It's day 3 of the Forrest Wood Cup and this much is clear – nothing. Nobody has been able to separate themselves from the pack doing any one particular thing. Limits are considered golden this week and any fish in the 3 1/2-pound range or better will go a long way in determining the outcome.
Todd Ceisner is back at Dreher Island State Park ready to get on the water and get a feel for the action today.
> To check out our Day 3 Photo Gallery, click here.
> 10:15 am: Gagliardi boats a keeper on a fluke. Not sure if that gives him a limit but he seems to like this area as he's gone back and forth over it a few times now. Eddie and I are going to head back to Dreher Island now and see if we can't find some more day 3 anglers. Already saw more fish caught today than on days 1 and 2 combined.
> 9:41 am: We opted to move off of the human 5-fish limit Ehrler since we spotted Anthony Gagliardi not far from the dam. He just caught a keeper. Not sure how many that gives him. Scott Martin is fishing just up from Gagliardi and signaled to us he has two keepers.
> 9:05 am: Couple notes on my boat drivers this week. Ray Pettit, who drove me around Thursday and Friday, is a paramedic from Spartanburg, SC. He fishes BFLs and Rayovac Series events as a co-angler and is toying with moving up to the Tour in 2015.
Sloop is retired from his job as a production superintendent for a pharmaceutical company that made ibuprofen. He's now involved with Habitat For Humanity around Lake Murray on top of fishing in the Lake Murray Seniors bass club. Always enjoy getting to know the locals who know the area and learn about how and why they're involved with bass fishing.
> 8:55 am: Ehrler has stuck with one presentation so far today – a double fluke rig – and he's making long casts in hopes he can catch the attention of fish keying on bait. It's something even locals don't throw much any more, says Eddie Sloop. He's still working offshore near the south end of the dam. Arey has retuned to the area now and is within three casts of Ehrler.
> 8:35 am: After running not quite all the way back to where he started, Ehrler finishes his limit. Tough to tell size from our distance but he's got five and in this lake this week a limit will keep you in the game. Too bad the local news helicopter didn't stick around to catch him landing it.
> 8:10 am: Ehrler has made a move to the dam and is fishing right against the rock. As we pull in, we see Arey, Wheeler and Scott Martin fishing offshore in front of the dam. Not long though until Arey and Wheeler leave as Martin moves in closer to the dam. The sun has burned through the clouds finally and it's starting to warm up.
> 7:45 am: Ehrler is on fire. Just put another one in the boat - a good one. Gives him four for 8 pounds, he says. He leans into another one but it's a short. The fish are here and he's gaining some momentum.
> 7:29 am: We have arrived at Jakes Landing and find Brent Ehrler sharing a sloping point with Matt Arey. Fish are breaking the surface all around and Ehrler sticks a good one to get started. He said he might stay down here a while based on the cloud cover. A few minutes later Jacob Wheeler pulls in and starts fishing the next cove. Arey picks and leaves while Ehrler has opted move in closer to shore.
> 6:52 am: I am in the boat with Eddie Sloop, a resident of Prosperity, SC. We're floating outside the mouth of the takeoff zone and there's a good bit of fog down lake and there's plenty of cloud cover. Yet another curveball at Lake Murray.
> 6:15 am: It's warm out here already at the launch ramp, but there are some clouds in the sky and that should make for some interesting decision-making on the water today as it's expected to be partly to mostly cloudy all day.
Funny quote from Anthony Gagliardi yesterday about the group of spectator boats that followed him all over the lake on day 2 only to see him catch four keepers: "They'd probably like for me to reimburse them for gas for what they got to see and what they had to spend. They might not follow me tomorrow if they think I'm going to be doing the same thing."
