Go ahead and throw away everything you know about winning weights at Lake Conroe, because Keith Combs and Mike Iaconelli are averaging at least 26 pounds a day at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.
On a post-frontal day that delivered high skies and still waters, combs clobbered 27-04 and now leads with a monstrous 2-day, 55-12 total.
Ike walloped 25 even today and sits exactly 4 pounds behind Combs with 1 day left to fish.
Everyone else is fishing for 3rd.
Todd Auten currently occupies that 3rd-place spot with 41-12, which is 14 pounds behind Combs.
The biggest surprise of the day was Alton Jones, who stuck with his best area in hopes the big fish would turn on. Jones didn't have a keeper at 2:00, limped in with 9-08 and fell from 3rd to 8th.
A few notable climbers today were Edwin Evers (23rd to 4th), Brain Snowden (23rd to 5th), Steve Kennedy (41st to 7th) and Mark Rose (23rd to 10th).
Rose was the last angler in today's Top-10 cut. Following is a look at that Top 10. For each pro, total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.
1. Keith Combs -- 55-12
2. Mike Iaconelli -- 51-12 (4-00)
3. Todd Auten -- 41-12 (14-00)
4. Edwin Evers -- 38-12 (17-00)
5. Brian Snowden -- 36-04 (19-08)
6. Ott Defoe -- 36-00 (19-12)
7. Steve Kennedy -- 34-00 (21-00)
8. Wesley Strader -- 33-12 (22-00)
8. Alton Jones -- 33-12 (22-00)
10. Mark Rose -- 32-12 (23-00)
What's especially fascinating about the two-horse race is that the two are fishing contrasting styles. Combs is running and gunning and junking – he said he made about 50 stops today. Ike, on the other hand, is camping and he caught nearly all his weight from the same spot that produced his hefty day-1 sack.
Combs Calls it a 'Grind'
> Day 2: 5, 27-04 (10, 55-12)
Combs went 3 hours without a bite yesterday, and suffered the same thing today. So it's not easy for him and he's not catching nearly the numbers Ike is.
Still, Combs has been able to rope a giant each day – a 10- 1/2 yesterday and two 7s today. It'll likely take at least one more to win tomorrow, perhaps two.
"It feels great," Combs said shortly after he trailered his boat. "I was kind of hoping to get a little breathing room, but Iaconelli's relentless.
"As far as catching big ones, I had an exceptional day," Combs added. "I'm not getting a lot of bites, but I caught three big ones and two smaller ones. It's a grind though. You never know when you're going to get bit."
He did reveal that he's cranking, but there's no general pattern. His stops include drops, wood, brush, rockpiles – anything in any depth that might hold a fish. And that's his only pattern – he's got nothing to fall back on. He called it an "all or nothing deal."
About what a win tomorrow would mean to him, he said: "It would be huge. This field is stout, and fishing close to home is nice. There's a lot of people at the weigh-in that I knew and grew up with, so to do it in front of that crowd would be awesome. It would definitely be the biggest win of my career. I'll cut them no slack tomorrow."
His bag today included fish that weighed 7-04, 7, 6-12, 3-08 and 2-12.
2nd: Iaconelli in Familiar Spot
> Day 2: 5, 25-00 (10, 51-12)
Ike's had his share of runner-up heartbreaks, and one of those was his 2nd-place finish at last year's Texas Bass Classic.
He's the only one with a real shot at Combs, and a 4-pound deficit isn't that much, given the weight that he and Combs have caught the past 2 days. In fact, Ike's utterly shocked at what the duo caught today.
"I'll be honest, when I launched this morning, I thought it was going to be a brutally tough day," Ike said. "If you asked me this morning, I would have said 15 pounds was going to be a big bag. With the cold front and high, bluebird skies, I was sure it would be tough. It didn't work out that way – they bit pretty good again.
"I'll tell you, as long as I've been doing this, the fish never cease to amaze me."
He did hit more of his eight areas today, but as noted, he caught his fish in his primary area. He feels he can catch them there again tomorrow, but thinks the event is going to be decided by a big bite or two. If he can get two or there big bites, he feels he can catch Combs.
Mike Iaconelli relied on a single area again and thinks he can more there again tomorrow.
Interesting about his day was he fished around in the afternoon to rest his main area. He had 23 pounds, but felt he needed a bit more. So he returned to his primary area and within five casts caught a 5 1/2-pounder that helped him by 3 pounds.
About what a win tomorrow would mean, he said: "It would mean a lot. I'm never going to cry about coming in the Top 5 or 10 or having a lot of 2nds the last 3 or 4 years. That means you're fishing well and you have the potential to win. But I haven't had a big win in a long time and that's a bit frustrating. This would mean a lot, especially after coming so close last year.
"It would be a kind of exclamation point on the season and a nice way to end the year."
Additional Notes
Following are summaries from other anglers who made the Top 10.
3rd: Todd Auten (5, 24-04)
"I think I'm fishing tomorrow to hold onto 3rd. That's the way it looks. They're blowing this thing away. It's surprising, because I didn't think they'd bite like that on a day like today. But when I started catching them, then I thought, 'Well, maybe they are too.' This lake's amazing.
"The first day I fished shallow around the bank and pretty much got beat up. Today, with the bluebird skies and all, I had one deep place and I went and cranked some fish there. It was right near the channel in deeper water and I pulled up and caught them and left at 2:00.
"Hopefully I can go back tomorrow and catch some more, but I'm having to weed through a lot of stripers."
5th: Brian Snowden (5, 23-12)
"Yesterday we had 25 mph winds so I was unable to fish a lot of the places where I found fish. The wind was straight out of the north, so the offshore stuff was virtually impossible. Today the wind calmed down so I could fish what I practiced.
"It definitely feels good to make the Top 10. And if I can't win it, a Top 3 would be real nice. I'll try to move up a few spots and see what happens."
8th: Alton Jones (4, 9-08)
"Yesterday I left that school of big fish biting early, and you figure with as many big fish as there are there, there'd still be one or two hanging around. I stuck it out there most of the day. I moved around a little – I'd leave for 30 minutes then come back – but I knew my chance to win was sitting right there.
"I was thinking it was a timing deal and those big dogs would eventually come in. I finally abandoned it. I didn't have a keeper until 2:09 and I managed to catch four that weighed 9 1/2 in the last couple hours.
"It's a little disappointing. I'm excited to have made the Top 10, but I'm out of contention for winning. I'll just go out tomorrow and try to move as high as I can."
Notable
> This year's TTBC features a highly accurate and effective real-time scoring report. The technology, powered by fishhound.com, is updated through the day and allows fans to view catch summaries for each pro. To check it out, visit the leaderboard, then click on an angler to see when they caught their keepers today and yesterday.
Day 3 Standings
1. K. Combs -- TX -- 10, 55-12
2. M. Iaconelli -- NJ -- 10, 51-12
3. T. Auten -- SC -- 10, 41-12
4. E. Evers -- OK -- 10, 38-12
5. B. Snowden -- MO -- 10, 36-4
6. O. Defoe -- TN -- 10, 36-0
7. S. Kennedy -- AL -- 10, 34-0
8. W. Strader -- TN -- 10, 33-12
8. A. Jones -- TX -- 9, 33-12
10. M. Rose -- AR -- 10, 32-12
11. T. Omori -- TX -- 10, 32-4
12. D. Dudley -- VA -- 10, 31-12
13. S. Schenck -- IN -- 10, 30-12
13. G. Vinson -- AL -- 10, 30-12
15. B. Ehrler -- CA -- 10, 30-8
16. T. Butcher -- OK -- 10, 30-4
17. R. Howell -- AL -- 9, 30-0
18. M. McClelland -- AR -- 10, 29-4
18. T. Monsoor -- WI -- 10, 29-4
20. D. Robertson -- OK -- 10, 28-4
21. S. Blaylock -- AR -- 10, 28-0
21. G. Swindle -- AL -- 10, 28-0
23. K. VanDam -- MI -- 10, 27-0
24. K. Poche -- AL -- 10, 26-12
25. A. Martens -- AL -- 10, 26-8
25. T. Scroggins -- FL -- 10, 26-8
25. D. Walker -- TN -- 10, 26-8
28. T. Biffle -- OK -- 10, 26-4
28. J. Christie -- OK -- 10, 26-4
30. S. Martin -- FL -- 9, 26-0
31. S. Fukae -- TX -- 10, 25-12
31. C. Bird -- TX -- 9, 25-12
33. S. Long -- MO -- 9, 25-8
34. C. Meyer -- CA -- 10, 24-0
35. D. Remitz -- AL -- 10, 23-0
35. B. Travis -- NC -- 9, 23-0
37. B. Thrift -- NC -- 10, 22-8
37. C. Lane -- AL -- 8, 22-8
39. S. Canterbury -- AL -- 10, 22-4
40. C. Ashley -- SC -- 10, 21-12
41. D. Lefebre -- PA -- 10, 21-4
42. K. Jordon -- TX -- 10, 20-0
42. G. Klein -- TX -- 8, 20-0
44. H. Allen -- TX -- 8, 18-8
45. C. Brasher -- TX -- 6, 18-4
46. J. Watson -- MO -- 8, 17-12
47. G. Clouse -- TN -- 10, 17-0
48. G. Yamamoto -- TX -- 7, 16-12
49. C. Morgenthaler -- IL -- 7, 14-12
50. D. Brauer -- MO -- 5, 9-8
