AUGUSTA, Ga. — Yesterday, Maryland's Frank Ippoliti broke into the clear and headed for the end zone, striking the Heisman Trophy pose on stage after bringing a 26-pound, 7-ounce limit to the scales at the CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Clarks Hill Reservoir (also known as J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir).
Today, Ippoliti was run down from behind by 65-year-old North Carolina pro Guy Eaker, who brought in the Busch Heavyweight catch of the day, a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces, to jump from 15th place into the lead with 36 pounds, 1 ounce. Ippoliti weighed in 8 pounds, 4 ounces of largemouths to hold onto second place with a two-day total of 34 pounds, 11 ounces.
While Ippoliti was burning a shallow-running Bagley crankbait to take the opening round lead, Eaker was fishing much more slowly today to take his fish.
"I'm fishing a 3/8-ounce spinnerbait just as slow as I can stand it," Eaker said. "I'm working green pine blowdowns in dirty water up the Savannah River. I think the dingy water color is making a big difference. After the sun came out today, a lot of the guys fishing clearer water struggled."
Eaker's spinnerbait features a chartreuse and white skirt with Colorado and willow-leaf blades. He's also fishing a medium-running crankbait and a Berkley tube in black with red flake.
"I'm fishing a lot of points with rocks and blowdowns," Eaker added. "Another thing that's really helping me — along with the dingy water — is current. I get current moving both ways during the day, depending on which hydroelectric dam is pulling water — the upstream one or the downstream one."
When asked if his plans for tomorrow's round would change if there was no power generation on Saturday, Eaker was clear with his response.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "I'm going back there anyway."
Frank Ippoliti slipped to second place after a stellar start on Clarks Hill Reservoir.
Ippoliti's fish were much less cooperative after his stellar opening round. On Day One, he "burned" a shallow-running crankbait with great success. Today, the lack of wind in the early morning hours and the bright sunlight later in the day hurt his shallow bite.
"When you have bright sun and no wind to break things up, fish do one of two things," Ippoliti said. "The either get tight to cover or they go deeper. When I didn't catch them in the places they were yesterday, I went up the river 7 or 8 miles and found some dirty water."
Ippoliti salvaged the day and is in second place going into the semifinals.
Only five of the anglers in to the top 12 spots after Day One were able to hold onto their positions and make the cut into the semifinals. Chasing Eaker and Ippoliti going into Day Three are 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion Michael Iaconelli (29-14), Oklahoma's Terry Butcher (28-11), Arkansas' Jimmy Mize (28-9), California's Mike Reynolds (28-8), Oklahoma's Jeff Kriet (27-15), 2001 Classic champ Kevin VanDam (26-15), Missouri's Mark Tucker (26-13), Texas' Gary Yamamoto (26-2) and David Wharton (25-11) and Arkansas' Larry Nixon (25-11).
Mike Iaconelli threatened early with a big catch, but settled for third place on Day 2.
On Saturday, the top 12 will vie for a spot in Sunday's Super Six and a chance at the $100,000 first prize.
The Purolator Big Bass of Day Two on the professional side was Dion Hibdon's 7-pound, 11-ounce largemouth that fell for a brown jig and Guido Bug. The lunker helped boost Hibdon to 15th in the standings, less than a pound out of the top 12.
On the non-boater side, Georgia's Daniel Thompson held onto the top spot with a two-day shared weight of 39 pounds, 6 ounces. He leads Ohio's Frank Picha by nearly 3 pounds going into Saturday's final round for 12 non-boaters.
David Hernandez, a non-boater from Alabama, caught the Purolator Big Bass of Day Two on the amateur side. His 8-pound, 5-ounce lunker struck a Texas-rigged plastic worm in 22 feet of water and earned him $500 today and stands to gain him another $1,000 if it holds up as the biggest bass of the tournament caught by any angler.
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Clarks Hill Lake will be telecast on The CITGO Bassmasters on Saturday, March 12 at 10:00 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Toyota, Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops and Cialis (tadalafil).
Local Sponsors include Columbia County, Georgia.
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