Fox, Williams Trail
Local Ace Young Leads Nixon By Slim 9 Ounces

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Brett Carlson David "Scotty" Young says that a win would mean "everything" – more "than all the money they could give (him)."

Young therefore leads Nixon by just 9 ounces with 1 day left to fish.

Kentucky Lake has been decided on a dead-fish penalty before – Terry Bolton finished 2nd because of one in 2006.

Nobody knows the lake better than Young – he's won several local events here and is widely regarded as the man to beat on this sprawling Tennessee/Cumberland River impoundment. However, Young said that Nixon "had the best help on the lake – he's fishing all Billy Schroeder's fish," and Schroeder, like Young, is one of the names to beat on the lake.

Young said that's fine – "every guy" got help for this one, and he even went to some fish today that other locals told him about before the no-info cutoff.

Nixon, on the other hand, countered Young's injection and said: "They're my fish from 1987. I'm fishing the same places I fished when (Rick) Clunn and I were 1 and 2 after day 1 (at the Bassmaster Super Invitational)."

So it looks, at least on the surface, like a showdown between Nixon and Young. But don't count out 3rd-place Travis Fox or 4th-place Keith Williams.

Fox, who's fishing his first complete Tour season after two one-outing seasons, might have a case of nerves. He said he's slept a cumulative 4 hours in the past 2 days. He weighed 17-15 today fishing north, though, which puts him within reach of the win if he can sack maybe 22-plus tomorrow.

And Keith Williams is around big fish. He weighed 17-13 today in the midst of intense crowds in the south end of the lake, and his co-angler Brandon Hunter weighed 19-11 and won. Williams had to fish through a 170-boat tournament that launched a few miles from his holes, but should have more freedom to move around tomorrow.

Mark Rose is currently 5th, but seems resigned to the fact that he's out of it and "the guys fishing deeper" will prevail.

Here's a look at how the Top 10 shakes out. Total weight's followed by distance from leader in red.

1. David Young -- Mayfield, KY -- 5, 20-01
2. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, AR -- 5, 19-08 (0-09)
3. Travis Fox -- Springdale, AR -- 5, 17-15 (2-02)
4. Keith Williams -- Conway, AR -- 5, 17-13 (2-04)
5. Mark Rose -- Marion, AR -- 5, 14-00 (6-01)
6. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- Hazard, KY -- 5, 13-12 (6-05)
7. Bobby McMullin -- Pevely, MO -- 5, 13-03 (6-14)
8. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, AR -- 3, 12-13 (7-04)
9. Ott Defoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 12-02 (7-15)
10. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 11-07 (8-10)

Young has yet to weigh less than 20 pounds each of the 3 days so far. If he can catch a little more than 20 again tomorrow, Nixon would need to post about 21 pounds, while Fox and Williams would need 22.

No one's caught 25 yet, but a bag like that's a very real possibility – especially down south where Williams is fishing. And the co-anglers are done, so the pros will have their fish to themselves tomorrow.

Young Wants It

Young doesn't care about the money – he wants the trophy, and the pride that only comes from beating the best. He's won just about everything there is to win on Kentucky Lake, except a tour-level event.

"There's a lot of guys in this world who've never won," he said. "It would mean everything, just because I could always say that I won one of these. That's what it's all about. They money's great, but to notch a win would mean more to me than all the money they could give me. That's why I do this – why I'm in this sport. I want to win.

"I feel good about tomorrow, whether it happens or not," he added. "For 2 days I've only had one fish at 10:00. If I was like, 'Oh well, I'm not going to do any good,' I wouldn't have. But it seems like up in the day I go do the right thing and it all comes together. I had enough fish on today that maybe I could do the same tomorrow. It's just according to how big a stringer Larry catches. It's really tight."

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Brett Carlson Larry Nixon's been saving one spot where he caught a 7 in practice, and will probably make the long run there tomorrow.

Asked if he was upset about his allegation that Nixon worked with Schroeder prior to the cutoff, Young said: "No. I'd say every guy here got help. A few of the local guys even told me about some spots before the cutoff, and I went to them today. It's no big deal."

Young's also faced with crowding, which has affected nearly everyone in the Top 10. He said he had to skip eight of his spots today because they were covered up.

"There's a lot of people out there fishing. That's just a part of it. The other anglers are dealing with that too. It's no big deal."

He noted also that he's fishing from "the dam to the Paris Landing bridge." In other words, he's running all over the place.

2nd: Fire, Then Fizzle For Nixon

Nixon had all his weight by 8:00 this morning, and nothing much happened after that.

"I caught five so fast this morning it'd make your head spin," he said. "Then I went back and tried to pick up on three or four schools I lost and never could find them."

About his dead-fish penalty, he said: "One was bad-hooked and it cost me 8 pounds. There was nothing I could do.

"I've got to do something (different) tomorrow," he added. "If I can get them out of my main holes early I'll be okay. If they quit me, I'll have to make a major adjustment. I can't seem to pick up those other schools. I don't know if they're not running enough water – they might come back if they do. But it gets so tough after the morning bite."

Also key is the veteran has one spot he's saved that he thinks no one else has "wet a hook in yet." He caught a 7-pounder there in practice, but isn't sure if those fish have moved. He hasn't checked it in competition for fear of exposing it.

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Brett Carlson Travis Fox is fishing north and lost his late bite today.

3rd: Fox Lost Late Bite

Fox, fishing his first full Tour season, agrees he's got some big names ahead of him.

"They're not just big names, but very experienced names," he said. "But on the other hand, when I look at some of the guys who were ahead of me going into today, and now they're behind me – it puts the thing in a whole new perspective. I look at it and say, 'Hey, I can do this – it can be done. It's Kentucky Lake and it's anybody's ballgame.

"But it's not just the guys ahead of you that you have to look at. It's the guys behind you. Once again, it's Kentucky Lake, and it's capable of a 30-pound stringer for somebody."

He's fishing north, close to the takeoff from days 1 and 2 (the launch moved downlake about 15 miles today), and he's fishing around a wad of other local and recreational boats. That hampered him quite a bit, and he had to share several spots today, and even alternate casts at one point.

About his day, he said: "It was the toughest day I've had by far. The past 2 days – they started off a little bit slow, but at 1:30, it was like somebody turned on a light switch. And man, that last hour of fishing was incredible.

"This morning I had a limit by 9:00. I stayed on my spots and ended up catching one more 5-pounder, but I only caught one keeper after that. My afternoon bite never turned on. I never even got a bite on my best spot. They didn't generate any water, and I think that's what hurt me and other people as well.

"Today I really beat my spots hard," he added. "I don't have anything I haven't fished, so tomorrow I'm going to fish more spots in less amount of time. In other words, I'll try to find active schools instead of trying to make them bite somewhere."

4th: Williams Covered Up

As noted, Williams made the big run south and ran smack dab into the middle of a 170-boat tournament that launched virtually on top of his water.

"There were at least two boats on every one of my holes," he said. "Most of them were cordial. A few would pull up in front of me, drop the trolling motor and not really care. I'd pull in behind some and they'd get mad. But it was okay. My partner caught 19-11 out of the back of my boat and won, and I caught 18-05. I'm just lucky I caught what I caught with all that pressure. It was crazy."

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Rob Newell Keith Williams got covered up today, but should see less traffic tomorrow.

His day did start slower than normal – there was no current, he said. But his co-angler was catching fish on a worm, whereas he was throwing a jig. When he switched to a worm, he started getting hit. If he can't get the jig going tomorrow, he plans to switch quickly to the worm and stay with it.

About whether or not he thinks he can win, he said: "I can. I don't really know if the chances are that good, but I'm around some really big fish. My partner had one almost 7 pounds, and I had one that must have been close to 7 pounds. I weighed 18-07, but had a dead-fish penalty, and four of them weren't that big. If I can get two big ones like that and a 5-pounder and a few keepers, that's what it'll take to win. Everything has to go right."

Additional Notes

Here are some notes from the field gathered from today's weigh-in.

5th: Mark Rose (5, 14-00)
"I really do (have some work tomorrow), but what better place to do it? I'm going to stay positive. I'm just having fun out here. I really wanted to make this cut. I thought I had enough schools of fish found. I did, but those fish – they've been up there on those (shell) bars. I made the cut here in the Stren (on those spots), and it's kind of right where they pull out to (for) post-spawn. But they're starting to move out on the ends of the tips right now. You can see them deep. I do thank the Lord for those five. I'm excited to go out fishing on Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River tomorrow."

6th: Kenneth "Boo" Woods (5, 13-12)
"There was a lot of pressure down there (in the south end), but that doesn't really matter. I just want to thank the Lord for all he's done for me, FLW for running one of the best events I've ever been a part of, and I'd just like to thank Kentucky Lake – all the people around it, keeping it clean. This is the best fishery in the world."

7th: Bobby McMullin (5, 13-03)
"I'm really glad to make this (Top 10). My goal when I started out was just to fish the Strens, maybe make the championship and get on TV so my grandkids could see Papa on TV. But I can't really catch them when I need to when (I) get on the TV."

8th: Ron Shuffield (3, 12-13)
"I've not had a ton of keeper bites all week. We probably caught 60 or 70 fish today and went through a lot of short fish. I'm throwing a big old Berkley swimbait. I only had five or six possible keepers hit today. They just didn't eat it. The fish are a little slow – lethargic. I don't think the water moved much today."

9th: Ott Defoe (5, 12-02)
"The Lord really blessed me to be in this Top 10. I practiced (only) 7 hours in the area I'm fishing, so to have made the Top 10 – I'm very blessed to be here. I'm going to go out and swing for the fences. I don't have anything to lose. I'm just going to go out and see what I can catch tomorrow."

10th: Jason Christie (5, 11-07)
"I'm making a pretty good run, but I'm going the opposite direction of everybody else. I had a ton of boat pressure. I ran through the canal. On the way down there I saw two other boats. I thought, 'This is going to be great – I'm not going to see anybody.' I came through the canal to my first spot and there were probably 15 boats there and it was like that all the way up Barkley. But this is a place where you can pull up and catch 25 pounds, so I'm looking forward to it. I've got four schools that have big fish. Between me and my co-anglers I think we've got 80 pounds this week. It's a fun place to fish."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 10 anglers, 9 limits, 1 three.

> Williams' father Jerry fished the Tour for 9 years, but now fishes lower-level events like the BFLs and Bassmaster Opens.

> Five of the Top 10 pros reside in Arkansas.

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the final tournament day.

> Sun., June 14 - PM T-Storms - 85/69
- Wind: From the E/SE at 5 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. David Young -- Mayfield, KY -- 5, 20-01

2. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, AR -- 5, 19-08

3. Travis Fox -- Springdale, AR -- 5, 17-15

4. Keith Williams -- Conway, AR -- 5, 17-13

5. Mark Rose -- Marion, AR -- 5, 14-00

6. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- Hazard, KY -- 5, 13-12

7. Bobby Mcmullin -- Pevely, MO -- 5, 13-03

8. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, AR -- 3, 12-13

9. Ott Defoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 12-02

10. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 11-07