Any way you slice it Chris Johnston and Paul Mueller have treated us to an incredible derby.
Their back and forth all week has created a slugfest that could create 100 pounds of smallmouth. They’ve had a dozen lead changes the last few days. And they are putting it all on the line at this very moment.
It’s easy to see this event will likely be won by one of those two. But it’s not that easy.
The wind that forced many of our anglers off the lake this morning has just built in intensity. I can only imagine how bad it is on the lake.
Given that it won’t be long until the lake anglers should start heading back. But none of them are comfortable playing it safe. They will stay until the last minute.
That means they will likely push it on the way back. That means equipment will be tested. A common occurrence on big water events in these parts is hydro-lock. It only takes a little water in an engine to shut it down.
Pushing it increase the odds of that. It’s not likely but possible. Not to mention all the other things that could go wrong.
These last few hours could have more drama than the rest of the week.