Bassmaster Elite Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash Day 3

Local Boy Ashley Lead Day 3


By Luigi De Rose

Casey's on top.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

The Bassmaster Elite anglers had a rough ride today. The highs were high but the lows were very low. Many who did very well the last two days barely qualified for the Top 12. South Carolina's Casey Ashley took the lead after Day Three on Lake Murray. His charming grin said it all when he placed his limit on the scales and claimed first place. Being a local might be his saving grace as he understands the moods of schooling largemouth bass.

Look carefully to see the double white flukes.

He seems to be doing most of his damage on a double fluke rig. This employs tandem Texas rigged soft jerkbaits. Jerked on the surface or just below it, bass envision fleeing bait fish and attack. Many are using this technique but Casey has the timing down. He is also been using topwaters and hard swimbaits but he has been tight lipped about confirming or denying specifics.

TOP 20
Place/name/day 3 weight/total
1 Casey Ashley 15-13  45-14
2 Michael Iaconelli 16- 6  43- 5
3 Jeff Connella 14-11  42- 4
4 Kevin Wirth 15- 3  42- 1
5 Tommy Biffle 16- 7 42- 0
6 Jami Fralick 14-15 41- 4
7 Davy Hite  11-12 41- 3
8 Brian Snowden 12-12 41- 1
9 Edwin Evers  18- 8 39-12
10 Rick Clunn 11-13 39- 9
11 Chris Lane 14- 9 39- 0
12 Fred Roumbanis 7-14 38- 7
13 Morizo Shimizu 12-12 38- 3
14 Marty Robinson 11- 8 37-13
15 Clark Reehm 13-11 37-10
16 John Crews 15-10 37- 7
17 Bradley Roy 14-13 37- 5
18 Dustin Wilks  11-13 37- 5
19 Matt Reed  14-15 36-14
20 David Smith 11-11 36- 8