Benton's Big Day Has Him Out Front

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Drew Benton knew it was going to get hot today so he took a dip in the waters of Lake Travis to cool off ahead of time. That’s the story he wants you to hear.

The reality of it is was as he was fighting a fish he’d hooked in a dock slip (and over a walkway) Saturday morning, he tried to maneuver his boat into a better position, only to bump into the dock and launch himself into the lake. He was uninjured and eventually got himself back in the boat.

Despite the mishap being captured by Bassmaster Live cameras, it didn’t knock him off his game at all as the Florida native logged the biggest stringer of the day (20-04) and the day’s only 20-pound effort to catapult himself into the lead entering the final day of Toyota Texas Fest. He moved up from 5th to 1st where he has a 51-00 total through three days, a little more than 2 1/2 pounds ahead of day-2 leader Jacob Wheeler.

Wheeler registered his smallest limit of the tournament with 12-15, but his 48-06 total still has him in the hunt for his second career BASSFest/Texas Fest win.

Cliff Pace held onto 3rd for the third straight day after logging 13-07 to push his total to 46-03. Brent Chapman made an eight-spot improvement to 4th behind a 15-12 stringer that has him at 43-05.

Bobby Lane caught 12-14 and will head out 5th in the morning with 43-02.

Here's a look at the Top 12 entering the final day of competition, with deficit margin from Benton indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Drew Benton: 51-00
2. Jacob Wheeler: 48-06 (2-10)
3. Cliff Pace: 46-03 (4-13)
4. Brent Chapman: 43-05 (7-11)
5. Bobby Lane: 43-02 (7-14)
6. Ray Hanselman: 42-15 (8-01)
7. Clifford Pirch: 42-03 (8-13)
8. Jamie Hartman: 41-12 (9-04)
9. Jason Christie: 41-02 (9-14)
10. Keith Combs: 40-06 (10-10)
11. Marty Robinson: 40-04 (10-12)
12. Gerald Spohrer: 39-10 (11-06)

The winds and clouds most competitors were hoping for came as advertised. However, the boat traffic that Travis is known for, especially on summer weekends, may have negated the positive impact of those factors. The biggest stringer other than Benton’s was a 17-06 effort by Keith Combs, who made the top-12 cut in 10th place. Only three only anglers eclipsed 15 pounds. There were 27 bags that weighed less than 10 pounds.

Combs’ strong day resulted in a 32-spot climb while Jamie Hartman improved 12 spots to make the cut in 8th after catching 15 pounds for the second straight day. Gerald Spohrer improved 11 spots and made the cut in 12th while Clifford Pirch jumped nine spots to 7th.

Kevin VanDam caught 8-09 today and slipped from 7th to 13th, missing the cut by 13 ounces. Hank Cherry (8th to 20th), Jacob Powroznik (10th to 25th) and Jake Whitaker (11th to 21st) also saw their tournaments come to an end today.

Tomorrow’s forecast for the Austin area calls for some clouds and air temps in the mid 90s with a slight southeasterly wind as the finalists vie for a $100,000 payday and a berth in next year’s Bassmaster Classic.

Morning Mayhem for Benton

> Day 3: 5, 20-04 (15, 51-00)

The sequence that followed Benton getting back in his boat was deemed a violation of Elite Series Rule C15 regarding competitors remaining in their boats, and Benton will serve a 15-minute penalty Sunday morning after the other finalists leave the dock.

That could shave some prime time off what’s been a dynamic early-morning bite, but he’s hopeful the clouds that are in Sunday’s forecast make it a moot issue and it doesn’t cost him anything significant.

According to what Benton was told, the violation occurred when he stepped on the dock to retrieve his bait, which he assumed no longer had a fish on it. He believed it was hung on the dock somewhere.

“I was just going up to get my bait back so I stepped on the dock and when I stepped on the dock I didn’t realize I shifted my weight,” he said. “I felt a fish move and I picked it up over the dock.”

He said the fish weighed 1-05 and didn’t factor into his weight for the day. Still, he’ll be penalized to start the final day.

“I caught ‘em really fast this morning,” he said. “I got there probably around 6:30 and had 18 pounds by 7:15 or 7:25. (The penalty) could be a big deal, but hopefully not. It’s supposed to be cloudy and overcast, but we’ll see.”

Benton’s unplanned dip in the lake occurred after he pitched his bait over a walkway into a boat slip. He set the hook on a fish and tried to swing his boat into a better position. As he did, the nose of his boat contacted the dock, thrusting Benton over the side.

“I thought it was a decent one and my intention was to ease up to the dock and put a foot on it and stick my rod over and get it unhung,” he said. “I came over a little too hard and went in the water.”

He still had the rod in his hands, but he wound up pushing the button to let the line free spool so the rod didn’t get pulled into the water while he got himself back in the boat. By the time he got back in the boat, he was sure the fish had gotten off.

“I took my time getting back in the boat and fishing my flip flops out of the water and had a laugh with my marshal and camera guy,” he said.

Then he discovered he still had a fish on.

“It could’ve been the same fish or another one could’ve come up and got it,” he added.

Either way, he’s in position to win his first Elite Series title and claim his second career tour-level victory.

“It feels great,” he said. “This is a really tough tournament on a tough fishery. You almost have to fish every day like it’s a new day. I feel good about it, but at the same time you don’t know what to expect. I think I’m doing the right stuff. If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be.”

After his morning flurry, he culled twice in the afternoon.

“When it was rough from the boat wakes, some of the stretches where I’ve thrown a topwater, I could throw a jerkait and get bit, but the quality isn’t there,” he said. “It’s just keepers and non-keepers. I have to keep that topwater in my hands because the big ones are biting it.”

2nd: Big Ones Still Eluding Wheeler

> Day 3: 5, 12-15 (15, 48-06)

Wheeler thought the conditions would’ve helped the fishing today, but he’s learned to expect the unexpected at Travis this week. He also learned that despite notching his smallest limit of the event, he still has a legitimate shot at winning Sunday.

“If I could get lucky and get a 6 or 7(-pounder) that makes up that margin real quick,” he said. “I’m 2 1/2 back, but it’s really anybody’s ball game in the top 5 because it’s so hard to be consistent.”

Wheeler said he won’t be as reliant on docks Sunday as he has been, but they’ll still play a part in his game plan.

“I will still rotate some of them, but I will stick to my plan of fishing deep and shallow,” he said. “If I can catch a couple big ones I’ll be alright.”

He said the big fish have been hard to pattern and he feels like he’s due for one. Through three days, his biggest fish has weighed 5-02.

“It’s so easy to catch less than 10 pounds,” he said. “I knew after day 1 if I could catch 10 to 18 pounds each day and possibly 20 if I could get lucky, I’d have a good tournament. If I catch 14 to 18 pounds tomorrow, I’ll have a shot. I know I can put those 2 1/2- to 3-pounders with (a big one). The biggest difference between today and Friday was I caught two 4s out deep Friday and I never had one over 2 1/2 today.”

3rd: Pace Still Chasing Kickers

> Day 3: 5, 13-07 (15, 46-03)

The only way Pace sees himself breaking free from 3rd place is to catch difference-makers. That’s easier said than done at Travis, where he saw his keeper ratio go up today.

“This lake is all about catching kickers,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to catch what I caught and I caught them diff today than I caught them yesterday. I’m just fishing as hard as I can and if the Good Lord allows me to catch them again tomorrow, I’ll be happy with that. If I knew how to catch 17 pounds I’d have caught it last two days.

All of his fish weighed between 2-05 and 3-12 and he didn’t upgrade after 10:45 a.m.

“I fished for big ones out deep for 3 hours today, but never caught one,” he added. “Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe I should’ve kept grinding away, but it’s hard to keep on keeping on after catching 50 non-keepers. I’m trying to learn as I go.”

4th: River’s Been Good to Chapman

> Day 3: 5, 15-12 (15, 43-05)

Chapman is facing more than a 7 1/2-pound deficit, but he’s not waving the white flag of surrender. He’s settled into a rhythm up the Colorado River in some stained water and hopes to be able to pick apart some areas Sunday that he hasn’t been able to fish due to other competitors being there.

“Nothing that says I can’t catch 25 (pounds) and win this deal,” he said. “I had a decent day up there Monday and Tuesday and I committed to it. Now that the competition isn’t up there helping me, I’m hoping it’ll get better. That’s what helped me today. Stuff could sit and rest with fewer boats up there. It gave me a chance to move around a little bit.”

Chapman will leave Travis with the lead in the Angler of the Year points, but not before he revisits a certain bush on Sunday that produced 3 1/2-pounders on consecutive casts today.

“I caught a 3-10, weighed it and put it in my livewell,” he said. “Then on my next pitch, I caught a 3-11 out of the same little bush. That bush will a few more of my baits (tomorrow). It’s the type of place where I could catch two 6s.”

5th: Lane Goes Back to What Works

> Day 3: 5, 12-14 (15, 43-02)

Lane has been on a good roll of late as he followed up a 7th-place showing at Kentucky Lake with a 16th at the Lake Norman Eastern Open. Now, he’s got an outside shot at a second career Elite Series win.

“It feels good,” he said. “It feels like I’m back a little bit. I always start second guessing myself, but I love the post-spawn bite. I thrive on this and it’s been going on the last three tournaments, and I’ve been capitalizing so that’s nice.”

He knows tomorrow’s outcome will be determined by the theme that has dominated this tournament so far – catch a big one (or two) and watch your name rise up the leaderboard.

“It boils down to who gets the bigger fish and if that fish or two of them commit to your bait,” he said. “There are too many 6- to 9-pound stringers weighed in. It could happen to any one of us tomorrow and another could blow it out of the water. It could happen in a matter of 10 to 15 minutes. It’s not a consistent fishing lake so I feel fortunate to be going tomorrow.”

He’s tried to change his strategy in hopes to coaxing bigger fish to bite after his day-1 haul of 21-02, but he’s yet to find the right formula.

“I tried to mix things up and run the wind, but had no success,” he said. “I went back to what was working and started catching them again. Guys have located where the fish are and I’ve seen enough to win the tournament and so have other boats who’ve been in there. We thought that with the clouds and wind we were going to kill ‘em. Guess what? We didn’t so I’ll be pretty content throwing my wacky worm and topwater and jerkbait and hope one of those big ones fire.”

15th: Day-1 Clue Helped Lintner

> Day 3: 5, 12-05 (15, 37-07)

After two days of practice, Jared Lintner didn’t like his prospects for the tournament. His best bet was working a dropshot off humps and points. Even then, he was only catching 14- and 15-inch fish.

“At the of the day, I was like, ‘This is not good,’” he said.

Things got progressively better for him after catching 8-11 on day 1 of the tournament. He bounced back with 16-07 on Friday and 12-05 today to rally from 75th to finish 15th. His comeback kept in the AOY mix as he’s now up to 4th place in points.

The key moment for him was a 2 1/2-pounder he caught late on day 1 that clued him in that some better fish were hanging around in shallow water around rocks. He opted to tap into the water behind the big marinas on day 2 with a walking topwater bait.

“It shocked me how many big ones are there, but they are just really hard to catch,” he said. “They’re all in 1 to 4 feet of water. On Friday, I caught a 6-15 in 18 inches of water. Today, I caught a 5-05 in maybe 8 inches. I saw several other giants that followed my bait.”

He said it was hard to figure why so many big fish were hanging out in such shallow water with water temps in the low 80s.

“They were on slow tapering banks with sand from the shore out a couple feet then had a line of rocks,” he said. “The fish were just on there. For the life of me I don’t know why.”

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 50 anglers, 46 limits, 3 fours, 1 three.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., May 20 – Partly Cloudy - 94°/69°
- Wind: From the SE at 5 to 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 15, 51-00 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13 -- Day 3: 5, 20-04

2. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, TN -- 15, 48-06 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

3. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 46-03 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

4. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 43-05 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12

5. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL -- 15, 43-02 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 09-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-14

6. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 14, 42-15 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 21-15 -- Day 2: 4, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14

7. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 42-03 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-01

8. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 15, 41-12 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 11-07 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

9. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 41-02 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 10-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 08-11

10. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 40-06 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 17-06

11. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 14, 40-04 -- 100
Day 1: 4, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08

12. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 39-10 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01

The following anglers missed the cut and will not compete on day 4.

13. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 38-13 -- 98 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 5, 08-09

14. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 14, 37-13 -- 97 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 4, 11-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-03

15. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 37-07 -- 96 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-07 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

16. Gary Klein -- Mingus, TX -- 15, 37-05 -- 95 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 10-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12 -- Day 3: 5, 10-08

17. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 37-02 -- 94 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-02

18. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 15, 36-13 -- 93 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 07-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-12

19. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 36-11 -- 92 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 09-10

20. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 36-06 -- 91 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 06-12

21. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 15, 36-05 -- 90 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 08-10

22. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 15, 36-02 -- 89 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06 -- Day 3: 5, 08-13

23. Mark Daniels Jr. Tuskegee, AL -- 15, 36-02 -- 88 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02

24. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 13, 36-01 -- 87 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 3, 09-04

25. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 15 -- 35-12 -- 86 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 08-06 -- Day 3: 5, 08-01

26. Josh Bertrand -- San Tan Valley, AZ -- 15, 35-07 -- 85 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 08-02 -- Day 3: 5, 08-00

27. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- -- 15, 35-05 -- 84 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-15 -- Day 3: 5, 10-13

28. Mike McClelland -- Bentonville, AR -- 15, 35-04 -- 83 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

29. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, CA -- 15, 35-03 -- 82 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 07-13

30. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 15, 34-13 -- 81 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 09-03

31. Chad Pipkens -- Lansing, MI -- 14, 34-10 -- 80 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 4, 10-13

32. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 34-08 -- 79 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-05 -- Day 3: 5, 09-06

33. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 15, 34-05 -- 78 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 10-07

34. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 34-02 -- 77 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13 -- Day 3: 5, 09-04

35. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 33-12 -- 76 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-13

36. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 33-11 -- 75 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 07-01

37. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 33-11 -- 74 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-12 -- Day 2: 5, 09-13 -- Day 3: 5, 12-02

38. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 15, 33-09 -- 73 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 08-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-13

39. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 14, 33-08 -- 72 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-06 -- Day 3: 4, 07-09

40. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 33-00 -- 71 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 08-08 -- Day 3: 5, 10-03

41. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 15, 32-13 -- 70 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 5, 09-08

42. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 15, 32-13 -- 69 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08

43. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 32-01 -- 68 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 10-12 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 06-11

44. Shin Fukae -- Palestine TX JAPAN -- 15, 31-07 -- 67 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-06 -- Day 3: 5, 07-10

45. Brandon Palaniuk -- Hayden, ID -- 15, 30-13 -- 66 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 06-13 -- Day 3: 5, 08-03

46. Jonathon VanDam -- Gobles, MI -- 14, 30-10 -- 65 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 4, 08-07

47. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 15, 30-07 -- 64 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 07-06

48. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 30-02 -- 63 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 08-10

49. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 29-15 -- 62 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 07-01 -- Day 3: 5, 08-05

50. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 14, 29-14 -- 61 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 08-12 -- Day 2: 4, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 06-06