2019 FLW Tour Lake San Rayburn Day 3: Terry Bolton Continues to Lead with 73-13lbs!

Canadian Sim makes final day cut  with 10th! 

by Justin Onslow

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Bolton eye first FLW win cranking red Rapala crankbaits.
(Photo: FLW)

Terry Bolton has done a great many things in his professional fishing career. He has 46 top-10 finishes in FLW competition, 29 of which were also top fives. He has a Costa FLW Series victory and another in T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) competition. With over $1.1 million in career earnings and 13 FLW Cup appearances to his name, there’s not much Bolton can say he hasn’t done in the sport of bass fishing.

Save for a victory on the FLW Tour.

Luckily for Bolton and the fans watching him at Sam Rayburn this week, the Kentucky pro is just a day away from reaching that goal. With a total of 73 pounds, 13 ounces, he’s nearly 5 pounds ahead after weighing 19-10 on day three of the FLW Tour event presented by Polaris.

Still, don’t expect Bolton to put any pressure on himself to get his first win — or even to chase down the elusive century mark with a 26-plus-pound bag tomorrow. Both would be nice, he admits, but that’s not what it’s all about for the 23-year pro from Benton, Ky.

“If it’s your time to win, you cannot stop it,” Bolton says. “I’ve been in this position. If it’s your turn, it’s your turn. If it’s not, it’s not. You might as well go enjoy it. You’re going to get to fish the final day on a great fishery. Would I love to win? Sure. It would be big for me. Is it the end-all if I don’t win? No.”

That’s been Bolton’s approach all week, even on Friday when he walked onto the weigh-in stage with a megabag of bass good for 33 pounds and 9 ounces. On Saturday, when Big Sam was fishing a little tougher than it had the previous two days, Bolton took the same approach and landed enough big fish to retain the lead.

With any luck, that same laid-back approach will produce enough big bass to earn him a win.

Bolton has done many of the same things all week. He’s relied on a Rapala DT 14 and DT 16 for some deep fish at several of the same spots, though he did mix in a 3/4-ounce Accent spinnerbait — his favorite technique — to land one keeper that made his final five.

Tomorrow will be business as usual for Bolton. He’ll run some of the same spots and throw some of the same baits, but who knows? According to the crafty vet, he may try some new things if that’s what the lake is asking for. And he won’t feel one ounce of pressure while he’s out there.

Nick LeBrun – 69-1 (20-13 day three)

FLW Tour rookie Nick LeBrun went swinging for the fences Saturday and legged out a triple. He didn’t clear the fence, but he sure put a charge into one with a 20-pound, 13-ounce bag that was one of only two 20-plus-pound stringers on the day.

“I went swinging early,” he admits. “I thought, man, if I can get one of those big ones to bite… I caught one little spot on that deep stuff, and then I went to my third spot and jacked them.”

2019 FLW Tour Lake San Rayburn Day 2: Terry Bolton Crushes 33lb Limit and Grabs Lead!

Canadian Sim 11th and Richardson 110th

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Bolton blasts giant limit and takes lead with 54-03lbs!
(Photo: FLW) 

Countless giants lie beneath the swollen and detritus-strewn waters of Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Terry Bolton might be able to give an accurate count, though, seeing as he caught a bunch of them Friday.

After sacking up 20 pounds, 10 ounces on day one of the FLW Tour season opener presented by Polaris at Big Sam – good for 10th place entering Friday – the Benton, Ky., angler put together a megabag full of hawgs that totaled 33-9 and moved Bolton to the top of the leaderboard with all the momentum he could want heading into the weekend.

One could point to technique, preparation and skill as the reasons for Bolton’s success on Rayburn, and all would be valid reasons. Yet, what’s happening for Bolton at the weigh-in stage is all about what’s happening between his ears on the water.

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do [on Saturday]: I’m going to do the same thing I’ve done the last two days,” he quips. “I’m going to get up, put my clothes on, go fishing, and I’m going to enjoy myself because that’s all this year is about is me having fun.”

Bolton kicked around retiring after the last Tour season, during which he says he didn’t have as much fun as he should have. Rayburn tends to be a cure-all for that when it’s fishing as hot as it is right now.

“When you catch 33 pounds, that helps you have fun,” Bolton adds.

The veteran pro says he caught some of his fish on day one on a spinnerbait, but overcast conditions today ignited a crankbait bite, and he did most of his damage with a Rapala DT14 or DT16 in his hand. Bolton caught fish throughout the day but really pounded on them during an early afternoon flurry that culminated with him culling 5 1/2-pounders.

Surprisingly enough, Bolton’s massive stringer wasn’t his largest bag ever. In 2008, during the FLW Series East-West Fish-Off, Bolton sacked up 38-15 at Falcon Lake. Still, you won’t catch him complaining. Quite the opposite, actually.

Nick LeBrun – 48-4 (19-2 day two)

Louisiana native Nick LeBrun put up a big showing at Rayburn on day one, totaling 29 pounds, 2 ounces for the outright lead heading into Friday. Bolton might have eclipsed LeBrun both on the leaderboard and in the big-bag rankings, but second place on cut day isn’t too shabby, especially considering it could have been much worse.

LeBrun had 12 pounds at 1 o’clock. His spots seemed to dry up a bit, which he attributes in part to fishing pressure in that area of the lake. After a tremendous day one, it was starting to look like all of LeBrun’s momentum was about to push him headlong into a brick wall.

Instead, the Tour rookie reached into his bag of tricks and decided to fish a spot he’d been saving for a rough stretch. It paid off in a big way, aided by a 5-pounder that buoyed his day-two weight into the high-teens.