Nothing is official in terms of points at the St. Croix Bassmaster Central Open at Sam Rayburn presented by Mossy Oak Fishing, but Day 1 has made things really interesting in the Central Opens point race.
Very few anglers seemed thrilled about their Day 1 performance, but anglers like Bradley Hallman and Nick Lebrun did a world of good just by catching a really good limit of fish.
It is worth repeating, probably more than once, that nothing is official until the scales close later this afternoon. But, Hallman’s 15-5 Day 1 catch not only landed him in 10th place in the tournament standings, but it launched him into first in the Central Opens standings, which will award three invites to the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Hallman started the event in sixth place in the Centrals, but he is now squarely in the mix for one of Elite spots he has been trying to earn for three seasons now.
LeBrun, meanwhile, entered the tournament just ahead of Hallman in fifth. With 14-8 on Day 1, he is 17th in the tournament standings and has unofficially moved into second in the Central Opens race.
Among the anglers who did themselves a lot of favors, James Niggemeyer moved to fourth in the Central standings by catching 15-0 on the first day of competition at Rayburn to land in 14th and Todd Castledine is right behind Niggemeyer in the points after a 17-6 Day 1 performance that has him sixth in the tournament.
For Castledine, however, he has the least wiggle room of anyone in the top 10 in points.
David Gaston was leading the Central standings, but a tough Day 1 on Sam Rayburn has him 56th place with 10-12 and he dropped to third-place in the standings as a result. But the good news for Gaston, as well as others who struggled like Jimmy Washam, Todd Risinger and Doug Guins, (all of whom are outside the top 80 in the tournament and began Day 1 inside the top four in Central points), there is plenty of room to improve and earn the points they need for Elite qualification.
The picture will take shape at weigh-in today, which starts at 3:15 p.m. CT on Bassmaster.com.
