KEVIN WIRTH CRESTWOOD, KY 5    12-12 5    7-15 10    20-11 $0.00

48 JEFF KRIET ARDMORE, OK 5    8-2 5    12-9 10    20-11 $0.00

50 DOC MERKIN DOWNERS GROVE, IL 3    9-0 5    11-8 8    20-8 $0.00

Day 3 was interesting. The boat traffic was a major factor in keeping guys out of some key areas, primarily the main lake where most everyone was fishing. I witnessed Brian Hudgins lose a solid 4 pounder at the boat and a short time later he dumped a 5 pounder, both on a drop shot.....he fell out of the Top 12 and went home.

Ike was fishing docks most of the day and came in with a limit but didnt have the weight to make the final cut. Same with KVD, that guy was all over the lake on Saturday. Swindle didnt make it either, he claimed too much boat traffic to be effective fishing his spots.

I believe Skeet has a good chance to win this one if he'll leave the bedding bass alone, he spent way too much time yesterday on one fish and never upgraded his catch. He's tied for 3rd with Duckett who led days 1 & 2. His roommate Casey Ashley is now in the lead and has a good bite going and says there are plenty left to be caught in his areas.

John Crews was fishing every "community hole" on the lake on Saturday and it paid off....he jumped into the Final 12 and is fishing today. There have been several night tournaments this weekend and they may have an effect on what happens today, there were 3 or 4 different tournaments last night alone.

Rojas sitting in 2nd has got the frog bite going and claims he can catch a good bag today on it. We'll see....if Ashley stumbles, Frogman may steal the show.

Live weigh in on Bassmaster.com starts at 3pm.

If they come back to SML, they should do so before Memorial Day or after Labor day.

BTW, thanks for the updates.  Almost like I'm there... :'(

Casey Ashley is very lucky to have brought that 22# bag to the scale on Day 2....if he had not had that big bag, Terry Scroggins would've won the thing today. Ashley only weighed 4 fish today for a little over 9....the good news for him was that he only needed just under 8# to win. Scroggins had 15+ today and almost stole the show.

Local fave John Crews had 5 today, Duckett had 5, Rojas had 3, and Skeet had 5 but they were not quite big enough. I thought Ashley might crumble under the pressure and Skeet would steal it but it didnt turn out like that.

Ashley is the 2nd rookie to win an Elite tournament this year. I believe the show will air on ESPN next Saturday.

Duckett and Skeet both said that they were using Berkley's new hand poured worm for alot of their bass and it seems like every angler that crossed the stage caught fish with a drop shot this week.

Burley, it was a great tournament, a good turnout of fans and the anglers caught way more than they expected. I hope they come back in the future.