Oklahoma’s Zack Birge is looking to seal the deal in Florida.
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
In typical Florida fashion, things are changing. After two days, some anglers who did well on Day One have dropped, some who struggled have climbed, and a few have stayed consistent, catching better-than-average fish both days. Ken Duke predicted this one would be won by an angler who never struggled over all three days — and so far, Zack Birge is that guy.
Birge brought 22-6 to the scales on Day One and followed it up with a dominant performance on Live Coverage, adding 21-14 on day two. Consistency is key in Florida, and Birge has done just that, taking a 5-9 lead into Showdown Saturday with a two-day total of 44-4.
In second place, Day One leader Jordan Osborne had a much slower day, but still managed a 10-5 limit. His two-day total of 38-11, anchored by the biggest bag of the tournament on Day One, keeps him right in the hunt alongside his roommate Zack Birge heading into the final day, with the rest of the top ten closing in.
Veteran angler Greg Vinson leads the events big bass with a 9-0 he caught on Day One.
Birge Stays Consistent
The most consistent angler thus far, Zack Birge carries a 5.5-pound lead into Showdown Saturday. He’ll launch as Boat 1 in his Bass Cat — one of the fastest boats in the game — giving him extra time to capitalize on what proved to be a short bite window on Day Two.
“I was a little shocked this morning after catching them pretty good early, but things slowed way down,” he said. “I figured once I fished through as I have been, I would have caught another big one flipping and picking it apart — but it didn’t happen. With an early launch tomorrow, I’m hoping getting there a bit closer to daylight will extend the bite window. I may even try to catch a couple on topwater.”
Birge is making a bit of a run to a place he’s comfortable with. As a shallow-water expert, he’s confident in his game plan and has saved a similar-looking spot for the final day. Depending on his morning, he’ll decide whether to stay or jump ship and run a milk run, ending back in Lake Harris, where he was able to catch a big fish on his final cast this afternoon.
“The area I’m fishing has good quality fish, but a 7-pounder is huge,” he added. “I caught two big fish in the area yesterday, and one of the big ones today. I feel like if I can get a couple more doing what I’m doing, I’ll be okay. It took me a bit longer to catch my limit today, but I feel good about not burning up the spot. I have another place close by I caught a big one in practice, and I have yet to fish it.”
If you were watching Live Coverage, you saw the Oklahoma angler reach his target weight pretty quickly, then slow down to try and find one more bite. While it didn’t happen, he also didn’t burn any fish that could help him on the final day.
“I don’t feel too bad; I never caught any chunky fish that I may need tomorrow,” he added. “I was fishing for a big bite and just never got it. For tomorrow, I’m going to milk the spot for all it’s worth before moving on. Depending on how I feel, I can run through there again before locking, or get back closer to the take-off. I feel like I’m going to need 17–20 pounds to win, and I think the area has that kind of bag.”
While the majority of his weight has come “chunking and winding,” he’s mixing in a typical junk fishing approach — throwing at what looks good and adjusting presentations and bait colors as needed.
Osborne Slips to Second
Things are warming up and changing on the Harris Chain, and Osborne drew the short straw on Day Two. Before Live even started this morning, he lost a 4-pounder at the boat — and it set the tone for the day.
“You know, that fish is not a game changer,” he said. “But it would have given me a couple more pounds and a little closer to Zack. All in all, the day was strange. I feel like I had some good bites that I never landed, and the fish are coming to me — it was just off.”
Osborne is targeting post-spawn bass in Lake Harris and a few nearby areas, and with the spawn winding down, he believes the fish should be staging in the offshore grass he’s focusing on.
“There’s not many places for them to go, really,” he added. “If Harris has grass, that’s usually a good sign. If you’re in the right depth range and there’s grass, and you’re fishing a bladed jig, you’re around the right fish. The only other place they could be is out in the middle floating — and maybe they are.”
Along with a tougher bite, Osborne also had more company in his key areas than he did on Day One. With anglers adjusting their game plans, a few ended up rotating through his water.
“I tried not to let it bother me too much, because in reality it didn’t change much for me,” he said. “You still think about it. Zack is my roommate, and he’s the best shallow water fisherman in the world. It’s going to be a shootout tomorrow, which is what we wanted coming in. He’s going to catch them. I’ve got a shot too if things set up and I can get a couple bigger bites.”
Osborne explored a few different areas in practice, including Lake Apopka, and now faces a key decision heading into Showdown Saturday — stay the course or make a move.
“That lake (Apopka) has come a long way overall. There’s a lot of vegetation there now to hold fish. I caught some there in practice, and now I’ve got to decide if I scrap my plan and swing for it, or stay where I’ve been. We’ll see. I am looking forward to tomorrow and giving it one more go”
Brown Comes Way Back
The big move of the day came from Nick Brown, who put together a 25-3 bag on Day Two. Brown had a solid practice but was affected by the cooler weather on Day One. His two-day total of 37-13 has him right back in contention. The fish showed back up today — and tomorrow could get interesting.
Top Ten:
Zack Birge 44-4
Jordan Osborne 38-11
Nick Brown 37-13
Todd Auten 37-6
Chad Grigsby 33-14
Derek Lehtonen 33-13
Brandon Cobb 32-12
Kyle Glasgow 32-4
Ray Hanselman 31-14
Randall Tharp 31-10