JVD Slips In 2nd Southern Open

     In the 2nd BASS Southern Open of the year, Jonathon VanDam finished a lowly 126th place this weekend on Santee Cooper Lakes in South Carolina. The young VanDam only caught 3 bass for 9-5 lbs. in an event that was shortened to two days after being cancelled on day 2 due to a storm which produced very high winds.

     I was excited to see how JVD did in his second event after creating a buzz thanks to his 3rd place finish in the first Southern Open event of the year. An event in which he even led at one point. The 126th place finish will surely hurt his chances at qualifying for the 2009 Elite Series season. But with one more event left in the Southern Opens in October on Lake Guntersville, anything can happen. I mean c’mon, he is a VanDam.

     The winner of the event was Randall Tharp of Gardendale, AL. With a final day weight of 25-10 lbs, he was able to get by day 1 leader Matt Herren with a two day total of 44-10 lbs. and good for $47,571. Tharp’s key to winning was his ability to fish really slow by letting the bait sit and soak. “That is what I had to do to trigger the big bass into biting”, Tharp told BASS reporters. His arsenal consisted of three main baits. A Zoom Critter Craw, a buzzbait, and a Dean Rojas Spro Frog. His fish were all post-spawn and came out of 1-3 ft. of water.

     Matt Herren slipped on the second day from 1st to 2nd place. Herren is another FLW Pro who seems to be making a stab at qualifying for the BASS Elite Series much like Bobby Lane has done. He is not the only one neither. After a 34th place finish in the first Southern Open, I would say that his chances are looking pretty good as the Alabama pro will have a shot at sealing the deal on his home waters in October.