Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Day three at the Chompers/NPFL Stop #5 presented by Bait-Wrx, got going quickly with the top guys catching some quality fish, but the action has since faded. Day two leader Nick Brown is neck and neck with Joseph Webster at the midway point both reporting big fish in their livewells.
Both anglers have fish close to 5 pounds, and neither has a limit. The morning was fast-paced, and with a long day, checking in last, they have the upcoming afternoon to work on filling out a limit – it’s likely that whichever can do so, will become the champion.
While Webster, like the majority of the field is targeting docks with topwater baits and jigs, Brown is focused on a shallow flat with isolated wood/rock cover. Brown was unsuccessful in getting a bite on day one in his area, but his day two weight of 21 pounds, 8 ounces moved him into the lead. He is fishing isolated wood, like John Cox who is also in the top ten, and rotating between a buzzbait, a glide bait, and a jig. So far, he has put two fish in the boat and has yet to abandon his spot.
Behind them, Drew Cook leads the Progressive AOY Race by just two points over Kyle Welcher, who led coming into the event in Osage Beach. Cook has four bass for over 11 pounds on the day and sits in third. Christian Nash and Brandon Perkins, who caught the second-best bag of the event on day two, sit in fourth and fifth, with lots of time left to fish.
Local angler Brock Bila struggled a bit on day one but added over 12 pounds on day two to move back to the top. He is reporting three bass for almost 8 pounds to move into sixth place.
The weigh-in this afternoon begins at 3:00 pm CST on TNPFL.com.
The top ten look like this:
Joseph Webster 41-10
Nick Brown 41-1
Drew Cook 36-7
Christian Nash 35-7
Brandon Perkins 33-10
Brock Bila 30-12
John Soukup 30-0
Kyle Glasgow 29-6
John Cox 29-3
Dustin Perry 28-15
Follow along on the Weigh Live Tracker for real-time unofficial updates from the water.
Check out the Morning Story and Launch Photo Gallery, here!
