I'm not a fan of having this event so early in the year. I get why they're doing it (it interferes with the regular season if they push it out further), but these brutal cold temps and weather conditions are tough.
I hear a lot of folks thinking KVD or Ike will be front runners, but you really have to step away from your favorites and take an objective look. If you did, then you would see a few "unknown" names surface, such as Jason Christie. The dude is an animal - he only fished 4 elite events last year and won two - and they're hosting this event on his home lake. You may not know his name because he's been tearing it up on the FLW tour the past few years, but trust me, this guy can stick it to the best of them. Keep an eye on this guy.
There's others, so don't be surprised to see "no names" near the top of the leaderboard the next few days.
Oh....and for clarification...the full field competes the first 2 days, with the top 25 making it to the last day.
Enjoy!
Glenn
