Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
With one day remaining for stop number three, it all comes down to a Sunday on Santee Cooper. With conditions unsafe for Saturday, the anglers welcome a final day less affected by weather and wind. After two days of fishing, South Carolina angler Patrick Walters took over the top spot with his biggest bag of the event weighing 24 pounds. Walters has a two-day total of 46 pounds, 8 ounces, and takes a 3-pound, 5-ounce lead with him this morning.
Will Harkins has been one of the most consistent anglers this week besides Walters and has weighed in over 20 pounds each of the first two days. He was concerned about wind on the final day, but with the cancelation, he may have a shot to sample some of his best water that has been unfishable to this point.
Behind them, Todd Goade and Timmy Reams both fight for Progressive Angler of the Year Points at Santee Cooper. Goade sits in fourth while Reams was the leader coming into the event this week. Both anglers had their best days on Friday bringing over 20 pounds to the scales and making a move up the leaderboard.
The biggest bag of the second day belonged to Quentin Cappo who had a tough day on day one but climbed into the fifth spot with a five-bass limit weighing 30 pounds.
There were 24 limits on the second day, two more than day one, and as expected, big moves were made to get anglers back into check range. With Santee Cooper in the post-spawn funk, and the fishing tough, it’s no surprise that three anglers in the top ten have not weighed in ten bass so far.
The weights remain top-heavy with Walters carrying a 14-pound, 13-ounce lead over tenth place, an 11-pound, 8-ounce lead over second place, and a 3-pound, 5-ounce lead over second place.
Rest of the best:
Kevin Martin 34-6
Nick Brown 33-10
Randy Sullivan 33-5
Sheldon Collings 31-12
Darrel Robertson 31-11
Weather Watch
Anglers can expect cloudy skies on Santee Cooper Lakes today with highs in the 60s. The wind is expected to blow over 10 MPH but is a welcome sight after unsafe conditions yesterday.
How to Watch
Tune into Showdown Sunday to watch daily action from Santee Cooper, with Live Coverage here and on the FREE PHYX TV App from 8 AM to 1 PM.
Follow along and watch the daily LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers on Santee Cooper Lakes.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose LIVE Broadcast or check out the real-time leaderboard on the Weigh Live Tracker with estimated weights entered by the anglers on the water and join us for the LIVE Weigh-ins.
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