Sorry for the delay, I was too busy fishing to find time to do any Blogging.
I got up early and watched the take-off in the boat. It was cool to hear the Star Spangled Banner echo off the water and canyon walls. It was very exciting to see the Top 50 all lined up and introduced as they took off in order of their place on the leaderboard. We attempted to follow KVD, but got lost in the boat wakes and he got away.
Day 3 proved tougher for some and others made big moves. The wind was light in morning and non-existent by afternoon. Our boat got some early jerkbait fish and snooped around the lake observing some of the Top 50 pros & doing a little fishing. It was also interesting to see several pros who did not make the cut out fishing for fun instead of heading off to get ready for Rayburn. I watched Brett Chapman catch a 6.5lb bass out fishing with his wife & son. We talked to him and mentioned he wished he had a swimbait. I offered him a Storm Wild Eye Swim Shad, he quickly tied it on and hung a 5# bass on his 3rd cast as we drifted along. His young son then caught about a 3# bass dragging senko with his snoopy pole. Overall the day was moderately tough, we caught several fish on plastics, Norman DD22 , jerkbaits, etc. We even caught a few fish off beds, the biggest was probably 4.5lbs. One of the guys that made the trip with me, caught a 6lb 4oz which was new personal best for him. I will get his picture in a later post. He caught that on a brush line on a June Bug Lake Fork Tackle Zig Zag fished Mojo Style.
We got off the lake early to observe the weigh in. It was quite the show, as big bags continued to poor in. Ish Monroe made the biggest move with his 34lbs 1oz bag, anchored by a 9lb 5oz Purolator Big Bass.
Photo courtesy of ESPN
It was also cool to see Gerald Swindle give his shirt of his back to a special fan. The crowds continued to grow each day at the weigh-in despite the unbearable heat. Mike Reynolds made many new fans with his “Tribute to Armed Forces” wrapped boat that he paid for himself. Today I managed to remember my camera, but my batteries failed me, I vow to produced Day 4 pictures At this point, none of the Top 12 anglers are out of it and they all have a change at Rojas’ Record, even Rojas himself.
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Ishama Monroe Hughson, Calif. 15 81-00 305 $2,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-11 Day 2: 5 21-04 Day 3: 5 34-01
2. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 15 77-02 295
Day 1: 5 27-03 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 27-06
3. Matt Reed Madisonville, Texas 15 76-12 290
Day 1: 5 31-08 Day 2: 5 20-14 Day 3: 5 24-06
4. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 15 76-09 282
Day 1: 5 23-13 Day 2: 5 29-10 Day 3: 5 23-02
4. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 15 76-09 282
Day 1: 5 25-09 Day 2: 5 28-15 Day 3: 5 22-01
6. Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 15 75-04 276
Day 1: 5 27-14 Day 2: 5 22-00 Day 3: 5 25-06
7. Mike Reynolds Modesto, Calif. 15 74-06 272
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 5 26-00 Day 3: 5 28-00
8. Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. 15 74-02 273
Day 1: 5 25-04 Day 2: 5 29-14 Day 3: 5 19-00
9. Fred Roumbanis Auburn, Calif. 15 73-12 264
Day 1: 5 24-04 Day 2: 5 28-13 Day 3: 5 20-11
10. Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 15 71-15 260 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-15 Day 2: 5 26-03 Day 3: 5 19-13
11. Ken Cook Lawton, Okla. 15 71-10 262 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 31-10 Day 2: 5 17-01 Day 3: 5 22-15
12. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu, Ariz. 15 71-06 254
Day 1: 5 27-05 Day 2: 5 25-15 Day 3: 5 18-02
Tight Lines,
Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com