2020 BASS Elite St. Johns River Day 2: Mueller Leads with 36-10lbs into Final Day.

Top 20 fish tomorrow
By David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Having a large area to himself might be key to Paul's push
for the win.
(Photo: BASS)

Two days of persistence and adaptation have landed Paul Mueller in the lead at the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River heading into Championship Monday. 

Mueller, the veteran Elite Series pro from Naugatuck, Conn., caught a five-bass limit that weighed 16 pounds, 2 ounces during Sunday’s second round. Added to his first-round catch of 20-8, it gave him a two-day total of 36-10.

He leads second-place angler Kelley Jaye of Dadeville, Ala., (35-10) by 1 pound.

Mueller, who earned his first Elite victory last year at Georgia’s Lake Lanier went in the opposite direction of most his competitors. While most anglers fished south of the Palatka City Dock and Boat Ramp, Mueller committed his day to the same creek he fished Saturday, well north of the takeoff site. 

The day began slowly, but Mueller said he believed in his area enough to keep casting the Strike King Hack Attack swim jig trailed with a Zoom Speed Craw that produced his Day 1 bag. He steadily picked up keepers before finding a day-making 6-4 largemouth.

“What a key bite; that fish anchored my weight,” he said. “I made an adjustment at the end of the day and that was it. I caught the majority of my fish earlier on the swim jig, but I just couldn’t get a big bite, so I started punching a 3-inch junebug-color craw with a 1-ounce tungsten weight.

“I felt like the fish moved under the mats. There wasn’t as much water in the place I was fishing as there was on Day 1, but I felt like if I could find a mat with enough water on it, there would be a big fish there.” 

2019 BASS Elite Lake Guntersville Day 2: Matt Arey Moves into Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 9th, Cory Johnston 20th & Gustafson 67th.
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Matt Arey scores 44lbs and lead.
(Photo: BASS)

Even after a solid start on Friday, North Carolina pro Matt Arey sounded less than confident heading out for Saturday’s second round of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville.

Guntersville, after all, is one of the most popular bass fishing lakes in the world — and since a Saturday in June usually means a crowded waterway, he was worried the areas he fished Friday would no longer be reachable.

His worries proved unnecessary, however, as he caught five bass that weighed 21 pounds, 6 ounces to take the lead with a two-day total of 44 pounds.

“There were a lot of boats out there for sure,” Arey said. “But it seemed like a lot of locals were staying off a lot of the obvious stuff, and I was really pleased with the way things played out.

“When I was running to my first spot, I probably saw 50 locals that were already out there before we blasted off. But you could tell they were fishermen — very respectful.”
 
Arey’s day didn’t start well at all. At 10:30 a.m., he only had two fish that he described as “two of the smallest 15-inchers in the lake.”
 
But since he’s fishing ledges in 15 to 20 feet of water — and those areas tend to be hit or miss throughout the day — he didn’t panic.