Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
The final day is underway at Pickwick and Patrick Walters stole the show on day two. The three-time NPFL champion overtook the lead from Drew Cook with the biggest bag of the tournament with almost 26 pounds and took off this morning with a chance to make it four NPFL wins in his career.
Walters is fishing the kitchen sink and keying in on something slightly different than the rest of the field this week. His slight nuance gives him the confidence that he will have a good shot to back up his big weight on the final day.
Perhaps the most consistent angler at the top, Isaac Peavyhouse has caught back-to-back bags over 22 pounds and sits just 9 ounces back from Walters. He has been relying on a big bite each day and is focusing all day to do just that. His lunker on day two came just 30 minutes before weigh-in and culled him 3 pounds.
Drew Cook enjoyed the day one lead and anticipated a slower day two for the overall field. With that, he took his foot off the gas a little early on day two and fell to third place. Cook is around the right quality fish to jumpstart a comeback, and with no more tournament days left, he is planning on catching every fish in his spot.
Behind Cook, Kyle Welcher made a big move yesterday adding over 22-pounds to the scales and jumping to the fourth-place spot. Welcher, like others, is running and gunning on Pickwick and changing baits often to trigger active fish to bite.
Tied for fifth, Trent Palmer and Louis Fernandes both sit with 38 pounds, 11 ounces and are fishing completely opposite patterns – Palmer working the ledges, and Fernandes working hard cover adjacent to the ledges.
The top ten after day one looks like this:
Patrick Walters 46-2
Isaac Peavyhouse 45-9
Drew Cook 44-7
Kyle Welcher 40-14
Trent Palmer 38-11
Louis Fernandes 38-11
Hunter Sales 37-15
John Branch 37-13
John Soukup 37-9
Jason Burroughs 37-6
Weather Watch
The anglers take off this morning with near 80-degree temperatures and sunny skies. Winds are projected to be around 3 MPH and increasing slightly throughout the day. Temperatures at the weigh-in will creep up near 90.
How to Watch
Tune in for the final day action from Pickwick Lake with Live Coverage here and on the FREE PHYX TV App.
Follow along with the LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers on Pickwick.
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, here!
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