By MLF Communications Staff
Rookie Lawson Hibdon of Versailles, Mo., narrowly maintained his lead after a grueling day 3 at the MLF Pro Circuit event on the Potomac River in Marbury, Md.. After weighing back-to-back 17-pound stringers on the first two days of competition, Hibdon brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 13-03.
His three-day total of 47-11 gives him a 15-ounce lead over Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn. , who jumped from 7th place into 2nd with a five-bass limit weighing 15-02 for a three-day total of 46-12. Cody Meyer of Star, Idaho rounds out the Top 3 with a total of 46-07, while rookie Jacopo Gallelli of Wetumpka, Ala. made the biggest leap from 19th place to 6th and into the Top-10 cut.
With a live camera in his boat throughout the day, Hibdon said things felt off from the start and he struggled to find his rhythm.
“I’ve started in [Aquia Creek] every day but have left pretty quickly the first two days because I’ve had decent stringers,” said Hibdon. “Today I could never get that decent stringer going, so I left there with only about an hour left to fish. I should have made that move earlier because the tide was already changing and putting me at a disadvantage to come back up to catch a good one.
“Things just never clicked today. I don’t know what was going on, but I missed a ton of bites. They’d eat my jig trailer off or I’d hook them for just a second, then they’d come off. I don’t even know what I can do differently to fix that.”
While he missed some key fish on day 2 as well, Hibdon was able to come back with some solid bites later in the day, so his total weight and his mindset were unaffected. However, the missed opportunities on day 3 seemed to worry him a bit more.
“I lost one that was 3 1/2 or 4 pounds and you can’t lose one like that in a tournament like this – it’ll cost you,” said Hibdon. “Hopefully, I can figure them out again because I think I was off by 30 minutes or an hour today.
“It was just a weird day. It was worse than either of the practice days I had. Once you have an off day and get in a bad roll, it just keeps on rolling. It’s a bad deal when it starts happening because your mind goes the wrong direction pretty quickly.”
Although unfamiliar with the tides, after dealing with them for several days in a row, Hibdon said he’s starting to see a pattern to when the fish are biting. While he doesn’t plan to make a change to his strategy or baits – flipping hard cover with a jig or worm and covering grass with a swimjig or vibrating jig – he does expect to settle back into the timing of the bite windows on day 4.
Although the 26-year-old is on track to pull out the biggest win of his life, he shows no signs of stress or rattled nerves, which even with his fishing background is surprising given that a little more than 3 pounds separates him from the 10th place angler.
“I try to not ever get too excited because it’s fishing and you never know what’s going to happen,” said Hibdon. “You just have to go out there and fish. That’s all I’ve done the last three days. I try not to even think about winning or the money – I’ve still got to go catch a big bag tomorrow to even think about it.
“It definitely helps mentally to have my family here this week. Being able to have them here after a rough day – that definitely helps tremendously and helps me be able to think a little more clearly.”
Also advancing to day 4 were Justin Cooper (45-10 total), Ricky Robinson (45-06), Josh Bragg (44-11), Adrian Avena (44-09), Shin Fukae (44-07) and Terry Bolton (44-02).
The final 10 anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park Sunday at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the MLF NOW! livestream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Day 3 Standings
1. Lawson Hibdon -- 17-00 (5) -- 17-08 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 47-11 (15)
2. Michael Neal -- 16-02 (5) -- 15-08 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 46-12 (15)
3. Cody Meyer -- 15-05 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 46-07 (15)
4. Justin Cooper -- 16-03 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 45-10 (15)
5. Ricky Robinson -- 13-06 (5) -- 18-12 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 45-06 (15)
6. Jacopo Gallelli -- 15-08 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 45-03 (15)
7. Josh Bragg -- 14-09 (5) -- 17-05 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 44-11 (15)
8. Adrian Avena -- 16-06 (5) -- 16-00 (5) -- 12-03 (5) -- 44-09 (15)
9. Shin Fukae -- 15-05 (5) -- 14-04 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 44-07 (15)
10. Terry Bolton -- 16-03 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 44-02 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Spencer Shuffield -- 14-12 (5) -- 15-15 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 43-15 (15) -- $11,000
12. Jim Moynagh -- 15-00 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 43-14 (15) -- $11,000
13. Clabion Johns -- 15-07 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 13-00 (5) -- 43-09 (15) -- $11,000
14. Mike McClelland -- 13-05 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 15-05 (5) -- 43-09 (15) -- $11,000
15. Jason Abram -- 10-06 (5) -- 17-02 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 43-09 (15) -- $11,000
16. Ron Nelson -- 15-11 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 43-06 (15) -- $11,000
17. Tom Monsoor -- 16-01 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 43-04 (15) -- $11,000
18. Joey Cifuentes -- 16-14 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 43-03 (15) -- $11,000
19. Casey Ashley -- 14-09 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 42-14 (15) -- $11,000
20. Zell Rowland -- 16-15 (5) -- 15-00 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 42-11 (15) -- $11,000
21. Ryan Salzman -- 15-01 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 42-10 (15) -- $10,500
22. Dylan Hays -- 12-06 (5) -- 15-15 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 42-02 (15) -- $10,500
23. Aaron Britt -- 13-11 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 41-15 (15) -- $10,500
24. Wesley Strader -- 14-10 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 41-15 (15) -- $10,500
25. Kerry Milner -- 13-00 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 41-12 (15) -- $10,500
26. Keith Poche -- 14-04 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 13-00 (5) -- 41-11 (15) -- $10,500
27. Grae Buck -- 14-12 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 41-10 (15) -- $10,500
28. John Cox -- 15-01 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 41-09 (15) -- $10,500
29. Lendell Martin Jr -- 14-05 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 41-08 (15) -- $10,500
30. Jimmy Washam -- 14-04 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 41-07 (15) -- $10,500
31. Zack Birge -- 15-04 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 41-07 (15) -- $10,000
32. Cody Pike -- 13-13 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 41-06 (15) -- $10,000
33. Nick Lebrun -- 13-05 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 41-02 (15) -- $10,000
34. Kevin Martin -- 14-01 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 13-07 (5) -- 41-01 (15) -- $10,000
35. Tai Au -- 14-08 (5) -- 15-09 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 40-14 (15) -- $10,000
36. Alex Davis -- 14-12 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 11-00 (5) -- 40-13 (15) -- $10,000
37. Larry Nixon -- 14-09 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 40-13 (15) -- $10,000
38. Pete Ponds -- 15-07 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 11-04 (5) -- 40-06 (15) -- $10,000
39. Rusty Salewske -- 14-10 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 13-00 (5) -- 40-04 (15) -- $10,000
40. Darrell Davis -- 12-00 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 39-14 (15) -- $10,000
41. Tyler Woolcott -- 12-05 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 39-13 (15) -- $10,000
42. Skeet Reese -- 14-02 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 11-07 (5) -- 39-03 (15) -- $10,000
43. David Walker -- 11-15 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 12-00 (5) -- 39-03 (15) -- $10,000
44. Bradley Dortch -- 15-11 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 11-07 (5) -- 39-01 (15) -- $10,000
45. Jacob Wall -- 14-01 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 39-01 (15) -- $10,000
46. Ryan Davidson -- 14-06 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 38-08 (15) -- $10,000
47. Scott Wiley -- 15-01 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 8-01 (5) -- 36-06 (15) -- $10,000
48. John Hunter -- 13-15 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 8-08 (5) -- 35-15 (15) -- $10,000
49. Clark Reehm -- 11-15 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 7-00 (4) -- 34-12 (14) -- $10,000
50. Dion Hibdon -- 13-07 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 4-13 (3) -- 33-05 (13) -- $10,000
