Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
While wind and fishing conditions remain tough, the top guys are catching some bigger quality bass on day three. Several top guys are reporting 5-pound plus fish on the day, and overall, at the midway point, the NPFL pros are catching some bass.
Day two leader Zack Birge grabbed the unofficial lead back after a slower start this morning. He is estimating just under 15 pounds on the day and has plenty of time to make a few culls. After taking the lead on day two, Birge noted he would not hesitate to ditch his smallmouth pattern and head to the bank to target Saginaw Bays’ healthy population of largemouth bass.
Behind Birge, Jesse Wise and Louis Fernandes are having themselves a day. Wise, in second place at the moment, has 18 pounds, 8 ounces, while Fernandes jumped into the third-place spot with just under 20 pounds.
South Carolina pro Jason Williamson has a small limit, with a kicker in his livewell. With plenty of time remaining, he is enjoying less wind on Live Coverage and a couple of culls will put him in contention. While taking the early lead on Thursday, Georgia pro Trent Palmer slipped on day two and came back with two fish shy of a limit. On Showdown Saturday, his almost 15 pounds puts him back in the top five at the halfway point.
Brock Bila and Matt Looney are fighting to earn the NPFL Bass Cat Boats award at Saginaw Bay, an incentive that pays Bass Cat owners for being the highest placing angler. At the mid-day point, Bila is in command.
The top ten look like this:
Zack Birge 55-8
Jesse Wise 53-8
Louis Fernandes 52-9
Jason Williamson 51-8
Trent Palmer 50-3
Will Harkins 49-0
Barron Adams 45-14
Joey Bloom 45-7
Brock Bila 45-4
Kyle Glasgow 45-4
Follow along on the Weigh Live Tracker for real-time unofficial updates from the water. And keep it here all the way up to the final Weigh-in @ 4:30PM EST to see who takes home the Champion’s Shield and $100,000.
