Down To Three!
By
Tomas Allen
BASS
PREE RELEASE
Despite
a powerful cold front accompanied by strong northerly winds, many of the Top 51
anglers still made the long grueling run to the Cooper River near Charleston,
S.C., to catch their fish.
Saturday was a shootout between the Top 3 anglers, which ended
with the third lead change in as many days.
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Hite using new chatter bait to perfection. (Photo: BASS) |
Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., successfully plucked 18 pounds of
largemouth bass from the same area he has been fishing the past two days. Hite
will leave the docks on Championship Sunday with a three-day weight of 50-2,
looking for the second victory of his career at the Huk Performance Fishing
Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay presented by GoRVing.
“I’ve been focusing my efforts on the same school of bass for
the past three days, and I expect the fishing to be just as good for one more
day,” Hite said. “But, I’ll have to adapt tomorrow after this front pushes
through. I’ve been catching good numbers of fish each day, but with the
dropping tide, I had shallower water to deal with, which positioned the schools
of bass near certain pieces of structure.”
Hite, who holds a slim lead over Texas angler Kelly Jordon
(49-0), has been catching his limit of bass early enough during the day to head
back to the launch ahead of time.
“The long boat rides have been going smoothly, but when you’re
in contention to win a tournament like this, it’s smart to play it safe
whenever you can,” he said. “It’s going to be much colder in the morning, but
typically, tidal-river bass aren’t as affected by weather conditions — I hope
that holds true. I will likely have to make some adjustments tomorrow, but I’m
confident I’ll be able to stay on the school.”
Hite’s weights have been going up each day, but yesterday Jordon
swung for the fences and weighed the heaviest five-bass limit of the tournament
with 24-7. Jordon’s Friday limit, plus today’s 16-4, has put him in position to
win on Sunday.
“I gambled yesterday, and it paid off,” Jordon said. “I slept
great last night, and I’m going to sleep well again tonight. It helps to know
exactly where I’m going tomorrow, and how I will be fishing. It’s just going to
depend on whether or not the right bass eat or not.”
Jordon said the bite was different today. He caught a couple
solid fish, but lost several others that would have helped his total Saturday.
“The fish were short striking my lures, which made it difficult
to get a solid hook set and keep the bass on the line,” he said. “I blame the
cold front for that, and I’ll adjust accordingly tomorrow.”
After leading on Friday, Britt Myers of Lake Wylie, S.C.,
slipped into third place today with 8-15, pushing his three-day total to 46-14.
Myers explained that while he didn’t do as well as he had hoped, he’s still in
contention for the title.
“To be honest, today’s small limit of bass might be the best 8
pounds, 15 ounces I’ve ever weighed. Especially if it turns into a victory
tomorrow,” Myers said. “The fish I’ve been catching are still in the same basic
location, but they’ve relocated to accommodate the shrinking tide, and I think
I figured out where at the end of the day.”
Sunday’s field will be cut to the Top 12 anglers who will
compete for top honors and the $100,000 payday. Behind Hite, Jordon and Myers,
the remainder of the field will be as follows: John Hunter Jr., 40-14; Brent
Chapman, 38-7; Jacob Powroznik, 37-9; Keith Combs, 36-6; Randy Howell, 36-1;
Mark Menendez, 35-12; Boyd Duckett, 35-5; Chris Zaldain, 35-0; and Gerald
Swindle, 34-13.
Take-off
on Championship Sunday will be held at 7a.m. ET at the Carroll Ashmore Campbell
Marine Complex with the final weigh-in scheduled at the same location at 3:30
p.m.
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