Quinn brought in just three fish Friday, but they were lunkers weighing in at 15 pounds and 1 ounce, giving him a two-day weight of 39-15.
"I caught these fish today in the second best place that I have," Quinn said. "I was working around points, Texas-rigging a Kinami Flash stick bait."
For the past two days, Quinn and the other 156 Tour pros have largely had the 10-lake chain to themselves. Despite a field cut that will send just the top 12 anglers out for Saturday's competition, the BASS pros will still have to worry about competition - this time from recreational anglers. The weekend is likely to bring an increase in recreational anglers on the Harris Chain, but the possibility of increased pressure on the lake didn't bother Quinn in the slightest.
"That won't bother me, as slow as I'm fishing," he said. "... I hate fishing that slow, but when you come to Florida, you have to."
Quinn only leads Texan David Wharton by an ounce. Wharton catapulted 34 spots, rising to second with a five fish limit of 26-7. The largest sack of the day made him just the second angler to qualify for the Busch Shootout program and put $1,000 into his pocket. It also gave him a two-day total of 39-14.
"I went to Lake Griffin today," Wharton said. "I caught some pretty good fish in practice there and I stayed in Harris yesterday. After I saw some of the fish coming in yesterday, I decided to take a gamble."
If Wharton's Day 2 weight remains one of the top 10 heaviest daily catches through all six Tour and four Bassmaster Elite 50 events, he will earn an invitation for the $160,000 Busch Shootout Tournament that will be held at a mystery lake on Sept. 18. With 38 more days remaining in the two competitive seasons and just 10 berths to go around, Wharton will be keeping his fingers crossed.
"That's a pretty good bag of fish," Wharton said. "I don't know if it will hold out for the Busch Shootout; we still have Santee Cooper and Guntersville. But, the good thing about those are that only four guys can come from each event."
Arkansas' Scott Suggs was up a position from fourth to third with a two-day total of 39-12. Suggs was fishing a new crankbait, in a very small area.
"I found these fish in practice," Suggs said, "I stayed in one area today, there were tons of shad in that spot. For a spot that small, I hope I don't run out of fish, but I'll live by it and I'll die by it."
Alabama's Mark Rizk took the other $1,000 daily prize, for bringing in the Purolator Big Bass of the day on the pro side with a 10-pound, 3-ounce lunker. Robert Decker from Florida picked up the $500 on the amateur side with a 8-pound, 5-ounce bass. Neither fish was big enough to unseat Alton Jones' 10-13 lunker from Day 1. If Jones' Big Bass holds up for the remaining two competition days, he will earn an additional $1,000 for the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament.
For day three, the field will be cut to the top 12 pros. Michael Iaconelli from New Jersey, Jones from Texas, Scott Rook from Arkansas, Bud Pruitt from Texas, Brent Chapman from Kansas, Marty Stone and Chris Baumgardner of North Carolina, and Tommy Martin and Takahiro Omori from Texas round out the top 12 for day three.
On the amateur side, Connecticut's Frank Vida took the top spot with a total weight of 17-14, followed by Mark Adams from New Mexico and John Musto from New Jersey with weights of 16-12 and 16-3 respectively.
Day 3 at the Harris Chain gets under way Saturday with launch at 7 a.m. from Venetian Gardens boat ramp. Saturday's weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. at the Pat Thomas Ball Field.
You can catch a telecast of the Harris Chain tournament on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour events this season feature the highly interactive and family friendly BASS Sponsor Expo area. Sponsors present interactive exhibits and provide a fun family experience for all ages. The Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Pat Thomas Ball Field.
The CastingKids program, presented by CITGO will be held in conjunction with the BASS Sponsor Expo Saturday, from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Pat Thomas Ball Field. Children between the ages of 7 and 14 can participate in the contest with the chance to earn a scholarship.
The event and instruction to youngsters will be facilitated by the Lakeland Hawg Hunters & Seminole Bass Anglers.
Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail presented by Busch Beer include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Skeeter Boats, Mercury Marine, Yamaha Outboards, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops, and BankOne.
Associate Sponsors include G3 Boats and Bryant Heating and Air Conditioning.
Local Sponsors are: Lake County, Fla.; City of Leesburg; Lake County Water Authority; Leesburg Chamber of Commerce
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (334) 551-2375 or visit www.bassmaster.com.
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