Entering the St. Croix Rods Bassmaster Open at Harris Chain of Lakes in 17th place in the Elite Qualifier standings, Ben Milliken knew he would have to fish to win in order to make his Elite Series dreams come true.
While he isn’t leading the tournament with his 20-pound, 13-ounce bag of largemouth on Day 1, his second-place showing vaulted the New Caney, Texas pro into 10th place in the EQ race and inside the Elite cut unofficially.
“I pretty much knew I had to win to make sure it happens. I have to get a Top 10 and I’m going to try and win it. I could bookend the season with wins. I’d be all about that,” he said.
Milliken’s big move was just one of several shake-ups that occurred on Day 1 in the points race, which are unofficial until the scales close on Saturday afternoon.
The Top 5 anglers remain the same, although JT Thompkins did increase his lead to 73 points over second place John Garrett. Trey McKinney is third, Robert Gee is fourth and Kenta Kimura is fifth.
Then, it gets interesting. Wesley Gore jumped from 11th (first man out) to sixth with an 18-15 Day 1 performance that has him sitting in 4th place in the tournament. Tyler Williams moved into seventh with a solid Day 1 performance and Kyle Austin held steady in 8th place as Kyle Patrick fell from sixth to ninth on Day 1.
“I’m feeling good. I survived the day,” Williams said. “If I wasn’t going to make it, I didn’t want to give it away. I know the guys behind me are really good and really close, so I was trying to fish like I was out of it again. When I go out there and just fish how I want and find the spots how I like to fish, that is when it seems like I Top 10. Who knows what could happen tomorrow, I’m just fishing around.”
If the tournament ended today, Milliken would be the last man in the Elite Series with 1,431 points while seasoned veteran Bobby Lane would be the first one on the outside looking in with 1,392 points.
None of this is final, of course, which will make Day 2 incredibly intriguing.
Milliken’s summer has been a story of ups and downs. After struggles on Day 1 at the St. Lawrence River and Watts Bar, Milliken brought in a Day 2 bag at each of those tournaments that ultimately saved his season.
At Watts Bar in particular, he brought just two bass to the scales on Day 1, but brought in just under 11 pounds on Day 2 to pick up 45 spots for an 83rd place finish.
While he has never been to Florida, much less the Harris Chain, Milliken has found it suits his strengths and that reflects in his bait choices on Friday, which included a dragging bait, a big glide bait and a crankbait.
Figuring out that bite was much more difficult than he could have imagined however.
“It has been difficult to get adjusted to it. I fished for Florida strains in Texas constantly and when this was on the schedule, I was excited for it,” Milliken explained. “I thought we would have clean water and I would be able to throw the big bait around and catch them. I caught one big bait fish during practice. It has been different than what I thought it would be. I worked my butt off in practice to find what I did. I only have one or two spots, so we will see what happens tomorrow.”
Gore, meanwhile, has done his best to avoid thinking about the points at all. He was one point out of 10th place before the tournament began and now finds himself well inside the cut.
The Alabama native was fortunate he was able to share his starting spot with other anglers who arrived first, but gave him space to join the fray. That spot, while not fantastic, did produce a 7-pounder for Gore and from there, he was able to junk fish his way to 4th.
There have been several opportunities throughout the season that Gore believes would have solidified his spot in the Elite Series. He came in early to avoid suffering any potential problems.
“I came in a little early,” he said. “Today I was going through some of the things that have happened this year. Between the days I didn’t weigh a limit and losing one fish on those days and having 12 ounces of penalties on the first day in Eufaula Oklahoma, those single points add up. I have left 50 to 100 points out there this year and I shouldn’t be stressing. And I’m really not, I’m just going fishing and having fun.”
One more solid day of fishing, and Gore will punch his ticket to the Elite Series.
“I’m going to go out there and catch the biggest bag I can,” Gore said. “I’m around some really big ones and I’m around a lot of big ones.”
A couple anglers’ chances at making the Elite Series took a major hit on Friday. Logan Parks started the tournament in 8th place in EQ points, but with a 107th place showing on Day 1, he is now 12th. Jamie Bruce ended Day 1 in 126th, which sent him tumbling down the standings from 10th to 19th.
But with one more day to go, and the potential still for 25 and 30-pound bags to hit the scales, an angler could make up a lot of ground and mount a major comeback with the right bites.
The EQ picture will come into full focus when weigh-in begins at 3:15 p.m. ET on Bassmaster.com. Nine anglers will punch their ticket to the 2024 Elite Series.
