As expected, the field set out on the St. Johns River for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite Series and encountered even cooler temperatures than the already unseasonably cold first day. Also as expected, quality bites seemed a little more difficult for most anglers to come by. But that definitely wasn’t the case for everyone.

Bill Lowen had one of those days all tournament anglers dream about. The Indiana veteran backed up his solid Day 1 bag of 21-5 with a monster 24-4 limit on Day 2, securing the lead at the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River. In fact, he’s got a nearly eight-pound cushion over second heading into Semifinal Saturday.

“It was an amazing day; you just can’t explain it when it happens,” Lowen said. “You look for those days all the time, and I had one of those days today.”

Lowen was fishing a creek just north of Palatka with deeper, protected, stable water. He speculated that may have been the reason his fish weren’t as negatively affected by the cold conditions.

He worked the creek’s shallow wood cover with a flipping jig and swim jig, carefully picking apart his area.

The indicator that it was truly his day came around noon when Lowen hooked a good bass which got tangled in a deep tree. He said, “I could feel her pulling, so I knew she was still there, but I couldn’t gain on her.”

“After what felt like an eternity, I just put a lot of pressure on her. I thought the line was gonna break, but the branch broke, and she just floated to the top. Usually, when that happens, it doesn’t end well. I got really lucky.”

Day 1 leader Jay Przekurat had a tougher go, adding 12-12 to his opening 24-15 to end the day in second with a two-day total of 37-11.

“I had to scramble,” he admitted. “Hopefully, tomorrow, I can step it up and stay in the Top 10.”

Minnesota’s Seth Feider jumped from tenth to third with 37-7, leaning on a Texas-rigged Bang StickZ to stay consistent.

Meanwhile, John Cox still owns Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his first day 8-13 Florida giant.

The field is cut to the top 50 anglers for Saturday. The weather forecast heading into the weekend looks a bit more Floridian with daily high temps hitting around 70 degrees.

Lowen has a pretty commanding lead and seems to have his head in the right place, but in Florida anything can happen. Watch for some monster bites to start showing up and the potential for some big moves on the leader board.

As expected, the field set out on the St. Johns River for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite Series and encountered even cooler temperatures than the already unseasonably cold first day. Also as expected, quality bites seemed a little more difficult for most anglers to come by. But that definitely wasn’t the case for everyone.

Bill Lowen had one of those days all tournament anglers dream about. The Indiana veteran backed up his solid Day 1 bag of 21-5 with a monster 24-4 limit on Day 2, securing the lead at the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River. In fact, he’s got a nearly eight-pound cushion over second heading into Semifinal Saturday.

“It was an amazing day; you just can’t explain it when it happens,” Lowen said. “You look for those days all the time, and I had one of those days today.”

Lowen was fishing a creek just north of Palatka with deeper, protected, stable water. He speculated that may have been the reason his fish weren’t as negatively affected by the cold conditions.

He worked the creek’s shallow wood cover with a flipping jig and swim jig, carefully picking apart his area.

The indicator that it was truly his day came around noon when Lowen hooked a good bass which got tangled in a deep tree. He said, “I could feel her pulling, so I knew she was still there, but I couldn’t gain on her.”

“After what felt like an eternity, I just put a lot of pressure on her. I thought the line was gonna break, but the branch broke, and she just floated to the top. Usually, when that happens, it doesn’t end well. I got really lucky.”

Day 1 leader Jay Przekurat had a tougher go, adding 12-12 to his opening 24-15 to end the day in second with a two-day total of 37-11.

“I had to scramble,” he admitted. “Hopefully, tomorrow, I can step it up and stay in the Top 10.”

Minnesota’s Seth Feider jumped from tenth to third with 37-7, leaning on a Texas-rigged Bang StickZ to stay consistent.

Meanwhile, John Cox still owns Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his first day 8-13 Florida giant.

The field is cut to the top 50 anglers for Saturday. The weather forecast heading into the weekend looks a bit more Floridian with daily high temps hitting around 70 degrees.

Lowen has a pretty commanding lead and seems to have his head in the right place, but in Florida anything can happen. Watch for some monster bites to start showing up and the potential for some big moves on the leader board.

As expected, the field set out on the St. Johns River for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite Series and encountered even cooler temperatures than the already unseasonably cold first day. Also as expected, quality bites seemed a little more difficult for most anglers to come by. But that definitely wasn’t the case for everyone.

Bill Lowen had one of those days all tournament anglers dream about. The Indiana veteran backed up his solid Day 1 bag of 21-5 with a monster 24-4 limit on Day 2, securing the lead at the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River. In fact, he’s got a nearly eight-pound cushion over second heading into Semifinal Saturday.

“It was an amazing day; you just can’t explain it when it happens,” Lowen said. “You look for those days all the time, and I had one of those days today.”

Lowen was fishing a creek just north of Palatka with deeper, protected, stable water. He speculated that may have been the reason his fish weren’t as negatively affected by the cold conditions.

He worked the creek’s shallow wood cover with a flipping jig and swim jig, carefully picking apart his area.

The indicator that it was truly his day came around noon when Lowen hooked a good bass which got tangled in a deep tree. He said, “I could feel her pulling, so I knew she was still there, but I couldn’t gain on her.”

“After what felt like an eternity, I just put a lot of pressure on her. I thought the line was gonna break, but the branch broke, and she just floated to the top. Usually, when that happens, it doesn’t end well. I got really lucky.”

Day 1 leader Jay Przekurat had a tougher go, adding 12-12 to his opening 24-15 to end the day in second with a two-day total of 37-11.

“I had to scramble,” he admitted. “Hopefully, tomorrow, I can step it up and stay in the Top 10.”

Minnesota’s Seth Feider jumped from tenth to third with 37-7, leaning on a Texas-rigged Bang StickZ to stay consistent.

Meanwhile, John Cox still owns Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his first day 8-13 Florida giant.

The field is cut to the top 50 anglers for Saturday. The weather forecast heading into the weekend looks a bit more Floridian with daily high temps hitting around 70 degrees.

Lowen has a pretty commanding lead and seems to have his head in the right place, but in Florida anything can happen. Watch for some monster bites to start showing up and the potential for some big moves on the leader board.

As expected, the field set out on the St. Johns River for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite Series and encountered even cooler temperatures than the already unseasonably cold first day. Also as expected, quality bites seemed a little more difficult for most anglers to come by. But that definitely wasn’t the case for everyone.

Bill Lowen had one of those days all tournament anglers dream about. The Indiana veteran backed up his solid Day 1 bag of 21-5 with a monster 24-4 limit on Day 2, securing the lead at the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River. In fact, he’s got a nearly eight-pound cushion over second heading into Semifinal Saturday.

“It was an amazing day; you just can’t explain it when it happens,” Lowen said. “You look for those days all the time, and I had one of those days today.”

Lowen was fishing a creek just north of Palatka with deeper, protected, stable water. He speculated that may have been the reason his fish weren’t as negatively affected by the cold conditions.

He worked the creek’s shallow wood cover with a flipping jig and swim jig, carefully picking apart his area.

The indicator that it was truly his day came around noon when Lowen hooked a good bass which got tangled in a deep tree. He said, “I could feel her pulling, so I knew she was still there, but I couldn’t gain on her.”

“After what felt like an eternity, I just put a lot of pressure on her. I thought the line was gonna break, but the branch broke, and she just floated to the top. Usually, when that happens, it doesn’t end well. I got really lucky.”

Day 1 leader Jay Przekurat had a tougher go, adding 12-12 to his opening 24-15 to end the day in second with a two-day total of 37-11.

“I had to scramble,” he admitted. “Hopefully, tomorrow, I can step it up and stay in the Top 10.”

Minnesota’s Seth Feider jumped from tenth to third with 37-7, leaning on a Texas-rigged Bang StickZ to stay consistent.

Meanwhile, John Cox still owns Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his first day 8-13 Florida giant.

The field is cut to the top 50 anglers for Saturday. The weather forecast heading into the weekend looks a bit more Floridian with daily high temps hitting around 70 degrees.

Lowen has a pretty commanding lead and seems to have his head in the right place, but in Florida anything can happen. Watch for some monster bites to start showing up and the potential for some big moves on the leader board.