Photo by Brett Carlson / FLWOutdoors.com

“It was kind of the opposite of yesterday where I caught them pretty fast,” Christie said. “I pulled in and after about an hour had caught a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder.”

Christie said he had a limit by 1:30 p.m. and had been changing locations when he happened to pull into an area where he expected boat traffic. He had the area to himself, however, and he caught fish weighing 6, 4 and 2 1/2 pounds. Christie said the fish fell for a BOOYAH spinnerbait.

“I actually had two more big fish in there, so I left and got back closer to (check-in),” Christie said.

Christie said he’s confident his areas will replenish with fish over the next two days of competition and hopes for anything but a bright, sunny sky.

“If it’s cloudy I think I can catch them,” Christie said. “I know where they’re living. They’re bedding so shallow I can see them whether it’s cloudy or not. I hope the wind blows. That would be fine with me.

“There’s big fish around me,” Christie added. “I’ve just got to get the bites and get them in the boat. It seems like I’m either catching 12-inchers or big ones. I’m not catching anything in between.”

Rounding out the top 20 pros that will fish another day on Lake Hartwell are:

                  2^nd:        Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 33-7
                  3^rd:         Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 32-14
                  4^th:         Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 32-8
                  5^th:         Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 10 bass, 32-7
                  6^th:         Prevacid 24HR pro Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 32-3
                  7^th:         Mike Reynolds, Modesto, Calif., 10 bass, 32-1
                  8^th:         National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 31-12
                  9^th:         AMP Energy pro Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 31-1
                  10^th:      Joe Thomas, Milford, Ohio, 10 bass, 30-14
                  11^th:      Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 10 bass, 30-9
                  12^th:      Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 10 bass, 30-8
                  13^th:      Chevy pro Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 30-6
                  14^th:      Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-6
                  15^th:      National Guard pro Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-5
                  16^th:      Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Union City, Pa., 10 bass, 29-14
                  17^th:      Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-12
                  18^th:      Chevy pro Jimmy Houston, Cookson, Okla., 10 bass, 29-7
                  19^th:      Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 29-1
                  20^th:      Troy Morrow, Toccoa, Ga., 10 bass, 28-15

Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.

Thrift caught the Snickers^® Big Bass of 6-9 on the pro side and won $500.

Overall there were 689 bass weighing 1,571 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 152 pros Friday. The catch included 119 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. This year’s Cup will be in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 11-14 on Lake Ouachitawhere pros are competing for a top prize of $600,000 – the sport’s biggest award. Pro anglers are also vying for the prestigious 2011 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year presented by Kellogg’s that will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors with the winner receiving $100,000 for their accomplishment.

J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 5 ounces, followed by Jade Keeton of Florence, Ala., in second place with 10 bass weighing 25-6.

Rounding out the top 20 co-anglers are:

                  3^rd:         Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, 10 bass, 24-8
                  4^th:         Andy Scholz, Reno, Nev., 10 bass, 23-9
                  5^th:         Jeff Sprague, Forney, Texas, 10 bass, 22-14
                  6^th:         Tony Nation, Springdale, Ark., 10 bass, 22-7
                  7^th:         Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., 10 bass, 21-9
                  8^th:         Tommy Milligan, Seneca, S.C., 10 bass, 21-3
                  9^th:         Doug Caldwell, Kane, Pa., nine bass, 21-0
                  10^th:      Chad Pipkens, Holt, Mich., 10 bass, 20-14
                  11^th:      Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 19-13
                  12^th:      Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., nine bass, 19-10
                  13^th:      Luke Dehaan, Summerville, S.C., nine bass, 19-9
                  14^th:      Larry Hostetler, Floyds Knobs, Ind., eight bass, 18-15
                  15^th:      Spencer Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., eight bass, 18-12
                  16^th:      Bob Ebel, Concord, Calif., eight bass, 18-7
                  17^th:      Mike Helton, Jeffersonville, Ind., nine bass, 18-2
                  18^th:      Shane Melton, Greentown, Ind., 10 bass, 17-9
                  19^th:      Timothy Lane, Momence, Ill., eight bass, 17-9
                  20^th:      Patrick Bone, Cleveland, Ga., eight bass, 17-8

Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.

Grant Holderman of Augusta, Kan., caught the Snickers^® Big Bass of 6-8 in the co-angler division to win $250.

Overall there were 486 bass weighing 878 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 137 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 52 five-bass limits.