Ehrler Will Lead The Field Into The Final Round Of The Bassmaster Classic

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Brent Ehrler of Newport Beach, Calif., maintains the lead on the second day of the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods at Lake Conroe, bringing 20 pounds, 1 ounce to the scales on Saturday for a two-day total weight of 43-4.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Ehrler Will Lead The Field Into The Final Round Of The
March 25, 2017 - HOUSTON — Brent Ehrler
He’s saying all the right things.

But after two big days, there’s just no denying that he’s one step
The 40-year-old California angler caught five bass Saturday that
“I didn’t know what I could catch today in the area where I’ve been
“I could go in there tomorrow and not have a limit. I could go in
Unlike Day 1 when the winds blew 20- to 30-mph, things were
“I think it was better,” said Ehrler, who still hasn’t been open
“I think in the best-case scenario, if it was slick calm, I could
After taking the early lead Friday, Ehrler said he prefers to start a
The tournament has long been considered the Super Bowl of
Many of the 52 anglers in the field have never experienced this kind
“You have that target on your back, and it’s really a hard thing to
“Right now, I have to worry about stumbling. In this position, you
Ehrler certainly doesn’t have much margin for error with six anglers
Lefebre, who won the 2009 Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Conroe, said
“I’ve got 100 spots to fish on this lake, and 25 of them are in that
Predictably, with the better weather, Lefebre said there was more
“You can’t just fish around in there any way you want to and catch
“I pulled in behind some of the best fishermen on Earth today and
Evers, who fished three distinctly different patterns to win last
“Friday was a little bit different from today,” he said.
“As for the wind and the conditions tomorrow, I’ll take it either
The Top 25 remaining anglers will take off at 7:20 a.m. CT from Lake Bassmaster Classic
is trying his best to stay grounded.
away from the biggest accomplishment of his professional bass fishing career.
weighed 20 pounds, 1 ounce and pushed his two-day total to 43-4 in front of a giant crowd at Minute Maid Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros. That was good enough to lead the 47th annual GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Lake Conroe by more than 2 pounds going into Sunday’s final round.
fishing,” Ehrler said. “I thought I could go in there, and if I caught a limit, they’d weigh 15 to 16 pounds. You just don’t know what’s there until you start pulling on more of them.
there and catch 13 or 14 pounds, or I could have 25 pounds.”
relatively calm on Conroe Saturday. Ehrler said that helped his cause — even though his weight was slightly lower than the 23-3 he caught Friday.
about how he’s catching his fish with one more day to go. “I would prefer to have less wind.
probably really catch them.”
little farther back and slowly work his way up the leaderboard by the final day. But he knows he’ll begin Championship Sunday as the man everyone is trying to top with a $300,000 first-place prize on the line.
professional bass fishing, with a total purse of $1 million — and this year’s event is considered perhaps the biggest in history with chances for all-time attendance records to be set. Thousands of people have already lined up each day for takeoffs at Lake Conroe Park, the Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods at the George R. Brown Convention Center and the daily weigh-ins at Minute Maid Park.
of pressure — and Ehrler admitted he’s feeling it a little bit.
do,” said Ehrler, who still leads the race for Berkley Big Bass of the event with the 9-12 largemouth he caught Friday. “It’s harder to sleep. I would like to be back and have that confidence that if I caught a big stringer, I’d have that ability to win.
have to worry about everything.”
within 7 pounds of his total, including three former Classic champions. Pennsylvania pro Dave Lefebre is second with 41-1, followed by defending Classic champ Edwin Evers of Oklahoma (39-0), Oklahoma angler James Elam (37-13), Bradley Roy of Kentucky (37-10), the 2003 Classic winner Michael Iaconelli of New Jersey (37-8) and four-time Classic champion Kevin VanDam of Michigan (36-3).
he has stayed in one creek all week and used just one lure on one rod.
creek,” said Lefebre, who caught 20-6 Friday and 20-11 Saturday. “I don’t think I’m going to leave that creek. I tried to leave about 10 of them for Sunday, but I had to hit them all today.”
boat traffic in the area he was fishing Saturday. But he thinks his technique is different enough to help him overcome the crowds.
them,” Lefebre said. “I’m fishing areas the size of a light socket, and I’ve got a bait that I think the fish are keying on. I might have to make seven casts to that light switch, but they’re eventually eating it.
still caught them.”
year’s Classic on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, said he’s been making subtle changes each day this year as well.
“There’s a lot of stuff you can try on this lake. I’ve probably used six or seven baits — just switching up a little bit, depending on the time of day and the conditions.
way.”
Conroe Park in Montgomery, Texas. The final weigh-in will take place at Minute Maid Park, with doors opening at 3 p.m. for B.A.S.S. Life and Nation members and at 3:15 p.m. for the general public.

2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods 3/24-3/26
Lake Conroe, Houston TX.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 2

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Brent Ehrler Newport Beach, CA 10 43-04 0 $5,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-03 Day 2: 5 20-01
2. Dave Lefebre Erie, PA 10 41-01 0
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 5 20-11
3. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 10 39-00 0
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 20-13
4. James Elam Tulsa, OK 9 37-13 0
Day 1: 4 20-01 Day 2: 5 17-12
5. Bradley Roy Lancaster, KY 10 37-10 0
Day 1: 5 22-01 Day 2: 5 15-09
6. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 10 37-08 0
Day 1: 5 21-02 Day 2: 5 16-06
7. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 10 36-03 0
Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 17-13
8. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 9 33-02 0
Day 1: 5 17-07 Day 2: 4 15-11
9. Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 9 31-07 0
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 4 13-11
10. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 10 31-01 0
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 18-01
11. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 8 30-10 0
Day 1: 5 21-08 Day 2: 3 09-02
12. Jason Williamson Wagener, SC 9 30-03 0
Day 1: 4 17-01 Day 2: 5 13-02
13. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 10 30-02 0
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 16-05
14. Ryan Lavigne Gonzales, LA 10 29-13 0
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 13-03
15. Jordan Lee Grant, AL 7 29-06 0
Day 1: 3 08-06 Day 2: 4 21-00
16. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL 9 27-13 0
Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 4 11-05
17. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 10 27-09 0
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 13-00
18. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 8 27-03 0
Day 1: 3 08-11 Day 2: 5 18-08
19. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 10 26-15 0
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 12-05
20. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 6 26-12 0
Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 1 06-01
21. Timothy Klinger Boulder City, NV 9 23-07 0
Day 1: 4 10-06 Day 2: 5 13-01
22. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 10 23-03 0
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 5 12-03
23. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 8 22-06 0
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 3 06-06
24. Ish Monroe Hughson, CA 6 21-13 0
Day 1: 5 19-04 Day 2: 1 02-09
25. Chris Zaldain Laughlin, NV 7 21-11 0
Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 2 05-12
26. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 8 20-15 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 10-10 Day 2: 4 10-05
27. Alton Jones Lorena, TX 5 19-13 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-13 Day 2: 0 00-00
28. Wesley Strader Spring City, TN 5 19-09 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
29. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 5 19-07 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 0 00-00
30. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 7 18-15 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 2 05-09
31. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 6 18-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 1 02-09
32. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 5 18-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 04-10 Day 2: 3 13-10
33. Jesse Wiggins Cullman, AL 6 18-02 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 10-08 Day 2: 2 07-10
34. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 6 17-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 1 02-08
35. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 8 17-09 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 07-11 Day 2: 5 09-14
36. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 6 17-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 07-11 Day 2: 3 09-11
37. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 5 15-13 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 07-01 Day 2: 3 08-12
38. Darrell Ocamica New Plymouth, ID 5 15-10 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 09-03 Day 2: 2 06-07
39. Alton Jones Jr. Lorena, TX 5 15-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 12-13 Day 2: 1 02-09
40. Boyd Duckett Guntersville, AL 4 14-15 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 12-14 Day 2: 1 02-01
41. Skylar Hamilton Dandridge, TN 3 14-03 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 05-02 Day 2: 1 09-01
42. John Garrett Union City, TN 5 13-13 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 07-08 Day 2: 2 06-05
43. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 5 13-08 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 07-15 Day 2: 2 05-09
44. Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 4 13-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 08-03 Day 2: 2 04-13
45. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 4 13-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 06-03 Day 2: 2 06-13
46. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 4 12-14 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 04-08 Day 2: 2 08-06
47. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 4 12-03 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 12-03 Day 2: 0 00-00
48. Shaw Grigsby Jr. Gainesville, FL 4 10-09 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 05-01 Day 2: 2 05-08
49. Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 4 09-10 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 04-10 Day 2: 2 05-00
50. Scott Clift Aldrich, MO 2 06-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 06-06
51. Wil Hardy Harlem, GA 1 02-08 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 0 00-00
51. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 1 02-08 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 0 00-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 26 200 669-02
2 17 151 489-12
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43 351 1158-14

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