PLATTSBURGH, New York — Caleb Sumrall’s second day on the water at Lake Champlain, 1,718 miles from the bayous he grew up fishing around New Iberia, was better than his first day of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite Series tournament.

The New Iberia bass angler went out Friday morning in the first flight of the 95-angler field and returned with five bass weighing an even 20 pounds. Added to the 18 pounds, 15 ounces, he checked in with Thursday, Sumrall vaulted into seventh place after two days with 38 pounds, 15 ounces, and, more importantly, improved his position in the Angler of the Year standings to eighth place with 574 points.

And Sumrall easily made the Top 45 cut for the sixth time in eight Elite tournaments in 2021. That he is in the land, er, waters, of smallmouth and largemouth didn’t seem to faze him as Thursday each of his five bass were smallies while his limit Friday was dominated by largemouths on the vast waterway shared by New York, Vermont and Canada.

“I changed stuff up today and it worked. I fished a bunch of new water today. I figured a little something out. I’m excited to get back out,” Sumrall said while on the big weigh-in stage with emcee Dave Mercer.

Then, he said hello to his wife, Jacie, and children, Clelie and Axel.

“I want to say ‘hi’ to my family and kids back home. I get to work tomorrow,” he said, happy and proud to make another Semifinal Saturday.

Sumrall went into this Northeast swing that concludes next week on the St. Lawrence River in 14th place in AOY with 480 points. He moved into 11th after Thursday.

He’s closing in on his goal of qualifying for his third Bassmaster Classic. And he would love to fish again on Championship Sunday, like he did April 11 in the Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River in Orange, Texas. He finished seventh there in the closest tournament to his hometown of New Iberia.

His Friday outing on Lake Champlain wasn’t so rosy, apparently. Judging from a few photos taken during the action on Day 2, Sumrall appeared disappointed, to say the least, that he left a few on the table, so to speak. Some bass that were hooked up became unbuttoned on the way in and the photos on bassmaster.com showed his displeasure.

Still, Sumrall came in with one of the five heaviest bags of the day Friday. According to BassTrakk on Day 2, his five bass weighed 3-8, 5-0, 4-3, 3-11 and 3-0.

Mercer, quite the showman, greeted the former B.A.S.S. Nation National Champion on the stage and said, “Looks like another good day today!”

It was.

Sumrall, 34, put his limit on the scale, then pulled two big largemouth bass out of the bag and showed them to the appreciative crowd in Plattsburgh. The biggest weighed 5 pounds, 1 ounce.

The New Iberian and 93 other Elites are chasing Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Maryland, whose five-bass limit Friday weighed 21 pounds, 5 ounces, to give him a two-day total of 43 pounds. Schmitt insisted smallies would be the key to winning but he continues to bring in sizeable largemouths, including a 4-pound, 15-ounce ‘hawg’ on the second day.

Higher winds than expected foiled his plans, Schmitt said about Friday.

“My spot that I caught three big smallmouth off of yesterday, it was very rough and I couldn’t fish it the way I wanted to. I still saw them on my Garmin LiveScope, but I just couldn’t do it right,” he said Friday afternoon. “Tomorrow, if it’s calm, I’m really going to have to make that happen.”

Right behind Schmitt is Pennsylvania pro Destin DeMarion, who has 40 pounds, 8 ounces, followed by Texan Chris Zaldain, third with 40 pounds, 6 ounces, and another Texan, Lee Livesay, fourth with 40-5.

The Top 45 remaining anglers take off at 6 a.m. Saturday from Plattsburgh City Marina and weigh-in is at 2 p.m.

FS1 will broadcast the tournament live beginning at 7 a.m.