Casey Ashley Professional Angler and Country Music Artisr

BassFan.com > Day 2: 5, 13-08 (10, 22-07) Casey Ashley jumped 14 spots today, thanks in large part to a 6-06 brute that devoured his topwater bait this morning. The fish accounted for nearly half of his weight today and has him in position to make his second straight Top-12 cut.

"I still haven't gotten anything figured out," he said. "I'm doing everything everybody else is doing. It just happened that I caught a 6 today. I do have a place, though, where I can stop and catch a limit of spots pretty quick in the morning. I did that yesterday and left with a limit for about 6 pounds. Today, they weighed about 9."

Bassfan.com > Day 2: 5, 18-06 (10, 39-03) - Ashley's bag was about 2 1/2 pounds lighter than the one he caught on day 1, but it didn't cost him any ground in the standings.

"I'm right where I want to be," he said. "As long as I can stay in that Top 5, I'm within striking distance.

"It was a little tougher today. The place where I caught them yesterday morning, I only caught two day and I had to go to my second spot. I milled around in the first spot too long waiting for them to bite."

He loaded up in a hurry once he relocated at about 10:00.

"When I made my move, they were biting and I caught the tail end of it. It was boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, and then they were done."

Like Pace, he's fishing offshore with a 3/4-ounce football jig. His best fish today was a 5 1/2-pounder.

"There's no pattern to it – it's just spot-fishing. I haven't had any company yet. There were some locals watching me, but they were really respectful and kept their distance, and hopefully they won't fish my stuff when I'm not there

"I don't think I have anything to worry about during tournament hours, but there's a lot of wildcat night derbies that go on." Read More