With Day 4 coming to an end, we now have our final championship matchup set for Friday.

PWS anglers Marianne and Isaac Lakich are set to battle head-to-head to take the crown of Mississippi River Pool 2 Champion! Before we get into our championship matchup, let’s review how we got here. 

Paul Meleen vs Marianne Huskey

The Paul Meleen versus Marianne Huskey matchup showcased two different river areas, back-water bays for Marianne and the wing dams for Paul Meleen. If you followed along on tournament director Andy Cleveland’s show, you would know that Meleen had his mindset on big fish to avoid a DINKFEST match. This mindset had Paul doing something unusual for him, moving a lot. Paul would take about 20 casts per wing dam and move on. Unfortunately for Paul, this game plan resulted in a zero on the day. Paul spent a lot of time with a red crankbait tied up.

Marianne Huskey was on the other end of the matchup. Even though she fished around some bridges and other areas briefly in the morning, we saw her retreat to her familiar bay. As the morning progressed, Marianne eventually connected with a fish. Marianne’s first fish was caught after 11 AM, meaning a DINKFEST match started, and any size walleye would count. Marianne caught her only two fish of the day on a WNC Shaky Shad size five crankbait. Because Marianne won her match today, she will be making her first appearance in the championship match. 

Isaac Lakich vs Joe Okada

If you are a fan of H2H PWS, Isaac and Joe are two familiar names. Isaac has made four out of the four brackets this year. Joe Okada is no stranger to the bracket either, as we just saw him in our last event’s championship match on Lake Mille Lacs. Smart money this week would say Joe Okada has a great shot at winning his match. Joe has caught seven fish this week with an average fish weight of 3lb – 12 oz. Joe spent his entire week off the main channel of the Mississippi fishing his spot. Joe’s spot produced more fish and weight than anyone else’s yesterday. Much like Paul Meleen’s day, Joe Okada was unable to catch a fish. 

Isaac’s day was a bit of a mystery as he was having some camera issues. After 10 AM, Isaac’s WEIGHLIVE updated showing a 3 lb. – 1 oz walleye. A story we have seen before, Isaac pulled off the miracle and did just what he needed to do to move on. From there on out, Joe had to catch a scoreable fish because they were not in a DINKFEST match. Isaac spent most of his day jumping from wing dam to wing dam casting bright crankbaits once again. 

Championship Friday – Marianne Huskey vs Isaac Lakich

Our championship match will feature two anglers familiar with one another in the H2H PWS bracketed-style format. Having faced each other head-to-head at our Wisconsin River Event earlier this year, Isaac and Marianne are sure to put on a great show tomorrow. Both Isaac and Marianne have caught fish at opportune moments throughout the week. It appears Marianne’s go-to fish spot has been very consistent, so we expect to see her fishing there with a WNC crankbait again tomorrow. Isaac has been showing us all week that he can find fish on wing dams, even if other anglers have fished them. We expect to see that game plan deployed once again for him.

How will tomorrow end? If we have learned one thing from this Mississippi event, there are no givens! The only way to find out who will wear our Event Four Crown is to tune in LIVE tomorrow with Matt and Daryl at 7:40 AM CST to catch all the action!