By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — "Easy."
That's how Japan’s Takumi Ito described catching 25 pounds, 8 ounces on Day 2 of the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake St. Clair, claiming the lead in the process with a two-day total of 47-04.
The 2021 St. Lawrence River champion, who landed 21-12 on Day 1, leads Arkansas pro Joey Cifuentes III by 10 ounces. Oklahoma’s Luke Palmer is third with 45-12.
With his performance Friday, Ito has now secured the Day-3 cut in every northern smallmouth Elite Series event he has competed in.
“It was an awesome day,” said Ito, who speaks limited English. “I don’t know why, but many fish come in my boat. It was a crazy day.”
Ito said he caught almost 20 smallmouth over 4 pounds on the day, including a 6-02 specimen that's the largest of the tournament to this point.
“I dropped my bait down, and (it bit) just like that. It is easy,” Ito said.
Ito’s Day-2 bag, the heaviest of the first 2 days, wasn’t something he thought was possible coming into the event. He was expecting 19 or 20 pounds would be a good day.
Unlike a lot of anglers who are moving around vast areas on the trolling motor, Ito has been bouncing from spot to spot with his outboard. He noticed the smallmouth hanging around several types of cover, including rock, sand and grass.
“It is isolated,” he explained.
Ito has caught bass in a variety of depths, from 8 feet all the way out to 15 feet, and has noticed crawfish and gobies floating in his livewell.
Cloudy conditions, along with a little wind, were present most of Day 1 across St. Clair – and while Ito was already in good position in 14th place, the calm and mostly sunny conditions across the lake Friday helped him immensely. With those conditions, he can see the bass easier on his forward-facing sonar.
“Calm, sunny and no wind, very good for me. I love it,” Ito said.
Using Japanese baits, including a shrimp-style bait and a dropshot rig, Ito has mostly dropped vertically on the smallmouth he's caught with a couple coming on shorter casts. Ito mentioned putting a secret powder and secret liquid on his baits for added attraction.
Although he returned to the same general area where he landed 22-10 on Day 1, Cifuentes fished all new water on the second day and boxed 24-00.
“It was slow to start and I was catching little ones, but that's how my days go,” Cifuentes said. “I catch a lot of small fish going in and then I’ll catch a 4-pounder. I just stayed in there and kept working around, and then I caught a 5-pounder and then another 4. It was a good, solid day.”
After leaving his primary area around 12:30 p.m., Cifuentes made one final cull near the takeoff site to get to his final tally.
He's fished several events at Lake St. Clair before, but this is the first time Cifuentes is fishing this particular area. The best part is, he has it mostly to himself. His smallmouth are in a summer pattern and have been located around cabbage with a little rock in 18 feet of water.
He's been able to land the majority of his weight on a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm rigged on a dropshot.
“I don’t have any pressure around me,” he said. “It feels really good. I think I can expand on it even more. I didn’t catch any fish today on the same waypoints I did yesterday. If I find the right direction to expand, I can catch them. I don’t know if it can hold up for four days – it might be tough, but I'm going to try.”
Palmer added 23-12 to his 22-00 Day-1 bag, moving from 12th place all the way to third. The winner of the Elite Series event on Santee Cooper in late April, he started Friday by catching a 5-pounder and several other smaller bass.
After bouncing around some, Palmer arrived at his best area and culled four times using a dropshot and a couple of soft plastics. That area is a place he's saved until the afternoon each day so far and has had mostly to himself.
Palmer feels the sun significantly improves the bite on that spot, but the challenge is relocating his smallmouth each day.
“If I can see them and they are 3 feet off the bottom, it's going to happen,” he explained. “It just takes a while to find them.”
The Top 50 remaining pros will launch from Brandenburg Park at 7 a.m. ET Saturday and will return for weigh-in beginning at 3 p.m. The Top 10 after Saturday’s round will advance to Championship Sunday for a chance to win the blue trophy and $100,000.
Day 2 Standings
1. Taku Ito -- Chuba, JAPAN -- 10, 47-04 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 21-12 -- Day 2: 5, 25-08
2. Joey Cifuentes III -- Clinton, AR -- 10, 46-10 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 22-10 -- Day 2: 5, 24-00
3. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 10, 45-12 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 22-00 -- Day 2: 5, 23-12
4. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 45-06 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 22-09 -- Day 2: 5, 22-13
5. Cooper Gallant -- Bowmanville, ON -- 10, 44-12 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 22-14 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14
6. Kyoya Fujita -- Minamitsuru, JAPAN -- 10, 44-10 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 22-15
7. Alex Redwine -- Blue Ash, OH -- 10, 44-09 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 22-05 -- Day 2: 5, 22-04
8. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 10, 44-07 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 22-09 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14
9. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 10, 44-03 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 22-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-11
10. Bryan New -- Saluda, SC -- 10, 44-02 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 23-12
11. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 10, 44-01 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 22-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14
12. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 10, 43-15 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 23-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12
13. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 43-12 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 22-10
14. Jason Christie -- Dry Creek, OK -- 10, 43-07 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 23-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-09
15. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 43-01 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 24-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-14
16. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 10, 42-15 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 19-02 -- Day 2: 5, 23-13
17. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 42-12 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 21-11
18. Jay Przekurat -- Stevens Point, WI -- 10, 42-11 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 22-04
19. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 10, 42-09 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 22-02
20. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 10, 42-05 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05
21. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 10, 42-04 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 22-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04
22. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 10, 42-04 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-12
23. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 10, 42-04 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 21-06
24. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 10, 42-00 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 19-04 -- Day 2: 5, 22-12
25. Jonathan Kelley -- Old Forge, PA -- 10, 41-13 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 22-03
26. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 10, 41-12 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 22-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-10
27. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 41-12 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12
28. Cole Sands -- Calhoun, TN -- 10, 41-07 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03
29. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 41-06 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 22-12
30. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 10, 41-05 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 19-14 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07
31. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 10, 41-04 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 19-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05
32. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 10, 41-02 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 5, 22-07
33. Kyle Norsetter -- Cottage Grove, WI -- 10, 40-15 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08
34. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, AR -- 10, 40-12 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 21-11
35. Cody Huff -- Ava, MO -- 10, 40-12 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-02
36. Bob Downey -- Detroit Lakes, MN -- 10, 40-12 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14
37. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 10, 40-08 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 22-03
38. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 10, 40-07 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 20-01
39. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 10, 40-05 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-06
40. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 40-04 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 20-00
41. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 10, 40-03 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 18-14 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05
42. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 10, 40-02 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 19-04 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14
43. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 10, 40-00 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 20-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05
44. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 10, 39-05 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 19-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07
45. Skylar Hamilton -- Jefferson, TN -- 10, 39-02 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 23-04
46. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 10, 38-15 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00
47. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 38-13 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05
48. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 10, 38-12 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-09
49. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 10, 38-10 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-14
50. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 10, 38-07 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on Day 3
51. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, AL -- 10, 38-05 -- 54 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13
52. Derek Hudnall -- Zachary, LA -- 10, 38-01 -- 53 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08
53. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 10, 37-15 -- 52 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 20-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12
54. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 10, 37-15 -- 51 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08
55. Bryant Smith -- Roseville, CA -- 10, 37-14 -- 50 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04
56. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 10, 37-13 -- 49 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05
57. Jake Whitaker -- Hendersonville, NC -- 10, 37-12 -- 48 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12
58. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 10, 37-11 -- 47 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02
59. Jeff Gustafson -- Kenora, ON -- 10, 37-11 -- 46 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08
60. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 10, 37-10 -- 45 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12
61. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 10, 37-08 -- 44 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 22-02
62. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 10, 37-08 -- 43 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 19-11
63. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 10, 37-08 -- 42 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-08
64. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 10, 37-05 -- 41 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11
65. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 37-04 -- 40 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00
66. Josh Douglas -- Isle, MN -- 10, 37-03 -- 39 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15
67. Logan Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 37-01 -- 38 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-13
68. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 10, 37-00 -- 37 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01
69. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 10, 36-13 -- 36 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 20-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03
70. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 10, 36-09 -- 35 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 19-00
71. KJ Queen -- Conover, NC -- 10, 36-05 -- 34 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00
72. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 10, 36-03 -- 33 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13
73. Michael Iaconelli -- Pittsgrove, NJ -- 10, 36-01 -- 32 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14
74. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 10, 35-14 -- 31 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02
75. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 10, 35-12 -- 30 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01
76. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 35-12 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15
77. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 10, 35-09 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04
78. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 10, 35-09 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00
79. Mike Huff -- London, KY -- 10, 35-09 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 17-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03
80. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 10, 35-09 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10
81. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 10, 35-08 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05
82. David Williams -- Newton, NC -- 10, 35-04 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14
83. Buddy Gross -- Chattanooga, TN -- 10, 35-04 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15
84. Bradley Hallman -- Edmond, OK -- 10, 35-03 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11
85. John Soukup -- Sapulpa, OK -- 10, 35-02 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15
86. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 10, 35-01 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06
87. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 34-14 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15
88. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 10, 34-12 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12
89. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 10, 34-09 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14
90. Masayuki Matsushita -- Tokoname-Aichi, JAPAN -- 10, 33-11 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13
91. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 10, 33-05 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03
92. Joseph Webster -- Hamilton, AL -- 10, 33-00 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15
93. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 10 -- 32-14 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05
94. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 10, 32-12 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14
95. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 10, 32-06 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00
96. Darold Gleason -- Many, LA -- 10, 31-15 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09
97. Alex Wetherell -- Middletown, CT -- 10, 31-14 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05
98. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10, 31-04 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13
99. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 10, 31-00 -- 6
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13
100. Gary Clouse -- Winchester, TN -- 10, 30-14 -- 5
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01
101. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 10, 28-08 -- 4
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08
102. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 10, 23-00 -- 3
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08
