May 10, 2025
COUNCE, Tenn. – With modern sonar set aside for Day 2 of the MLF Invitational on Pickwick Lake, it was a foregone conclusion that the weights would go down. Still, the pros that either had some sort of backup or didn’t need forward-facing sonar to be effective were able to make big moves on the leaderboard.
Totally changing his game plan overnight, Jake Lawrence ran to the tailrace and blasted 23 pounds, 14 ounces to move into the lead. Behind him, Banks Shaw dropped into second, staying offshore and making hay on a shad-spawn pattern in the morning to the tune of 21-11. Lawrence leads the pack with a 49-05 total, Shaw is right behind with 48-01, and Jacob Walker, who has set up shop at the tailrace, is in third with 45-12 – very much within striking distance.
Heading into the final day, all sorts of sonar will be turned back on. The Tennessee River reservoir has been kicking out plenty of 30-pound bags this year, and at the top, Lawrence and Shaw are two of the best on the Tennessee River, no matter what particular pool of water they’re on.
Lawrence, who won the recent Bass Pro Tour event at Chickamauga and Nickajack Lakes, and Walker have worked together all year, which is not an unusual arrangement in pro fishing. However, given the nature of the Invitationals, with the possibility of a pro needing multiple different patterns throughout the event, it can look a little odd. Rest assured, when Lawrence set his Phoenix down near the concrete at the Wilson Dam, Walker was fully expecting his presence and had briefed him on what to expect.
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“The first event at Sam Rayburn last year, we shared that main drain that both of us utilized, and we just kind of hit it off,” said Lawrence. “He hollered at me over there and he had forgot his water, forgot anything to drink that morning. So, I threw him a couple bottles of water, and each time we'd pass each other in that drain, we'd kind of talk.”
Lawrence ended up second in that Invitationals event, starting his run to the Bass Pro Tour. Walker finished 25th, earning $10,000, and later that season, sharing water again with Lawrence, he won the Invitationals event on Champlain.
“After the event, I actually ran into him at The Stump, and we just hit it off,’ said Lawrence. “And what a great guy. I mean, he's an absolute blast to be around and such a great fisherman.”
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At REDCREST this year, Walker and Lawrence hatched a plan to figure out every inch of Pickwick for this event, and so far, it’s paying off handsomely.
“Obviously, I’m a big offshore guy,” said Lawrence. “I know where the vast majority of these schools live from guiding here so long. The game plan going into this event was I was going to spend my time idling and looking for these groups. He was going spend his time up there. And whichever of the two showed more potential, we would both kind of lean on it.”
With very few schools out offshore at the moment, Lawrence didn’t end up shelling out waypoints to Walker.
“Had this been what we all expected, I'd have given him 20 or 30 schools, and we’d just divvy them all up. I can't say enough about our partnership, our team effort. We're able to cover a tremendous amount of a big body of water very quickly, and we seem to jive pretty well together.”
On Day 1, Walker ran to the Wilson Dam and mined smallmouth, while Lawrence leaned on the ‘Scope down the lake. On Saturday, Lawrence rolled up to join Walker in the current for a wild day of fishing.
“That was the most mentally and physically challenging tournament day, fishing day, period,” said Lawrence. “I've never worked that hard.”
Fishing in heavy current, Lawrence was hooked up almost constantly – it was probably more common for him to be reeling in a fish than a bait. The problem was most of them were not bass.
“If I caught one, I bet I caught a hundred drum and catfish and gar – everything imaginable except a smallmouth,” he allowed. “But it worked out super, super fortunate. You know, there in the last couple minutes before I left, I was able to get in a good position where I could hit where most of those smallmouth were set up, and it made all the difference in the world. I went from catching a drum every cast to catching a smallmouth every cast.”
It took Lawrence almost all day, but he got five over the rail and got out – and those five were mighty strong. On Day 3, he’s planning on leaving the smallmouth to Walker and chasing the win on the section of Pickwick he knows best.
“I'm looking forward to turning the ‘Scope back on tomorrow and getting after a few of these deep bedders,” said Lawrence. “I've got several big ones – of course, I haven’t been to them in four days now, I don't know if they'll be there. But if they are, we’ve got a shot at catching a great big old bag. I've got no doubt in my mind that I have the waypoint or the dot to the five winners, it's just a matter of making those five stops in the right order and getting them in the boat.”
Here are the totals for the Top 30 pros who'll advance to the final round:
1st: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 10 bass, 49-5
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award for Day 2 went to Todd Walters, with a 5-5 specimen.
The final 30 anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. CT Sunday from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop in Counce, Tenn. Sunday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at the State Park and will begin at 2:30 p.m.
