By Sean Ostruszka
Special to BassFan

And then there were four.

Technically, anyone in the top 10 can make a significant run at winning the Lake Seminole FLW Tour. The fishery is loaded with giants, and Braxton Setzer showed today that getting a school of them to fire can create a mega-bag in a hurry.

That said, the top four anglers have separated themselves from the rest, as leader Brian Latimer’s 59-12 three-day total has him just ahead of Setzer (58-02), Sheldon Collings (56-2) and Rob Kilby (55-09).

Behind them, Joshua Weaver is nearly 7 pounds back of Kilby, while Hunter Freeman couldn’t replicate his 17-pound bags from the first two days, but he still brought in enough to bump up a place to 6th.

Scott Martin quietly made another top 10. He’s sitting in 7th, 3 ounces ahead of day-2 leader Bradford Beavers, who only brought in a pair of fish today. Miles Howe and Angler of the Year leader Terry Bolton round out the top 10.

“With as many 20-pound bags as this lake has in it, 4 pounds is nothing,” Kilby said. “It’s going to be a race to the cash.”

Surprisingly, the top 4 anglers have gotten ahead in very different ways, from patterns to sections of the lake.

Latimer has completely scrapped his pattern that produced his 19-01 bag on day 1 – he was fishing a current seam up the Flint River with a crankbait. Instead, he’s now banking on a shallow flat in the Flint that has a key mixture of grass.

“It’s a giant hydrilla flat, but there’s milfoil heads sprouting up in the hydrilla,” Latimer said. “I didn’t realize that when I started fishing it, but every day the water has gotten clearer and clearer, and they started revealing themselves. The fish are hanging on those heads.”

While Latimer is dialed in on where the fish are, bites have been coming at a premium, as he only got six all day on Friday. That said, he hasn’t caught a fish smaller then nearly 4 pounds from that flat. So he told his friends and family if he could get five bites and land them on day 3, he’d bring in 20 pounds.

Turns out, he got nine bites, but he lost his first three. Still, the six he caught went 23-00.

Meanwhile, Setzer led after day 1 only to bring in two fish on day 2. Today, he got his school of fish to fire again, and the result was 24-08 within the first hour of fishing.

“I was worried the hour fog delay might hurt me, but I pulled up and it was on,” said Setzer, who has located a bare spot in a deep patch of hydrilla that is congregating a school of pre-spawn females. “I don’t know why they went today and not yesterday. The only thing I can figure is the boat traffic got to them yesterday.”

Collings is also on a deep-hydrilla bite, albeit with a white vibrating jig as opposed to Setzer’s Texas-rigged worm. His problem today was locals and lost fish.

“I pulled up today and there were a bunch of locals out fishing my spot,” Collings said. “Still, I could’ve had a monster bag today. I jumped off an 8-pounder first thing, and I missed five or six bites. My fish are still there, so I’m not worried.”

Collings can actually see some big fish pull up on his graph, rising to the top of the grass for a second to eat before hunkering back down. On one occasion today, he was able to get one of those fish he saw to bite, and it was a 6-pounder.

Finally, Kilby has been making the long run all the way up the Chatahochee River to a tiny backwater stretch of grass he’s basically had all to himself for three days.

“I think that’s the only reason it’s lasted as long as it has,” said Kilby of his 200-yard stretch of hydrilla that’s only a few feet deep.

He’s basically just been junk-fishing in the skinny grass with a vibrating jig, spinnerbait and even a topwater today. The grass line is right outside a spawning area loaded with beds. Today, he did a little looking and found plenty of bass sitting up there, but just not quite ready to lock down.

“If they do tomorrow, it could get fun,” Kilby said.

Of course, no one is having more fun than Latimer at the moment. Now in his fourth year on tour, he’d never even finished in the top 20 in any event, let alone leading going into the final day. This is a moment he’s been dreaming of for a long time, yet it’s not as he expected.

“Honestly, I thought it’d feel different,” Latimer said of leading. “I mean, it feels different, but also kind of the same.

“All I know is life is good right now, and I couldn’t be more excited for tomorrow. If I get five bites and land them, it’s over.”

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 30 anglers, 18 limits, 4 threes, 3 twos, 2 fours, 1 three.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., March 10 – P.M. T-Storms - 83°/65°
- Wind: From the SSW at 8 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Brian Latimer -- Belton, SC -- 19-1 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 36-12 (10) -- 23-0 (5) -- 59-12 (15)

2. Braxton Setzer -- Montgomery, Al -- 25-15 (5) -- 7-11 (2) -- 33-10 (7) -- 24-8 (5) -- 58-2 (12)

3. Sheldon Collings -- Grove, Ok -- 23-14 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 40-14 (10) -- 15-4 (5) -- 56-2 (15)

4. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 23-3 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 38-15 (10) -- 16-10 (5) -- 55-9 (15)

5. Joshua Weaver -- Macon, Ga -- 13-4 (5) -- 21-3 (5) -- 34-7 (10) -- 14-7 (5) -- 48-14 (15)

6. Hunter Freeman -- Monroe, La -- 17-9 (5) -- 17-12 (5) -- 35-5 (10) -- 12-5 (4) -- 47-10 (14)

7. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 16-7 (5) -- 16-0 (5) -- 32-7 (10) -- 14-6 (5) -- 46-13 (15)

8. Bradford Beavers -- Summerville, SC -- 25-2 (5) -- 18-12 (5) -- 43-14 (10) -- 2-12 (2) -- 46-10 (12)

9. Miles Howe -- San Juan Capistrano, Ca -- 19-13 (5) -- 12-15 (4) -- 32-12 (9) -- 12-10 (5) -- 45-6 (14)

10. Terry Bolton -- Benton, Ky -- 14-4 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 29-1 (10) -- 16-3 (5) -- 45-4 (15)

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

11. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, Ga -- 7-3 (2) -- 21-4 (5) -- 28-7 (7) -- 16-13 (5) -- 45-4 (12) -- $12,000

12. Greg Bohannan -- Bentonville, Ar -- 15-7 (5) -- 20-12 (5) -- 36-3 (10) -- 8-11 (5) -- 44-14 (15) -- $12,000

13. Jason Abram -- Piney Flats, Tn -- 16-10 (5) -- 11-8 (5) -- 28-2 (10) -- 15-15 (5) -- 44-1 (15) -- $12,000

14. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, Ar -- 15-1 (5) -- 17-4 (5) -- 32-5 (10) -- 10-13 (5) -- 43-2 (15) -- $12,000

15. Ryan Salzman -- Huntsville, Al -- 14-14 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 29-11 (10) -- 12-13 (5) -- 42-8 (15) -- $12,000

16. Kurt Mitchell -- Milford, De -- 14-3 (5) -- 23-2 (5) -- 37-5 (10) -- 4-15 (1) -- 42-4 (11) -- $11,500

17. Jared McMillan -- Belle Glade, Fl -- 12-5 (5) -- 18-7 (5) -- 30-12 (10) -- 11-5 (5) -- 42-1 (15) -- $11,500

18. Chris McCall -- Palmer, Tx -- 15-2 (5) -- 11-1 (4) -- 26-3 (9) -- 14-11 (5) -- 40-14 (14) -- $11,500

19. Matt Becker -- Finleyville, Pa -- 11-6 (5) -- 17-2 (5) -- 28-8 (10) -- 11-4 (5) -- 39-12 (15) -- $11,500

20. Tyler Woolcott -- Port Orange, Fl -- 19-14 (5) -- 13-4 (3) -- 33-2 (8) -- 4-11 (2) -- 37-13 (10) -- $11,500

21. Miles Burghoff -- Hixson, Tn -- 15-4 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 27-15 (10) -- 8-10 (4) -- 36-9 (14) -- $10,500

22. Jimmy Brewer -- Marshall, Tx -- 16-10 (5) -- 14-6 (5) -- 31-0 (10) -- 5-6 (3) -- 36-6 (13) -- $10,500

23. Tommy Dickerson -- Orange, Tx -- 9-3 (4) -- 17-5 (5) -- 26-8 (9) -- 9-7 (5) -- 35-15 (14) -- $10,500

24. Joseph Webster -- Winfield, Al -- 25-9 (5) -- 8-13 (3) -- 34-6 (8) -- 1-8 (1) -- 35-14 (9) -- $10,500

25. Russell Cecil -- Willis, Tx -- 11-3 (4) -- 17-6 (5) -- 28-9 (9) -- 7-4 (5) -- 35-13 (14) -- $10,500

26. Jacob Wall -- Jacksonville, Or -- 6-8 (3) -- 19-8 (5) -- 26-0 (8) -- 8-5 (4) -- 34-5 (12) -- $10,500

27. Andy Young -- Isle, Mn -- 16-2 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 26-13 (10) -- 5-13 (3) -- 32-10 (13) -- $10,500

28. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, Tx -- 20-5 (5) -- 6-1 (2) -- 26-6 (7) -- 6-2 (2) -- 32-8 (9) -- $10,500

29. Dylan Hays -- El Dorado, Ar -- 14-13 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 27-0 (10) -- 3-12 (2) -- 30-12 (12) -- $10,500

30. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, Tx -- 15-12 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 26-10 (10) -- 1-13 (1) -- 28-7 (11) -- $10,500