By BassFan Staff

Casey Ashley returned to the top of the leaderboard at BASSFest on Friday, and he now has a considerably larger advantage over the remainder of the field that during his previous stint in the No. 1 position.

The smooth-talking South Carolinian, who led after day 1, boxed a day-best 17-05 from Lake Texoma on Friday to give him a 3-day total of 51-15. He'll have more than a 3 1/2-pound advantage over 2nd-place Gerald Swindle when the derby resumes on Sunday.

There will be no competition on Saturday, as the day will be devoted to instructional seminars and other fan-oriented activities in Durant, Okla.

Swindle caught 16 pounds even for a 48-05 total. Day-2 leader Greg Hackney slipped to 3rd after a 12-07 stringer left him with a 48-03 aggregate.

The ageless Rick Clunn moved up three places to 4th with 44-00 after catching a 14-10 bag and Chad Morgenthaler rounded out the Top 5 with 43-08 following a 13-00 stringer.

Here are the totals for the 12 anglers who advanced to the final day, with their deficit margins from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Casey Ashley: 51-15
2. Gerald Swindle: 48-05 (3-10)
3. Greg Hackney: 48-03 (3-12)
4. Rick Clunn: 44-00 (7-15)
5. Chad Morgenthaler: 43-08 (8-07)
6. Brandon Card: 43-01 (8-14)
7. Randall Tharp: 42-09 (9-06)
8. Bradley Roy: 42-03 (9-12)
9. Ott DeFoe: 41-10 (10-05)
10. Keith Poche: 41-06 (10-09)
11. Jordan Lee: 41-04 (10-11)
12. Dean Rojas: 40-12 (11-03)

Some thought the bite would improve on day 3 as the ultra-high water level continued to drop, but that wasn't reflected in the bags brought to the scale. Only seven of them weighed more than 15 pounds and 12 anglers (nearly a quarter of the 50-man field) failed to secure a five-fish limit.

Card (16-09 on day 3), Tharp (16-01) and Lee (14-12) were the newcomers to the Top 12. Card and Tharp each moved up 10 places in the standings and Lee was up seven spots.



B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Ashley doesn't believe that the off day on Saturday will hurt his chances of winning.

Exiting that group were Brandon Palaniuk (4th to 42nd with one fish for 2-04), Edwin Evers (8th to 23rd, 8-12) and Steve Kennedy (11th to 38th with three fish for 4-13).

Sunday's weather forecast for the area along the Texas-Oklahoma border region suggests the possibility of A.M. thunderstorms. The air temperature will top out around 91 degrees and the wind will come from the south to 8 mph.

Ashley Couldn't Lose Dink

> Day 3: 5, 17-05 (15, 51-15)

Ashley's lead would've been even bigger if not for the presence of one very small fish in his bag.

"I had to weigh in a 14-ounce spot," he said. "If I could've gotten rid of that one, I would've been gold."

He continued to pitch to the newly flooded shoreline vegetation – the tactic that has completely dominated the tournament. He's narrowed his bait selection down to two.

"I don't want to say what those are yet because that might be the only thing different that I have going for me," he said.

His bag was topped by a 5-06 largemouth. It contained three other good-sized green fish along with the miniscule spot.

"I lost one that I didn't see that felt like a decent fish – probably a 3- or 4-pounder. It wrapped me around the bush and broke off."

He doesn't think the day away from the water will hinder his chances of winning.

"If anything, with a day's rest, a few more fish should get positioned where they can be caught and we won't be out there thrashing the water over their heads."

He has a target weight in mind for the final day.

"I think I'll need 15 pounds, at least. I know I won't be confident with anything less than that. That may not win, but it'd make somebody bust a big bag to beat me."

3rd: Hackney not Down

> Day 3: 5, 12-07 (15, 48-03)

Hackney's bag was his lightest of the tournament by more than 3 pounds, but he wasn't distressed.

"I didn't have a big bag, but I'm not overly disappointed," he said. "After I caught five, I just kept doing what I've been doing because I thought that gave me the best chance of catching a big one. I still like my chances because I like the way I'm fishing – it's a technique I'm comfortable with."

His stringer was by two 3-pounders – one a largemouth and the other a spot.

B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Greg Hackney didn't catch anything that weighed more than 3 pounds on day 3 and fell two places in the standings.

"I missed one fish that might've helped me by ounces, but other than that I fished pretty clean. I just didn't get a big bite.

"I might've depleted my area of big ones, but I don't know because I'm still feeling the place out. Without going back, I didn't know if they'd replenish, and with the water falling I though there was a chance they might. I ran a little bit of new stuff today and I'll run a lot of it on the next go-around."

He figures he'll need to sack at least 18 pounds on Sunday to have a shot at the victory.

"I've worked myself into a little hole now. I was thinking 60 pounds (total) might be the deal, but now I'm thinking it'll be 65 or a little more.

"This day off might help, and I'm not really worried about it hurting anything because if it hurts, it'll be the same for everybody. We'll all have to adjust."

6th: Card Back on Track

> Day 3: 5, 16-09 (15, 43-01)

Brandon Card secured his second finish of 13th or better in the past three events following a horrible start to the campaign. He's sandwiched two good days around a lackluster one at Texoma.

"A lot of us are fishing the same stuff and on the first day I guess I timed it perfect because I didn't even realize other people were fishing those areas," he said. "Every spot I wanted to get on I could – I'd pull up and catch some, then go to another place and catch some. It was a pretty cool deal.

"Yesterday was the exact opposite – every bank I wanted to get on had a boat sitting on it and I was scratching my head wondering why I didn't see those guys the first day. Today it went back to what happened on day 1, and I'm sure that having only 50 boats out there (as opposed to 108) had a lot to do with it."

He's gotten a boost from 11th-hour calls on days 1 and 3 – the day-1 fish weighed 5-04 and today's was a 4-pounder. A fish just under 5 pounds topped his day-3 stringer.

"Yesterday was a total train wreck, but today I fished really clean."

7th: Bruiser Boosted Tharp

> Day 3: 5, 16-01 (15, 42-09)

Tharp's double-digit move up the standings came courtesy of a 7-06 monster that stands as the biggest fish of the event.

"There wasn't a whole lot to it – I just boat-flipped it in," he said. "I've done it to fish a lot bigger than that.

"It wasn't in a really thick place – a lot of them I've caught have been, but that one wasn't. That cull was worth about a pound and three-quarters.

He's lost one big fish each day – he thinks he farmed the same 5-pounder from the same bush on days 1 and 2. The one that got away on day 3 was only a 3-pounder.

"If you could see where those fish were at ... three of them I caught today I had to go in and dig them out."

He caught four keepers, including the big one, from places he didn't fish in practice.

"I'm just thankful to be fishing the final day. I literally only had 10 bites in 3 days of practice and the fishing's definitely improved since then, but when the tournament started I was worried about catching just one fish and hoping that my season wasn't going to take a turn for the worse."

42nd: Palaniuk Worked too Fast

> Day 3: 1, 2-04 (11, 32-15)

Palaniuk plummeted 38 places in the standings with his one-fish haul.

"I think I just tried to fish too much water," he said. "I felt like the fish were moving and changing and I think I almost got ahead of them, if that makes any sense.

"Instead of slowing down, I tried to fish too many areas too fast and it ended up costing me bites. The first 2 days I was able to slow down and pick things apart."

He farmed out several bites and caught several fish that were too short to go to the scale.

"The first 2 days, just about every time a set the hook the fish made it into the boat. Today it seemed like they were all 12 inches or shorter, or they came off."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 38 limits, 5 fours, 2 threes, 2 twos, 3 ones.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., June 12 – A.M. T-Storms - 91°/71°
- Wind: From the S at 8 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 51-15 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05

2. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 48-05 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10 -- Day 3: 5, 16-00

3. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 48-03 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

4. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 44-00 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-10

5. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 14, 43-08 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 4, 11-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-00

6. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 15, 43-01 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

7. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 15, 42-09 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 16-01

8. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 42-03 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

9. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 41-10 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-05

10. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 15, 41-06 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

11. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 15, 41-04 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

12. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 40-12 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08 -- Day 3: 5, 12-06

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

13. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 15, 40-12 -- 98 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 14-04

14. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 15, 40-11 -- 97 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

15. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 15, 40-07 -- 96 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

16. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 39-14 -- 95 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 14-07

17. Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 15, 39-10 -- 94 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 5, 15-06

18. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 14, 39-09 -- 93 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 4, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07

19. Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 39-05 -- 92 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

20. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 38-12 -- 91 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

21. David Williams -- Newton, NC -- 15, 38-00 -- 90 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

22. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 37-13 -- 89 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 09-13 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

23. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 37-12 -- 88 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 08-12

24. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 14, 37-08 -- 87 -- $11,000
Day 1: 4, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13

25. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 37-07 -- 86 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09

26. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 36-05 -- 85 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11

27. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 15, 36-02 -- 84 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 10-03

28. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 15, 35-08 -- 83 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 07-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-11

29. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 15, 35-03 -- 82 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 08-13

30. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 35-01 -- 81 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 09-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 09-07

31. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 35-01 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-04

32. Ken Iyobe -- Tokoname, Japan -- 14, 34-11 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 4, 09-14

33. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 34-10 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

34. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 13, 34-08 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 4, 14-15 -- Day 3: 4, 09-04

35. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 13, 34-02 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 3, 09-11 -- Day 3: 5, 11-03

36. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 15, 33-13 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-05

37. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 15, 33-12 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 10-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-06

38. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 13, 33-06 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 3, 04-13

39. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 14, 33-04 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 4, 09-12

40. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 13, 33-03 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 3, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 08-07

41. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 15, 33-01 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 5, 10-04

42. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 11, 32-15 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 1, 02-04

43. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 13, 32-07 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 3, 08-09 -- Day 3: 5, 08-12

44. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 14, 30-04 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 4, 07-03

45. Chad Grigsby -- Maple Grove, MN -- 13, 29-11 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 3, 06-01

46. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 14, 28-14 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 4, 06-08

47. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 12, 27-05 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01 -- Day 3: 2, 02-10

48. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 12, 26-15 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 09-07 -- Day 3: 2, 03-04

49. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 11, 24-14 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01 -- Day 3: 1, 01-03

50. Luke Clausen -- Otis Orchards, WA -- 11, 24-08 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 1, 01-06