Kevin VanDam

Fralick paces Classic

February 22, 2009
(bassmaster.com, February 22, 2009)

BOSSIER CITY, La. — As Jami Fralick was entertaining his umpteenth interview of the evening  a pitfall, alas, of leading the Bassmaster Classic after Day Two  he stood against a wall in CenturyTel Center with his back to Ray Scott, who fairly blindsided the angler.

“All right, good luck to you, baby,” the founder of BASS told Fralick, shaking his hand and gripping his shoulder.

As Scott continued down the hall, Fralick reflected on how quickly he had blossomed from a Classic afterthought to its frontrunner.

“Yesterday,” Fralick said, “he was like, ‘Who are you, again?’”

Usually Fralick’s the guy behind the guy who gets the trophy. He has yet to win a BASS event but has made an art of finishing second. Runner-up is his top finish at the state, division and national level of Federation Nation tournaments, and his top finish in an Open. In his two years on the Elite Series, he has yet to notch a top 10.

But he made the move from second to first on Day Two  by not moving at all.

He and Brian Snowden (sixth place, 34-13) are sharing a 200-some-yard stretch of bank in Pool 4 that Fralick said was plagued with hyacinths until recently. Finding it has afforded both of them the luxury of sticking with what works.

“From the history I have on the Red River, fishing tournaments, there are key places where those fish will home in on,” he said. “And scattered everywhere there are places where the fish want to be in, and they keep replenishing. That’s what’s been happening on that spot. Every day new fish are coming up.”

If Fralick is feeling the pressure, he’s not showing it. For the record, there’s a murder’s row of hungry bass fishing pros behind him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/news/story?id=3924908&refresh

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