By BassFan Staff
As an FLW Tour competitor from 1999 through 2003, Johnny McCombs logged a pair of top-10 finishes at Beaver Lake. Back on the circuit this year following a 14-year absence, the Alabamian has his sights set on the top spot this time.
McCombs jumped from 11th place to 1st on day 3 with an 18-15 stringer caught under miserable weather conditions in storm-plagued northwest Arkansas. His haul was the biggest of the event by more than 2 1/2 pounds and he'll begin the final day with a 2-04 advantage.
Jason Reyes held onto the No. 2 position with an 11-03 bag that gave him a 39-09 total. Cody Meyer, the leader after each of the first two days, managed just 6-13 and dropped to 3rd with a 35-06 aggregate.
John Cox, the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion, boxed 12-01 to climb from 9th to 4th with 35-03. Fellow Floridian Brandon McMillan slipped one place to 5th with 34-05 (9-08 on day 3).
Here are the totals for the 10 anglers who advanced to day 4, with deficit margins from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:
1. Johnny McCombs: 41-13
2. Jason Reyes: 39-09 (2-04)
3. Cody Meyer: 35-06 (6-07)
4. John Cox: 35-03 (6-10)
5. Brandon McMillan: 34-05 (7-08)
6. Scott Canterbury: 33-04 (8-09)
7. Bryan Thrift: 33-02 (8-11)
8. Keith Bryan: 32-06 (9-07)
9. Dean Alexander: 32-01 (9-12)
10. Christopher Brasher: 32-00 (9-13)
McCombs was likely the only person – Tour competitor or otherwise – who enjoyed being out on Beaver today. From mid-day on, a series of powerful thunderstorms swept across the region, bringing wind, lightning and more of the torrential rain that the area has seen a lot of recently.
The rain and wind will stick around for at least part of day 4, and it'll also get considerably colder. The WeatherChannel.com forecast for the final day predicts a high temperature of 54 degrees (down about 15 degrees from day 3) with winds out of the south/southwest well in excess of 20 mph.
McCombs had all of his weight by 8:30 a.m.
McCombs and Canterbury were the only competitors to move into the top 10 on day 3, with the latter catching 11-10 to climb six spots. They supplanted Nick Gainey (5th to 15th with a three-fish, 5-01 stringer) and Randy Blaukat (6th to 11th with four fish for 6-12).
Thrift clinched his fourth top-10 placement in five events this season (the other one was a 12th). His lead in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race was a stout 52 points coming in and it'll be somewhere in the vicinity of 90 at the derby's conclusion.
McCombs Mauled 'Em
> Day 3: 5, 18-15 (15, 41-13)
In his first stint as a Tour pro, McCombs' best finish was a 3rd at Lake Lanier in March 1999. He'll be looking to improve upon that tomorrow, and will likely do so if he catches another stringer that rivals the one he brought to the scale on day 3.
"Today was definitely the best day I ever had (as a pro)," he said. "I just keyed in on some things – there's some stuff I'm looking for and I just run around until I can find it.
"I might have to run around even more tomorrow or I might have to change up – I don't know. This place is still flooding."
He bounced around a lot in the early part of the day and had all of his weight by about 8:30. He only fished about half the day, as he spent much it in the confines of a boathouse while riding out the worst of the lightning and thunder.
He used only one bait on day 3, but opted to keep its identity under wraps for another day. His biggest fish weighed close to 6 pounds.
Jason Reyes will start the final day with a 2 1/2-pound deficit to McCombs.
“I’m excited to get back out there tomorrow and hopefully I can get the right bites that I need to win this thing.”
In the four previous events this season, his top placement was a 23rd at Florida's Harris Chain. He logged mid-pack finishes at Guntersville and Travis prior to that and a 144th-place stinker at Cumberland earlier this month.
2nd: Reyes Still in the Hunt
> Day 3: 5, 11-03 (15, 39-09)
Reyes is the only competitor who'll start the final day within six pounds of McCombs.
"It was good this morning – I caught a quick limit and culled a couple of times," he said. "Then it got to where it was just constant bands of heavy thunderstorms and tons of lightning."
That prompted him to spend a couple hours in the shelter of a marina.
"From about noon to 2 (p.m.), the lake was almost unfishable for anybody who had any smarts. If you're dead, you can't win, and I wasn't going to die today."
He caught about 10 pounds quickly and then gradually culled up to his final tally. He weighed a largemouth, a smallmouth and three spotted bass and his best specimen was a 2 1/2-pounder.
He's flipping a lot and mixing in a topwater, a shaky-head and a swimbait.
"We'll see how it goes down tomorrow – the lake is still coming up and I'm losing targets. They're sinking on me."
His best career finish in 14 years as a pro was a 3rd at Lewis Smith Lake two years ago.
"I've got a shot, and that's all I can ask for. I'll go out tomorrow and leave it all on the lake."
3rd: Tough Day for Meyer
> Day 3: 5, 6-13 (15, 35-06)
The offshore locale that had been so good for Meyer on days 1 and 2 didn't produce a single bite on day 3.
"If I had to summarize the day in one word, I'd say it was miserable," he said. "So many times there was lightning all around me and I couldn't see 20 feet in front of me because of the rain, but it wasn't only the weather. The fish just did not bite at all.
"I went to my primary spot twice and there wasn't even a sign of them being there. I fished a lot of stuff – new water, waterfalls – but there was nothing really happening."
He weighed in a smallmouth, and extremely skinny largemouth and three 12-inch spots.
A sack that weighed less than seven pounds cost Cody Meyer the lead he'd held since the day-1 weigh-in.
"I have no idea about tomorrow – I have nothing left and no water to hit. I'll probably start in Prairie Creek (near the launch) with a swimbait and a buzzbait, just stuff I might catch a big one on.
"I'll flip some debris mats and just hope and pray, really. I don't know what else to do. It's unbelievably tough."
4th: Cox Scrambled for 5
> Day 3: 5, 12-01 (15, 35-03)
The weather conditions made sight-fishing an impossibility for Cox.
"It was crazy how quick the lake was rising today," he said. "I pitched a Dirty Jig around and threw a spinnerbait some and I only caught the five keepers (all largemouths). I didn't lose anything that would've helped.
"I don't know where I'm going to start tomorrow or anything like that. It's like a whole different lake now."
He primarily targeted a type of weed that he can identify only when he sees it, and that's getting more and more difficult as water continues to flow into the lake.
"Next time I'm going to pay more attention to what's on the bank, even if the (water level is) normal. Today I was keying on that stuff and getting some bites and I was trying to think of where more of it was, but I had no idea. I never looked that far up the bank."
5th: McMillan had Short Day
> Day 3: 5, 9-08 (15, 34-05)
McMillan quit fishing at about 12:30 and came back to the vicinity of the ramp as the storms raged.
"About the time the rain hit, I caught my two best fish within 15 minutes of each other," he said. "I figured I had enough to make the cut and I didn't want to get stuck in a lightning storm. I kind of wish I'd stayed, but I might not be talking to you right now if I had."
He weighed three largemouths – one of which was a 3-pounder – along with two decent-sized spotted bass that he'd encountered schooling on bait fish in the early part of the day. He continued to fish the mile-long stretch of creek where he's spent the bulk of the tournament.
"My roommate, Matt Stefan, was basically in the same creek and he stayed longer than I did and had some good bites, but it just didn't work out for him. The potential's there and I think it's probably one of the better places to be. He did make the comment that it was getting muddier, though, and I don't know if that'll be good or bad."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 20 anglers, 14 limits, 2 fours, 4 threes.
Weather Forecast
> Sun., April 30 – A.M. Showers/Wind – 54°/41°
- Wind: From the SSW at 22 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Johnny McCombs -- Morris, Al -- 14-3 (5) -- 8-11 (5) -- 22-14 (10) -- 18-15 (5) -- 41-13 (15)
2. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 13-13 (5) -- 14-9 (5) -- 28-6 (10) -- 11-3 (5) -- 39-9 (15)
3. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 16-1 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 28-9 (10) -- 6-13 (5) -- 35-6 (15)
4. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 14-4 (4) -- 8-14 (5) -- 23-2 (9) -- 12-1 (5) -- 35-3 (14)
5. Brandon McMillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 12-2 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 24-13 (10) -- 9-8 (5) -- 34-5 (15)
6. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, Al -- 9-5 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 21-10 (10) -- 11-10 (5) -- 33-4 (15)
7. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 12-15 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 23-9 (10) -- 9-9 (5) -- 33-2 (15)
8. Keith Bryan -- Novato, Ca -- 13-5 (5) -- 9-13 (5) -- 23-2 (10) -- 9-4 (5) -- 32-6 (15)
9. Dean Alexander -- Georgetown, Tx -- 9-15 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 26-3 (10) -- 5-14 (5) -- 32-1 (15)
10. Christopher Brasher -- Longview, Tx -- 15-11 (5) -- 7-8 (5) -- 23-3 (10) -- 8-13 (5) -- 32-0 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Randy Blaukat -- Joplin, Mo -- 9-9 (5) -- 14-3 (5) -- 23-12 (10) -- 6-12 (4) -- 30-8 (14) -- $12,000
12. Drew Montgomery -- Maiden, NC -- 11-0 (5) -- 11-2 (5) -- 22-2 (10) -- 8-6 (5) -- 30-8 (15) -- $12,000
13. Joseph Webster -- Fulton, Ms -- 11-12 (5) -- 9-6 (5) -- 21-2 (10) -- 9-4 (5) -- 30-6 (15) -- $12,000
14. Bradley Dortch -- Atmore, Al -- 11-6 (5) -- 9-12 (5) -- 21-2 (10) -- 8-6 (5) -- 29-8 (15) -- $12,000
15. Nick Gainey -- Charleston, SC -- 13-4 (5) -- 11-1 (5) -- 24-5 (10) -- 5-1 (3) -- 29-6 (13) -- $12,000
16. Daniel Kweekul -- Bryant, Ar -- 13-14 (5) -- 8-7 (4) -- 22-5 (9) -- 6-13 (3) -- 29-2 (12) -- $12,000
17. Tim Frederick -- Leesburg, Fl -- 6-10 (5) -- 16-0 (5) -- 22-10 (10) -- 6-2 (3) -- 28-12 (13) -- $12,000
18. Matthew Stefan -- Junction City, Wi -- 10-10 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 22-13 (10) -- 5-14 (4) -- 28-11 (14) -- $12,000
19. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 6-0 (3) -- 15-2 (5) -- 21-2 (8) -- 7-1 (3) -- 28-3 (11) -- $12,500
20. Jeff Dobson -- Bartlesville, Ok -- 11-13 (5) -- 10-7 (5) -- 22-4 (10) -- 4-11 (5) -- 26-15 (15) -- $12,000
