The final six anglers advanced from the elimination round to sudden-death today at the Major League Fishing Summit Cup at Michigan's Lake Hubbard. Unlike on the first 2 days, when some largemouths showed up on the scoreboard, the third-day haul consisted entirely of smallmouths as the nine competitors combined to catch 55 of them.
Anglers competing on day 3 were Tommy Biffle, Mark Davis, Edwin Evers, Kelly Jordon, Takahiro Omori, Skeet Reese, Dean Rojas, Kevin VanDam and a qualifier from the Selects division whose name can't be revealed due to the final Selects event for the year having not yet aired on TV.
Plastic worms continued to be the most productive offering, but not to the extent that they were on days 1 and 2. Topwaters, jerkbaits, swimbaits and jigs were also prominent.
All but one of the fish were caught from areas described as offshore, with one coming from near the shoreline on a swimjig.
The top angler boated 13 fish for 31-00. His closest competitors each caught 11 for 28-15 and 24-08, respectively. The next-highest tally was six fish for 18 pounds.
Two competitors caught just one fish each, with both weighing less than 1 1/2 pounds.
Eighteen of the original 27-angler Summit Cup field will now duel in the sudden-death round, in which the goal will be to reach a predetermined weight total as quickly as possible.
Summit Cup competition will begin airing on Outdoor Channel in February 2018.
