> Day 2: 5, 10-09 (10, 21-12) Ish Monroe is thinking the odds have to eventually fall in his favor when it comes to catching a big fish this week. Every competitor above him in the standings has tangled with at least one fish in the 4-pound range and he’s hoping his time is coming.

“Keepers are not a problem for me,” he said. “It’s catching that big one. I bounced around a lot today trying to find one.”

He had plenty of time to do so after boxing a limit before 9 this morning. He had 12 keepers in all and about the same number of dinks. He’s kept his presentations simple and in line with typical river fishing, covering all portions of the water column with a frog, spinnerbait and a Missile Baits Missile Craw, which he’s been flipping.

“It’s one of those deals where if you have anything else tied on I think you’re wasting your time,” he added.

He’s surprised that he’s been by himself both days and thinks another 10-pound bag will earn him a Top-12 cut.

“I haven’t seen a boat the whole tournament except for when I come out of the area I’m fishing,” he said. “That’s an awesome thing. I really expected to see another boat or two in this area. The area that I’m fishing is so small you can’t have two boats in there. You’d have to follow somebody and if they got to a point where they had to turn around, one of you would have to back out. There’s about a half-mile stretch where you can’t turn around.” Full story