2024 TNT Firework Bassmaster Elite at Smith Lake Day 2: Cody Huff Grabs Lead!

Canadians Cory Johnston 5th, Gallant 15th, Chris Johnston 25th & Gustafson 40th

By Andrew Calulette 

BASS Press Release

CULLMAN, Ala. — The heat was on,

literally and figuratively, on Day 2 of the

TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Elite at

Smith Lake. And at the halfway point of this Elite

Series derby, Cody Huff is the one

holding fellow Elite feet to the fire.

Huff, a 27-year-old pro from Ava, Mo., leads the tournament with a two-day total of 10 bass for 29 pounds, 1 ounce. And while that might not be the eye-popping weight the sport’s best sticks regularly post, it’s certainly an impressive total given the slack bite on Day 1 followed by blistering temperatures that pushed the heat index into triple digits Friday.

The heat was extreme enough that Huff came to the scales more than an hour early on Friday, weighing in at approximately 1 p.m.

“I had a fish die on me, and I didn’t want to take the chance of losing any more,” Huff said.

His 15-4 total Friday was the heaviest of the day, even with the expired fish factored into his total. He bagged 13-13 on Thursday.

Tyler Rivet Wins 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee!

Louisiana's Tyler Rivet claims first Bassmaster Elite Series victory at Lake Okeechobee

Tyler Rivet of Raceland, La., has won the 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 15 ounces. ( Photo: BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

The fifth-year Elite Series pro from Raceland, La., said Thursday he had the location and game plan to win the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee — and on Sunday, his claim came to fruition as he finished with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 15 ounces to earn his first career blue trophy.

 

After placing third on Day 1 with 24-5, Rivet gained one spot with a second-round limit of 29-2 on Friday. A slower Saturday yielded only 14-11 and Rivet dropped back to third. But he turned in a Championship Sunday bag that went 18-13 to seal the deal and collect the $100,000 top prize.

 

“This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid,” Rivet said. “I remember every day at the (Lake Cataouatche) Tank Ponds during the 2011 Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans, hearing boats coming through the fog and seeing all the big names and thinking ‘One day, I want to do that.’”

 

Rivet spent this week in the Kissimmee River, about two miles upstream from the lake. With the exception of a few local boats, he had the river all to himself.

 

“Nobody else was doing what I was doing and that’s the key to winning an Elite tournament — finding that one little thing off the wall,” Rivet said. “That’s how it’s won (most) of the time.

 

“I thought this one would be won out in the lake on one of the community holes. But when I found my spot in the river, I thought, ‘This could be something.’ But I didn’t know until that first day and I was like ‘We could win.’”

2019 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River Day 2: Chris Johnston Continues to Lead with 47-4lbs!

Jeff Gustafson 32th & Cory Johnston 36th.

By James Hall

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Consistence key for Johnston's lead.
(Photo: BASS)

The only thing clearer than the pristine waters of New York’s St. Lawrence River is the realization that Elite Series pro Chris Johnston is a force to be reckoned with. The Canadian is known as a smallmouth specialist and earned that moniker after the first two days of the 2019 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet. Johnston weighed in 22-13 today, giving him a two-day total of 47-4 and the lead heading into Semi-Final Saturday. Still, Johnston is not overconfident.

“I have been leading on Day 2 on this river for more tournaments than I can count, and have blown it on the third day. So, I’m not going to count my chickens just yet,” Johnston said. Plus, the area he has fished relentlessly over the past two days alongside Elite Series pro Shane LeHew may no longer hold enough fish for the win. “I didn’t get a lot of bites today and only caught six or seven 4-pound fish there. And I never saw a kicker fish. So, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to scramble tomorrow. I really believe the guy that wins this event is going to be the one who makes the best adjustments on the fly. I just hope I can figure out those adjustments.”

Hot on the trail of Johnston is Elite Series veteran Steve Kennedy, who is only 15 ounces out of the lead. The affable Alabama pro followed up his impressive Day 1 limit of 23-7 with another solid 22-14 worth of smallmouth for a total of 46-5. “I’m living on the edge,” Kennedy admitted. “I’m only fishing for seven or eight bites per day. If the weather report is accurate and we get overcast skies tomorrow, I might have to change my game plan.”

Kennedy’s tactic so far has been to cast a big glide bait to locate fish, then cast to the fish with a swim bait or hair jig. However, if he can’t see the fish, his weight could slide south.

“I’ve caught some of my biggest fish looking at them. I mean, I’ve had to cast four or five times at the bass to get them to bite. If I can’t see them, I may be in trouble.”

2019 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River Day 1: Chris Johnston Claims Lead with 24-7lbs!

Jeff Gustafson 42th & Cory Johnston 60th.
By James Hall
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Chris Johnston take lead on St. Lawrence with bronze.
(Photo: BASS)

Expectations for the 2019 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet were slightly muted going into Day 1. After all, last year’s event on this storied fishery was dubbed as the best smallmouth tournament in the history of man, and practice for most of the Elite Series pros this time around was tough. There was no way, according to reports from the competitors, that this year’s event could match the statistics from the previous year. However, Chris Johnston proved that The No. 1 fishery in the nation according to Bassmaster Magazine’s 100 Best Bass Lakes rankings was still top of the class. The Canadian pro boated 24-7, including a 5-13 behemoth, to take the Day 1 lead.

“My day started pretty rough,” Johnston admitted. “I lost the first three fish I hooked, two 4s and a 5. I thought ‘oh, no, it’s going to be one of those days.’ But then, I landed a couple of good ones, and then caught one that nearly weighed 6 pounds. So, I’m really happy with how much weight I ended up with today.” Johnston is a little worried about whether or not he will be able to reproduce the massive limit over the next three days of the event. “I only have one really good spot, and I’m sharing it with another angler. So, I don’t know if it will hold up.”

Right on the heels of Johnston is Alabama pro Scott Canterbury, who boated 23-8. Unlike the Canadian pro, who has spent countless hours fishing the St. Lawrence River, Canterbury is fishing the New York waters for the very first time. “A lot of my practice was spent driving around, trying to learn the landscape of this fishery. I started to figure a few things out, and a lot of what doesn’t work here, and finally pieced together a game plan that would help me survive this tournament. My weight today is a blessing, I just hope I can reproduce it tomorrow.”

2017 Bassmaster Classic Bracket Showdown on Lake Pokegama

Two matches, with a camera on each angler's boat, will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m today and the other two matches will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Wednesday, the anglers will complete their six-hour matches in the other time slot, morning to afternoon and vice versa.On Thursday, there will be two full-day matches simultaneously, and the final will be on Friday.

2017 Bass Elite Lake Champlain Day 2: Wheeler Takes Lead!

Gunning for 2nd win this season

BASS PRESS RELEASE
The second round of the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels dawned with clear, high skies and still-as-glass conditions. Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., took advantage and boated a 20-pound, 12-ounce limit of smallmouth bass, which catapulted him 29 spots up the leaderboard to first place with one day left to fish. His two-day, 10-fish total is 38-8.

Wheeler’s story is remarkable not only because of his dramatic movement up the standings, but also because he did it with smallmouth. Although Champlain is a legendary smallmouth fishery, tournaments here, when held in late July and early August, are traditionally won with at least some largemouth. Even second-place Seth Feider, a smallmouth specialist, is targeting largemouth, and he weighed four of them today.

“Obviously it was a heck of a day,” Wheeler said. “I caught about 50 bass today and had the fish on to have a legitimate 22-pound bag of smallmouth. I think there’s 20 more pounds in that same area. This lake is phenomenal. You just can’t beat a lake where you can catch 20 pounds of smallmouth.”

2017 BASS Elite Toledo Bend Day 1: Jacob Wheeler Grabs Lead with 25-01lbs!

Toledo Bend fishing strong

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Wheeler lead big day on Toledo Bend.
(Photo: BASS)

For the second time in three tournaments this season, Jacob Wheeler is sitting atop the leaderboard.

The Indiana pro caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 1 ounce during Thursday's first round of the Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend presented by Econo Lodge.

Wheeler, who won the season's first Elite Series event on Tennessee's Cherokee Lake in February, leads Arizona pro Brett Hite (24-11) by 6 ounces. But the field has three days left to fish on a lake that has topped the list of Bassmaster Magazine's 100 Best Bass Lakes the last two years.

"I don't have much experience here, which might have helped me a little bit or might have hurt me," said Wheeler, who made the move to the Elite Series this year after a successful career on the FLW Tour. "I spent two days here in the fall one time, five or six days in pre-practice and then practice this week — and that's it.

"But I know there are a lot of big fish here, and everything worked out for me today."

With so much fishing left to do, Wheeler was tightlipped about how he caught his fish Thursday. He only said that he managed to catch a few good fish early to calm his nerves.

2014 Walmart FLW Beaver Lake Day 1: Thrift on Tear!

Beaver Lake a wash with small limits 

by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

ROGERS, Ark. - Confidence is effective medicine in professional bass fishing, and right now Chevy pro Bryan Thrift is benefitting from a heavy dose. The FLW millionaire took the early lead at the Beaver Lake Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Rayovac with a 16-pound, 2-ounce limit. Thrift’s success today comes on the heels of his final-day come-from-behind victory at the Sam Rayburn Tour event just two weeks ago, where Thrift broke out of an early season slump that began with finishes of 59th and 107th place at the first two events.

Bryan is on a hot streak after a win on
the Big Sam!
(Photo: FLW)

It wasn’t a pattern or a place that boosted Thrift into the lead today on a blustery Beaver Lake. It wasn’t even anything in the lake. It was all between the ears.

“After winning at Rayburn, that kind of lifted a weight off me,” said Thrift, who rotated through 40 or 50 spots today. “I can relax. I don’t have to worry about paying the bills. I can just have fun and take what the good Lord gives me.

“I think confidence definitely plays a key role in tournament finishes,” he continued. “I just went fishing with an open mind. Today was a great day. I don’t think I’ve ever caught this many fish on Beaver.”

The confidence effect was evident in Thrift’s catch today. He weighed a Beaver medley that included one largemouth, one spotted bass and three smallmouths. The latter three were the first smallmouths Thrift has caught all week – one of those nice unexplainable surprises that tend to occur when you’re making good decisions.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour San Rayburn Day 2: Rose Leapfrog with Lunker

Heavy fog then warm weather flip flops leaderboard

by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

Weathermen lie, but Mother Nature never does.

Mark Rose always seems to have the magic.
(Photo: FLW)

Her power was on display on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Chevy. Forecasts called for a gloomy, potentially stormy day. But other than a light mist at takeoff and a dense fog that hung around until mid-morning, the weatherman couldn’t have been more wrong.

By lunchtime, sunshine and slick conditions spread across Sam Rayburn. The bass responded quickly by repositioning deeper into shallow cover and, in some areas, heading for the bank to answer nature’s spawning call.

The pros atop the day-two standings experienced mixed results. For some, the bite was better and should continue to improve over the weekend with more warm weather expected. For others, it was a day of scrambling and grinding, trying to make the most of what their primary areas had left.

Bassmaster Elite Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash: Day 1

Fralick Find Enough for First

Lake Murray - Columbia, SC, May 12 - 15, 2011

By Deb Johnson

BASS Press Release

May 12, 2011

Fralick Finds Them.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jami Fralick was struggling on Lake Murray until he landed a 6-pound, 9-ounce largemouth, the anchor to his 17-9 bag and the key to the first-day lead in the Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash.

“It was tough out there. I didn’t get the number of bites I thought I was going to get. I was fortunate to catch that 6-9 — that turns around a tough day pretty fast,” said the pro from Martin, S.D.

Fralick edged ahead of Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C., who considers Lake Murray home water. The winner of the season’s third event, Hite had 16-7 to show for his day.

Bass fishing legend Rick Clunn was third with 15-12, and John Crews ended the day in fourth place just 1 ounce behind Clunn. Rounding out the top five with 15-8 was Steve Kennedy, who on May 8 won the Elite event on West Point Lake in his native Georgia.

The day started with fishing-favorable overcast skies, but ripened to hot sun over slick water, factors that made the post-spawn bite on Murray a challenge for most of the Bassmaster Elite Series field. Only 78 of the 99 anglers were able to bring in limits.

Bassmaster Elite West Point Summary



Evers fishing everything to get a bite.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)



Late Spring

By Luigi De Rose

The recent Bassmaster Elite tournament on West Point Lake in Georgia is a prime example of late spring fishing. The previous tournaments on the Elite circuit have all typified fishing around the spawn. The two stops in Florida were classic bed fishing battles and many anglers who did well know the nuances of bedding bass. This past weekend was a whole different style and mind frame of fishing.

Scan down the list of top finishers and ask what they used and prepare to be surprised. The range of lures is mind blowing. Steve Kennedy used swimbaits and a Kinami Flash stick bait. Second place Edwin Evers flipped a Yum Wooly Bug. Ish Monroe, the leader on Day 3 used a topwater, flipped a Warmouth to bedding bass and a Brush Hog to trees. On day 4 he cranked a Team Diawa crankbait. Kevin Van Dam who fell to 7^th but was second for a while during the tournament used a popper, along with a Strike King Shadalicious Swimbait, Strike King Caffeine Shad, Strike King Spinnerbait. Another top angler who ran out of fish on Sunday was Andy Montgomery who machine gunned docks with a Shooter jig and Z-man’s Chatterbait.

The point being made is that top anglers during the late spring have to adapt and use their confidence baits to excel. West Point is a difficult fishery that requires anglers to hunt for fish. Many ran out of fish by Sunday like Van Dam and Montgomery but others like Gerald Swindle and a few others couldn’t ride the wave of consistency and fell from the top.

What can be learned from West Point? Late spring is a time to hunt. Find active fish and stick with them. Don’t fall in love with any one technique or spot. Steve Kennedy the eventual winner knows this lake well and seems to have had fished almost all of it to win. Watching videos on Bassmaster.com or viewing photography of the event, we witnesses angler after angler driving with the big motor with the trolling motor still in the water. It’s was an attempt to save time while covering water. (We at ibassin.com don’t recommend doing it because I’ve seen what a trolling motor shaft looks like when it hits something hard.)  

Fish quick but thorough this time of year is the name of the game. Good Luck you'll need it.

Bassmaster Elite Pride of Georgia West Point Lake: Final Day

Kennedy is King at West Point

By Deb Johnson 

Kennedy Become King at West Point
(photo: James Overstreet BASS)

BASS Press Release

LAGRANGE, Ga.  Steve Kennedy had been counting down the months ever since the 2011 Pride of Georgia location was announced as West Point Lake more than a year ago.
“I was very confident I had a chance to win this tournament. I knew exactly what I was going to do, and it worked,” he said after coming from behind Sunday to win the fifth stop of the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series.
He collected $100,000 and an instant entry into the 2012 Bassmaster Classic for the win, his second Bassmaster title.
Kennedy squashed Edwin Evers’ hopes for a second Elite win this season. Leading after two days, Evers ended up in second place ? 2 pounds, 1 ounce behind the winner. Kennedy had 64-14 to Evers’ 62-13 over four days.
Day Three leader Ish Monroe dropped to third, finishing up with 61-3. A late surge by Jared Lintner didn’t carry him home: 22nd on the first day, then up to 10th, to 7th, and stopping at 4th. His total was 60-5.
Nate Wellman, in his second Top 12 showing of his rookie season, claimed fifth place with 56-9.
Kennedy started the tournament in a strong position, coming in second to Evers on the first day. Then Kennedy took a backward step for two days. He went into the final round Sunday in fourth place, but only 1 pound, 8 ounces behind leader Monroe.
Kennedy, 42, tapped into a long West Point history. Raised in Georgia and now living in Auburn, Ala., he fished West Point Lake since the age of 2 or 3 with his brother and father, traveling to the lake to fish about twice a year.
More recently, he narrowly missed winning on the Alabama-Georgia border impoundment in 2005 in a non-Bassmaster event. Back then, he said, he blew a 4-pound lead on the final day.
“That’s what’s been going through my mind all morning: ‘Don’t blow it!’” Kennedy said Sunday.
He said he fished the same patterns and locations as he did in that 2005 tournament.
“I didn’t own a swimbait back then, so a swimbait was a new addition,” he explained. “And the weights were up significantly because of it.”

He said he threw two swimbait models ? one a “no-name” model out of production, the other a Basstrix.
“I’d get them to swim out and show themselves. On a clear lake like this, I can see what’s there, what size of fish is on the structure,” he said.
If he liked whate he saw, he skipped a watermelon-seed Kinami Flash to get the strike.
“It almost looked like a little baitfish skipping on top of the water,” he said of his technique. “Then I just let it settle and let the line lay there  I call it flylining. I used mono so it lays on top of the water, and I watched for it to start swimming (moving).”
He allowed a bass to pick up the Flash and swim out of heavy cover before setting the hook.
Other lures of the week included a white D&L jig with a white chunk trailer.
Kennedy debunked the dock talk during Pride of Georgia practice days that pegged the bass as scarce, finicky and tough to catch. Kennedy said he found plenty of big bass during practice.
“I was just chompin’ at the bit to get at them,” he said. “I tried to show out, I knew where some big ones were.”
After leading two days in a row, Evers was disappointed he could not close on the win.
“I feel dejected, horrible,” he said. “You can’t win one of these things by weighing in only four fish.”
Evers was one bass shy of a limit Saturday. He lost by just over 2 pounds, and he could not help but replay every lost fish of the event, including four on Saturday that would have been solid additions to his weight.
“I had my hand on one, then it ran under a log and I never could get it. It just came off,” he said. “But hey, it’s part of the game.”
Monroe was not displeased with his third-place finish. It was his second top-12 in ?a row for the season, and a big boost to his bid for a 2012 Bassmaster Classic seat. He credited his recently acquired ability to relax and remember to have fun.
“I was putting too much emphasis on how serious it is and forgot what it was all about,” Monroe said. “I took some kids out fishing during the offseason and got back to enjoying it.”
The Berkley Big Bass of the Tournament bonus of $500 was won by Dustin Wilks of Rocky Mount, N.C., for his 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth on Day One.
The next stop for the Elite Series will be this week on Lake Murray out of Columbia, S.C. The dates of the competition, the Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash, are May 12-15.

Bassmaster Elite Pride of Georgia West Point Lake: Day 1 story

Edwin Evers Day 1 Leader with 22-04

Evers Took Day 1

By Deb Johnson
May 5, 2011
BASS Press Release

LAGRANGE, Ga. -- Steve Kennedy’s deep and wide West Point Lake history stood him well Thursday, but Edwin Evers went 1 ounce better to take the lead on the first day of the Pride of Georgia.
Evers, of Talala, Okla., weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces to Kennedy’s 22-3. They have more than a few ounces as a cushion over David Walker, in third with 21-3; Dustin Wilks in fourth with 20-3; and Bobby Lane with 18-4 claiming fifth place.
Ninety-nine Bassmaster Elite Series pros are competing on West Point Lake for a first-place prize that includes $100,000 and an instant entry in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
Anglers are also trying to earn points that count toward three coveted prizes: the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown, 2011 postseason berths, and 2012 Classic qualifications.
Evers already has a Classic berth in hand. He came from behind in March to win the season’s second event, the Power-Pole Citrus Slam on the St. Johns River.
Evers played it close to the vest Thursday, giving nothing away in hopes he can keep an advantage and score win No. 2 for the year.
“You have to keep it to yourself -- these guys are too good,” he said.
He did reveal that his day started so slowly, he scrapped his initial game plan and “went fishing.”
“Man, that worked out really good,” he said, adding that he was covering “a bunch of water,” and burned 26 to 27 gallons of gas, jumping from spot to spot and blowing through his arsenal to try to isolate a bait, technique or a pattern that worked.

Bassmaster Elite Pride of Georgia West Point Lake: Day 1

Edwin Evers Edges out First Place
West Point Lake - LaGrange, GA, May 5 - 8, 2011
By Luigi De Rose

1 Edwin Evers 5 22- 4
2 Stephen Kennedy 5 22- 3
3 David Walker 5 21- 3
4 Dustin Wilks 5 20- 3
5 Bobby Lane 5 18-14
6 Boyd Duckett 5 18-10
7 Bill Lowen 5 18- 9
8 Greg Vinson 5 18- 3
9 Keith Poche 5 16-10
10 Ben Parker 5 16- 4
11 Andy Montgomery 5 15-11
12 Bernard Schultz 5 15- 8
13 Terry Scroggins 5 15- 7
14 Nate Wellman 5 15- 6
15 James Stricklin 5 15- 5
16 Dennis Brauer 5 15- 2
17 Bradley Hallman 5 15- 2
18 Fred Roumbanis 5 15- 2
19 Dave Wolak 5 15- 1
20 Brandon Palaniuk 5 14-13

More to come!

Bassmaster Elite TroKar Battle on the Bayou Day 1: Dean Rojas Takes Top Spot

Rojas Sacks 23-01 For First on Toledo Bend
TroKar Battle on the Bayou
Toledo Bend — Many, La.
April 14-17

By Luigi De Rose

One of Toledo Bend's famous stump fields.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Foggy weather greeted anglers on Day 1 on Toledo Bend. This famed east Texas, stumped filled lake is below normal pool and anglers are met with daunting fishing. Elite pros admit that the lake is full of bass but catching quality fish is the true problem. Scanning through the top 25 places today, its clear that one or two larger bass can really make a difference. The focus on Toledo Bend is not to hope for a giant but to try and find concentrations of 3 to 4 pound bass. Big bass exist in Texas, like Chris Lane of Guntersville, AL netted today's big bass honours with a 7-14 brute.

Day 1 is not the place to find answers. Keen anglers will try to focus on patterns. Will Toledo Bend hold true to the Elite trend of the top anglers being bow to bow? We'll have to wait and see.



Top 25
1 Dean Rojas 5 23- 1 5
2 Fred Roumbanis 5 21- 3
3 Brandon Palaniuk 5 20- 6 
4 Todd Faircloth 5 20- 4 
5 Steve Kennedy 5 20- 0 
6 Ott DeFoe 5 19-11 
7 Gerald Swindle 5 19- 9 
8 Takahiro Omori 5 19- 3 
9 Randy Howell 5 18-11
10 Michael Iaconelli 5 18- 8 
10 Davy Hite 5 18- 8 
10 Rick Morris 5 18- 8  13 Aaron Martens 5 18- 7 
14 Casey Ashley 5 18- 5
15 Jason Williamson 5 17-10
16 Chris Lane 5 17- 2 
16 Paul Elias 5 17- 2
18 Andy Montgomery 5 16-10 
19 Terry Scroggins 5 16- 8 
20 Scott Rook 5 16- 7
21 James Stricklin 5 16- 6
22 Cliff Pace 5 16- 4 
23 Gary Klein 5 15-15
24 Grant Goldbeck 5 15-10 
24 Britt Myers 5 15-10

Bassmaster Elite Power Pole Citrus Slam Day 3: Alton Still On Top

Jones's Still on Top Even as Weights Shrink. 

Power- Pole Citrus Slam

St. Johns River Palatka, Fla. March 17-20 
By Luigi De Rose
           

Alton Jones praying to catch one on Saturday.
(Photo: Seigo Saito BASS)

Overall, the weight decreased across the board for most anglers. Even with the Super Moon, anglers had a difficult time on Day 3 of the Bassmaster Elite Power-Pole Citrus Slam tournament on the St. John's River in Florida. The majority of anglers are sight fishing in two primary areas of the St. John's river. Lake George, a spring fed section that is famous for gin clear water and Rodman Pool, an extension of a defunked cross Florida barge system which is home to heavy vegetation and stump fields. Each area is world class but the anglers have been picking each spot clean of spawners. Also, the water level is quite low making these shallow bass even less torrent of fisherman and their baits.   

Interestingly, the last 20 or so anglers to weigh-in all had hefty sacks of fish. Steve Kennedy bested them all with a 26-0 bag today. He had a pair of 8 pounders, the largest weighed 8-12 good enough to win big bass honours today. While on stage, Kennedy explained that he only saw these two big bass today and caught both of them. He might be sand bagging. If he isn't it will make Sunday very suspenseful. 

Edwin Evers, who complained of missing some key fish in the closing minutes of Day 2 did very well today and leaped into second. On the back of a 19-04 bag, he is only 2-09 off the lead. Maybe the five pound fish he missed yesterday bit today. If Evers or Kennedy continue to produce on the Sunday, Alton Jones might not be able to hold on for a forth day in a row.