Marks stays steady to take the lead at All-American
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Day 1 of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Presented by T-H Marine was tough, and Day 2 was even tougher. Limits are a big achievement on Lake Cherokee this week, and a 12-pound bag can rocket an angler up the leaderboard at an astonishing rate.
With the Day 1 leaders faltering, Paul Marks Jr. tallied 13 pounds, 6 ounces to jump up to a 26-1 total, which gives him an edge of more than 2 pounds over Dillon Falardeau, who weighed 12-2 on Day 2 to bring his total to 23-7. While that’s a commanding lead mathematically for Marks, the way the lake is fishing probably won’t allow anyone to sleep easy.
On the Strike King co-angler side, Justin Parchman weighed five bass for 10-3 to take over the top spot with 17-7 on eight fish. Justin McGaha sits second with 16-7, and Ashley Klaus is third with 15-4. With the weights correspondingly low on the co-angler side, Championship Friday is even less of a sure thing for the backseaters.
On Friday, the Top 10 will fish for a lot — the All-American has launched many a career. On the boater side, the top prize goes up to $120,000 plus an automatic qualification into REDCREST 2025, while the highest-finishing boater and co-angler from each regional will qualify for the Toyota Series Championship. Perhaps best of all, you can watch it go down on MLFNOW!, which will be live from 6:45 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. ET on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Marks in command through two
Paul Marks Jr. has made a lot of money with a spinning rod over the last few years. Photo by Rob Matsuura
The winner of last year’s regional on Lake Eufaula and runner-up in the most recent Tackle Warehouse Invitationals stop, the 23-year-old Marks entered the event as one of the favorites. Sporting acres of screen on his rig and all the accompanying skills, the Georgia angler is again showing why he’s considered a top prospect.
Weighing exclusively smallmouth, Marks has relied on a Zoom Z-Swim in Tennessee shad, picking off smallmouth on various points all over the lake.
“I caught a few the first day — I had a really good bag the first day,” he said of practice. “The rest of practice, I pretty much drove around.”
Marks seems to know what he’s looking for, which is the presence of bass and particular structural features.
“It’s the way the islands are pointing, and the way the points are — from a contour standpoint and a current standpoint,” he said. “And, if there are stripers there, there’s no bass; if there’s bass, usually there are no stripers.”
Many local observers have expressed shock at how tough the fishing is, and Marks is surprised as well.
“I expected like 14 a day to do good, not whatever I’ve had,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve seen it this bad anywhere. Lanier is 20 pounds year-round. I wasn’t liking it in practice, but now I’m liking it.”
He’d really like if things hold up for one more day.
“I’d probably cry,” Marks said about the prospect of a win. “It’s a staple. It’d definitely help kickstart a career for me.”
Falardeau has a magic rock
On a roll this year, Dillon Falardeau is on the cusp of something special. Photo by Rob Matsuura
Sitting in second and within striking distance, Falardeau charged up the leaderboard from sixth on Day 2. A full-time guide and lodge owner at Chickamauga, Falardeau is in hot pursuit of a fishing career after 10 years in the Army — so, winning the All-American would be perfect for him.
“I’ve got this one area I’ve found with a good population of fish, and I’m staying in that really small area — I don’t know if there’s enough for tomorrow,” he said. “But I do have one rock with 12, maybe 15 bass on it, and they’re all 3 pounds. I caught a 3-2 yesterday and a 3-4 today off it. Once you catch one, you can give it a couple hours, and they set back up, but I just can’t get another one off of it.”
Five off the magic rock would go a long way on Championship Friday. If Falardeau can pull it off, it’d probably be one of the first times the winning spot at the All-American was found in bed.
“The big thing on a lake like this with such a big drawdown is an app, Field Maps,” Falardeau said. “I basically lay down in bed at night and find my spots when the lake is 30-foot low. The rock I’m fishing, I found last night laying in bed.”
Tomorrow, he knows what he’s going to do.
“Once I have my limit every day, I’ve been pulling the trolling motor and leaving and practicing,” he said. “I did that today, and it was a waste of two hours. I know where there’s a 16-pound bag, so I’m going to sit on it all day.”
With a little luck (or maybe a lot, considering the tough fishing), this could be a big week for Falardeau.
“It would be life-changing for me,” he said. “Being a full-time guide, leaving for a full week, I don’t get paid, and I’m scraping by. I love guiding, but this is what I want to do for a living. This is what I’ve always wanted to do for a living, and that would give me the boost to be able to go to the next level.”
Top 10 boaters
1. Paul Marks Jr. – 26 – 1 (10) 2. Dillon Falardeau – 23 – 7 (10) 3. Lucas Murphy – 23 – 4 (10) 4. Brett Carnright – 20 – 12 (10) 5. Pete Saele – 20 – 8 (9) 6. Mike Feldermann – 20 – 8 (9) 7. Buddy Benson – 20 – 2 (10) 8. Matt O’Connell – 20 – 1 (10) 9. Jason Barnes – 20 – 0 (8) 10. Ian Leybas – 19 – 6 (9)
Complete results
The post Marks stays steady to take the lead at All-American appeared first on Major League Fishing.
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