By BassFan Staff
Ten bags in excess of 23 pounds have come to the stage over the first 3 days of the Lake Chickamauga FLW Tour. Michael Wooley has produced three of them, and the second-year pro from Tennessee is now 1 day away from wrapping up his first tour-level victory in his home state.
The 23-07 stringer that Wooley caught Saturday pushed his total to 72-14. He'll start the final day with a 6-02 advantage.
Stetson Blaylock and Bryan Thrift jumped to 2nd and 3rd, respectively, with bags that topped 25 pounds. Blaylock has a 66-12 total and Thrift's aggregate is 62-06.
David Dudley remained in the No. 4 position after boxing 20 pounds even for a 62-02 total. Day-1 leader Bill McDonald weighed 14-10 and rounds out the Top 5 with 59-15.
Here are the totals for the anglers who advanced to the final day (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margins from the leader):
1. Michael Wooley: 72-14
2. Stetson Blaylock: 66-12 (6-02)
3. Bryan Thrift: 62-06 (10-08)
4. David Dudley: 62-02 (10-12)
5. Bill McDonald: 59-15 (12-15)
6. Larry Nixon: 59-14 (13-00)
7. Darrel Davis: 59-05 (13-09)
8. Michael Neal: 58-04 (14-10)
9. Richard Peek: 57-05 (15-09)
10. Terry Bolton: 56-04 (16-10)
Everyone will wait a day to see whether Wooley, who's still rather green in terms of tour-level experience, will stumble on day 4. There's no sign of that happening – he had all of his weight within 90 minutes of his first cast on Saturday and had the place that produced it all to himself.
Thrift, who advanced 16 places in the standings on day 3, will take over the lead in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race upon the conclusion of the event. The North Carolinian is a perennial contender for that title and won it in 2010.
The 64-year-old Nixon, who failed to qualify for last year's Forrest Wood Cup, continues his recent resurgence that's seen him log three straight Top-25s. He can lock up a berth in this year's championship with a decent finish at the Potomac River later this month.
Wooley boxed all of his weight in the first hour and a half of the day.
The weather forecast for the final day is seemingly ideal for ledge-fishing – it'll be the warmest day of the event (the temperature is predicted to reach 93 degrees) with just a moderate southwest breeze topping out at 7 mph. That's yet another factor that could benefit Wooley.
Smooth Sailing for Wooley
> Day 3: 5, 23-07 (15, 72-14)
There's no evidence that Wooley's honey hole will dry up for the final day. It's a muscle-laden bar in the middle of a creek that's the site of a shad feast in the early morning hours.
Bottom-hugging baits (a jig and a shaky-head with a large worm) have produced best for him. His day-3 bag consisted of a 7 1/4-pounder and a quartet that were all in the 4-pound class.
“It’s an awesome feeling to be leading the tournament heading into the final day,” he said. “I’ve got some legends of the sport in the Top 10 with me. I’m going to try not to worry about what everyone else is doing and go out and try to catch the biggest five bass that I can tomorrow.
"If it happens, it happens. I’m pretty confident that I can catch them.”
He had his initial keeper boxed up after 10 minutes of fishing. He had a limit that was likely big enough to keep him in the lead by 8 o'clock and he pulled off his spot at 10.
Stetson Blaylock's 25-12 stringer was the best of day 3.
He caught about 10 more keepers from other places throughout the remainder of the day, but none helped him.
“My other areas do not have the quality that my main spot does,” he said. “Tomorrow I’m going to spend as much time as possible there."
2nd: Two Biggies for Blaylock
> Day 3: 5, 25-12 (15, 66-12)
Blaylock's day-best stringer included an 8-pounder and a 7.
"Anytime you can do that and get a couple solid fish to go with it, that's huge," he said. "It's not easy to get those big bites, but Chickamauga is full of that type of fish. I need to get a couple more tomorrow to make a run (at Wooley).
"The problem is I know where Wooley's catching them, and that place is loaded with fish. It's going to be hard to beat him, but anything's possible. He's still got to go catch them."
He stayed offshore the entire day and needed most of his allotted time to compile his bag. He said he lost one fish that would've given him another pound or so.
"It wasn't necessarily easier to catch them today, but it was easier to get around (with 127 fewer boats in the field)," he said. "You didn't have to run around near as much to find a place to fish.
"There's a possibility of catching even more than (what he weighed today). You never know when you're going to get those big bites, but this lake's got plenty of them."
3rd: Thrift was In and Out
> Day 3: 5, 25-01 (15, 62-06)
Thrift pulled three of his weigh-in fish from the ledges and the other 2 – both 4 1/2-pounders – from skinny water.
"I caught three off stuff I hadn't fished all week," he said. "I hadn't been fishing the (community holes) where all the crowds had been, but I did fish some of them today.
A 6 3/4-pounder topped his sack and he also had one that went 5 3/4.
"I only had one 4-pounder before 9 o'clock and all the others came later in the day. I lost one, but I don't know if it would've helped me."
Bryan Thrift moved up 16 places in the standings with a 25-pound sack.
Facing a 10-pound deficit to a leader who's shown no signs of faltering, he doesn't hold out much hope for notching his second victory of the season.
"I'd say the chances appear to be slim to none."
4th: Dudley Scored Shallow
>Day 3: 5, 20-00 (15, 62-02)
Dudley continued to fish a mix of shallow and deep locales and his best action on day 3 came from near the banks.
"I could try to guess why that was, but I really don't have a clue," he said.
He revealed that his arsenal includes flipping a creature bait, along with throwing a topwater, a jig and a wacky-rigged worm.
"I caught 10 or 12 kickers today, but I didn't have any kickers," he said. "I basically (weighed) four 5-pounders.
"I'd say the potential's there to do better than that tomorrow."
5th: McDonald Hanging Around
> Day 3: 5, 14-10 (15, 59-15)
McDonald is still in the Top 5 on the strength of his tournament-best 29-12 haul on day 1.
"The last 2 days I just haven't had a big bite," he said. "But I've fished clean for 3 days, so I've got no complaints.
"I rode over some places today and there's still a lot of fish there – the problem is getting them to bite. I'm on the wrong rotation and I'm not getting bit by the big ones."
He went through eight or nine keepers, but none reached the 4-pound mark.
"I've got a few spots that I haven't fished at all yet. I think I've been spending too much time in one place and tomorrow, if I don't get bit in 10 or 15 minutes, I'm going to move on to something else.
"It's been a very blessed week for me. The big bag (from day 1) has carried me, but you have to make hay when the sun shines."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 20 anglers, 16 limits, 3 fours, 1 zero.
Weather Forecast
> Sun., June 14 – Sunny - 93°/70°
- Wind: From the SW at 7 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Michael Wooley -- Collierville, Tn -- 26-2 (5) -- 23-5 (5) -- 49-7 (10) -- 23-7 (5) -- 72-14 (15)
2. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 18-7 (5) -- 22-9 (5) -- 41-0 (10) -- 25-12 (5) -- 66-12 (15)
3. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 16-6 (5) -- 20-15 (5) -- 37-5 (10) -- 25-1 (5) -- 62-6 (15)
4. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 18-14 (5) -- 23-4 (5) -- 42-2 (10) -- 20-0 (5) -- 62-2 (15)
5. Bill McDonald -- Greenwood, In -- 29-12 (5) -- 15-9 (5) -- 45-5 (10) -- 14-10 (5) -- 59-15 (15)
6. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 17-5 (5) -- 19-14 (5) -- 37-3 (10) -- 22-11 (5) -- 59-14 (15)
7. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 22-7 (5) -- 15-11 (5) -- 38-2 (10) -- 21-3 (5) -- 59-5 (15)
8. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 23-6 (5) -- 18-5 (5) -- 41-11 (10) -- 16-9 (4) -- 58-4 (14)
9. Richard Peek -- Centre, Al -- 16-15 (5) -- 20-11 (5) -- 37-10 (10) -- 19-11 (5) -- 57-5 (15)
10. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 20-9 (5) -- 18-13 (5) -- 39-6 (10) -- 16-14 (5) -- 56-4 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.
11. Tom Redington -- Royse City, Tx -- 20-4 (5) -- 17-2 (5) -- 37-6 (10) -- 18-5 (5) -- 55-11 (15) -- $11,634
12. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 23-9 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 39-6 (10) -- 14-11 (5) -- 54-1 (15) -- $11,634
13. Charlie Ingram -- Centerville, Tn -- 20-2 (5) -- 19-2 (5) -- 39-4 (10) -- 14-10 (5) -- 53-14 (15) -- $11,634
14. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 22-4 (5) -- 17-12 (5) -- 40-0 (10) -- 13-7 (5) -- 53-7 (15) -- $11,634
15. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 17-7 (5) -- 20-9 (5) -- 38-0 (10) -- 15-6 (5) -- 53-6 (15) -- $11,634
16. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 15-6 (5) -- 22-4 (5) -- 37-10 (10) -- 15-0 (5) -- 52-10 (15) -- $11,634
17. Alex Davis -- Albertville, Al -- 22-11 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 37-10 (10) -- 13-10 (5) -- 51-4 (15) -- $11,634
18. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, Al -- 16-14 (5) -- 22-2 (5) -- 39-0 (10) -- 11-12 (4) -- 50-12 (14) -- $11,634
19. James Biggs -- Euless, Tx -- 16-9 (5) -- 21-6 (5) -- 37-15 (10) -- 10-2 (4) -- 48-1 -- $11,634
20. Brad Knight -- Lancing, Tn -- 22-9 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 37-6 (10) -- 0-0 (0) -- 37-6 (10) -- $11,634
