Omori's Lead Still Solid, Walker Sniffs From 2nd

It was the toughest day yet at the Toho Bassmaster. After rain, wind and clouds yesterday, the morning broke to reveal sunny conditions and flat water. Yesterday's wind took a breather, but returned in full form around noon. Whether it was the sun, or lack of wind, or the simple fact that this is winter in Florida, the field took a beating and only two sacks crept over the 12-pound mark. Takahiro Omori's sack didn't break 12 pounds, but he maintained his lead with an 11-05 limit.

David Walker, in 2nd, weighed an 11-08 limit and shaved 3 ounces off Omori's lead. Gerald Swindle caught the day's big bass (6-03) and moved up six spots to tie for 3rd with a 12-04 limit. Ron

Shuffield, who shocked the field yesterday with his move from 54th to 5th, weighed a 9-03 limit and is also in 3rd. Jeff Reynolds took control of 5th-place with a 12-03 limit. Terry Scroggins was the last to survive the final cut to six. He weighed four fish for 7-15.

Here's the current weights for the Top 6 who will fish tomorrow.

1. Omori, 42-10
2. Walker, 37-00
3. Swindle, 33-10
4. Shuffield, 33-10
5. Reynolds, 33-04
6. Scroggins, 32-14

The weather here is anyone's guess – it seems to change by the hour. The forecast called for rain this morning, so the sun and still conditions this morning were a big surprise. The wind shifted to the southeast, which hurt some but didn't affect others.

Omori's lead over Walker might seem scant to Toho veterans, but big bites are so rare right now, it could be called commanding. And his 9-pound lead over Shuffield could be called insurmountable. The lake is just not kicking out big bites, and a simple limit seems a major accomplishment. Given the current conditions, it's Omori's tournament to lose.

Omori Went For It

Omori had the lead before blast-off this morning, and he said he fished hard all day. "I didn't lay off my fish. I fished as much as I (could). I had my last keeper at 3:00. I did not lay off."

Yesterday all his fish came from Kissimmee. Today was a different story. "I caught a quick limit in Kissimmee, but then it got windy and I left.

"I fished Toho (after that) and culled twice."

He's still throwing a "fast-moving crankbait-type bait" and said the sun was a factor. "The fish that I saw today were much shallower.

"I don't know what I'll do tomorrow. It depends on the weather."

Walker Flipped Again

"It was really tough to catch a fish today," Walker said. "It wasn't tough to get a bite – it was tough to catch them. The bite was really odd. It was strange. I had several bites, but they wouldn't bite again.

"I broke fish off too. I did all that and I still caught 11 pounds. It's taking 20 bites to catch five fish."

He said he needs to catch a big fish to pass Omori. "I don't know what to do for a big bite – I haven't gotten one yet.

"I've been flipping almost exclusively the whole tournament. I keep thinking maybe I should be casting. But there were a lot of guys casting in my area, and they all went home."

Like yesterday, he fished Toho all day.

Swindle Still Junking

"It was slow," Swindle said. "I caught my 6-03 in the first 20 minutes of fishing on a spinnerbait. I burned the blades off the spinnerbait after that, but I didn't get another bite."

Then he went junk-fishing, just like he did yesterday. "I fished everything I had. I threw at anything that looked good.

"I fished the entire 3 miles of a canal after my big bite and got nothing. Then, I ran all the way to the back of Hatchineha, then all the way back to the end of a canal there."

He said he started throwing a candy bug Zoom Trick Worm and caught three. "I got three quick, but had to wait until 1:30 for my next bite."

After that, he went to a fish he'd found in practice. "I went to a dock where I shook one off on the first day of practice. I pitched to a little pole where I shook it off, and sure enough, I caught it."

Those were his five fish. "The flipping bite is going away," he said. "When we started, it was maybe a 3 out of 10. Now, I'd rate it a 0 out of 10. I'm so sick of flipping and not catching fish.

"Tomorrow, I'll probably lock all the way to the bottom end of Kissimmee. There's three canals there that I fished 3 or 4 years ago.

"(Omori) has such a huge lead, my worm can't win. I'm not on the winning pattern. I have no idea what the winning pattern is."

Shuffield Exposed

Shuffield worked his spot yesterday for all it was worth. He worked it more today and it gave up 9 pounds.

"It was very slow," he said. "When the wind changed to the southeast, my spot was wide open – I was totally exposed. I'm fishing a mix of Kissimmee grass and lily pads – there's no hydrilla – and the water got really muddy around 10:30.

"I caught two fish real quick, but it took a long time to get bit again, so I left. I got out in the mouth of a Kissimmee canal and started flipping. I said, this is crazy, so I went back to my area and started throwing a Rat-L-Trap."

He finished out his limit on the spot, but said it was tough. "I have to make very precise casts in the pads. The wind is terrible for that, and it took me 10 casts just to get three productive ones.

"There's no question the spot is replenishing and I think I can go back and catch five more. But barring a miracle, I don't think there's more than 8 to 10 pounds there.

"Unless I stumble on something new, I'll fish the Rat-L-Trap tomorrow. The bottom bite with my worm probably won't work. I may try to expand the area though."

Scroggins Searched

"Today was tough," Scroggins said. "I lost a lot of bites. They're biting real funny. I had some good fish bite, but I lost them."

He needed big bites, so he went and looked for new water. "I fished all new stuff today. It was totally new – not practice stuff. I'm swinging for the fences, and that's what I'll do tomorrow.

"I'm just going junk-fishing to try for a few big bites. If I can catch 25 pounds, I have a chance."

He said there will be some local pressure tomorrow. "There's a 100-boat tournament going out tomorrow. That'll add some big pressure. But it's their lake, not ours.

He also noted: "The sun this morning really didn't help me. For what I had before the tournament, I need the sun to be out for about 2 or 3 days."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 12 anglers, 6 limits, no zeroes.

> Scott Rook finished 7th. "I pounded my area yesterday and caught almost 18 pounds. Today I was going for broke. I threw a spinnerbait this morning, then started flipping. I caught one flipping, then started throwing a Berkley Rattl'r. That's what I caught the rest of my fish on, and they were all away from the cover."

> Jay Yelas finished 9th. "This was a personal milestone for me," he said. "It was my 50th Bassmaster Top 10. That sure reminds me of how old I am."

> Kevin VanDam tied with Kenyon Hill for 12th yesterday, but won the tiebreaker and made the cut. The tiebreaker was largest sack, and VanDam won by 1 ounce. But he struck out on a spinnerbait today with one fish for 2-03. "It was probably the worst practice of my career," he said. "I had five bites in 3 days. I'm disappointed now that I won the tiebreaker – Kenyon was on something a lot better than what I had."

Weather Report

>Sun., Jan 30 – Partly Cloudy – 75°/51°
- Wind: From the S at 12 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Texas -- 14, 42-10 -- 310
Day 1: 4, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15 -- Day 3: 5, 11-05
2. David Walker -- Sevierville, Tenn. -- 15, 37-00 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 11-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08
3. Gerald Swindle -- Hayden, Ala. -- 15, 33-10 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 10-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04
3. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, Ark. -- 15, 33-10 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 6-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11 -- Day 3: 5, 9-03
5. Jeff Reynolds -- Platter, Okla. -- 14, 33-04 -- 280
Day 1: 4, 9-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03
6. Terry Scroggins -- Palatka, Fla. -- 13, 32-14 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 11-08 -- Day 2: 4, 13-07 -- Day 3: 4, 7-15

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not be fishing tomorrow:

7. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, Ark. -- 13, 29-07 -- 272 -- $12,000
Day 1: 3, 4-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 5, 6-12
8. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 11, 28-10 -- 273 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 2, 6-11 -- Day 3: 4, 6-10
9. Jay Yelas -- Tyler, Texas -- 13, 27-13 -- 264 -- $9,000
Day 1: 4, 4-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 4, 6-11
10. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, Okla. -- 11, 26-11 -- 260 -- $8,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 1, 1-14
11. Woo Daves -- Spring Grove, Va. -- 11, 24-01 -- 257 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 9-07 -- Day 3: 1, 1-11
12. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 11, 22-10 -- 254 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 9-01 -- Day 3: 1, 2-03

Big Bass
> Day 3 -- Gerald Swindle -- Hayden, Ala. -- 6-03 -- $1,000
> Day 2 -- Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, N.J. -- 8-04 -- $1,000
> Day 1 -- David Mansue -- Robbinsville, N.J. -- 9-04 -- $1,000