The take-off is over and the semifinal 50 boats are on their way. Shortly, or at least no later than today’s weigh-in, we will be able to put to rest a couple of arguments brewing around the crew.
Some say already that this is Brent Chapman’s tourney to lose. The boy is just stroking them that strong. Yesterday’s 25-pound, 8-ounce stringer is a testament to that.
But the other side insists it’s too early to tell. This is Toledo, where a 5-pound deficit is just a half a bite. One big fish and you can make a major move. Ish Monroe did it last year. Still others say, guys like Matt Herren are catching them pretty strong, as is Cliff Pace. Even Jeff Kriet, who boated 25 pounds on Day Two and sits in ninth place, has a shot.
We love to argue. This remains, after all, a bass tournament, where almost every scenario is possible. And this is a lake that always serves up some drama. Dean Rojas had a decent lead last year, and just won by an ounce; we’ve had ties here before and about 10 years ago, the space shuttle crashing closed off sections of the lake.
All of that to illustrate: You can’t rule out anything on Toledo. Promises for an interesting day.
Steve Wright and James Overstreet are out on the water, and we’ll soon hear from them in the Live Blog. Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders are there as well and will be shooting BASSCams, and James Hall and Gary Tramontina are in another direction. All their info with BASSTrakk and we should soon see this event taking shape.