By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
The two guys who are arguably the top smallmouth-catchers in the game are among the Top 3 heading into the final day of the Lake Erie FLW Pro Circuit Super Tournament. Sandwiched between them is a competitor who's about as hot as any professional angler has ever been.
Josh Bertrand recaptured the lead on day 3 with a 22-14 stringer – his best of the event. With a 62-12 total, he has a 2-03 advantage over Jacob Wheeler, who's bidding for his second victory in the three Super Tournaments featuring the full Pro Circuit field, plus about 50 Bass Pro Tour competitors. Wheeler, who's had a stranglehold on the No. 1 position in the BassFan World Rankings for the past 13 months, won the initial combined event at Lake Chickamauga and was the runner-up at the Mississippi River.
Wheeler boxed 22-05 on day 3 for a 60-09 aggregate. In 3rd is Justin Lucas, the day-2 leader and winner of the BPT season finale at Sturgeon Bay last month (where Bertrand was 3rd). Lucas' 18-03 bag gave him a 59-08 total.
In 4th is Spencer Shuffield, who's making the long run to Lake St. Clair each day. He boosted his total to 57-14 with a 19-03 haul.
Alton Jones Jr., another St. Clair traveler, completes the Top 5 with 57-00 (16-03 on day 3). The lower half of the Top 10 consists of Detroit River system ace Scott Dobson with 55-04 (18-00), longtime northern smallmouth guru Jim Moynagh with 54-06 (18-04), offshore specialist Jason Lambert with 53-03 (19-11), four-time FLW Angler of the Year David Dudley with 52-11 (18-05) and the most surprising finalist, Alabama power-fishing devotee Russ Lane with 52-02 (17-06).
John Cox caught 20-07 on day 3 to equal Lane's total, but the latter won the tiebreaker by virtue of a higher placement in the day-2 standings (14th vs. 31st).
Fears that the action would be confined to Sandusky Bay due to strong northeast winds proved unfounded, but that possibility still exists for the final round. Friday's forecast calls for a partly cloudy sky, a high temperature of 82 degrees and wind at 10 to 20 mph.
Bertrand laid a strong foundation for his day with three fish in the first 90 minutes, including two that combined to weigh about 9 pounds. He got only four bites the rest of the day for a total number that's about standard for the competitors fishing on Erie.
Jacob Wheeler assured himself of his third Top-10 finish in a Super Tournament.
"Getting those big ones early was everything," he said. "Three fish in an hour and a half isn't exactly fast and furious, but it helped me settle down. Yesterday (when he weighed 17-08) I didn't catch any early and it was really an uphill battle."
He sees Lucas frequently throughout the day and had been sharing some water with Jeremy Lawyer and Joseph Webster. The latter two bowed out of the event on day 3, so he should have more to himself in the final round.
"There's definitely the potential for a huge bag out there, but for me the big key is getting five keeper bites. If I can do that, I've got a reasonable chance of having another good bag."
Wheeler, who lost about an hour and a half of fishing due to an equipment issue, went through a dozen keepers, with most coming from a place that he hadn't yet fished hard during the event. He said there's more there that he'll pursue on day 4.
His best specimen was a 5-pounder and the smallest he weighed was a little under 4. He lost one that he said would've helped him by about half a pound.
He thinks he'll need a bag in the 23-pound range to have a shot at his third tour-level win of the year (he also won the BPT opener at Lake Eufaula in February).
"I just don't know if I can catch that because it's so easy to go out and not catch a big bag," he said. "Bertrand's probably the best smallmouth fisherman there is and I'll be surprised if he doesn't catch 20 pounds."
Lucas' bag was his lightest yet by more than a pound and a half. He caught everything from two locales and will be reliant on those during the final round.
"I tried to hit some other stuff, but I couldn't do anything," he said. "The fish didn't seem to be anywhere I was going other than my two spots.
"If we get to go to the lake I think I can get a limit for 17 or 18 pounds off them again. If I can do that, then I'll look for some new stuff to try to catch a couple of upgrades. I really don't have anything left."
Shuffield said he's run more than 500 miles this week on his forays to St. Clair. He'll go again if it's permitted.
He fished for a little over 2 hours and caught 12 or 13 keepers, including a pair of 4 1/4-pounders. He has a place that's given him at least one big bite each day, but most of them turned finicky on day 3.
"They were piled in there, but they didn't want to eat," he said. "They'd follow the bait down to the bottom and almost all the way back to the boat, but they wouldn't bite."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 27 limits, 6 fours, 3 threes, 6 twos, 2 ones, 6 zeroes.
> Kyle Hall of Texas clinched the Rookie of the Year award with a 26th-place finish.
Weather Forecast
> Fri., Aug. 14 – Partly Cloudy - 82°/71°
- Wind: From the ENE at 10 to 20 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Josh Bertrand -- San Tan Valley, Az -- 22-6 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 22-14 (5) -- 62-12 (15)
2. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, Tn -- 20-6 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 22-5 (5) -- 60-9 (15)
3. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Al -- 21-7 (5) -- 19-14 (5) -- 18-3 (5) -- 59-8 (15)
4. Spencer Shuffield -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 18-3 (5) -- 20-8 (5) -- 19-3 (5) -- 57-14 (15)
5. Alton Jones Jr -- Lorena, Tx -- 19-0 (5) -- 21-13 (5) -- 16-3 (5) -- 57-0 (15)
6. Scott Dobson -- Clarkston, Mi -- 17-14 (5) -- 19-6 (5) -- 18-0 (5) -- 55-4 (15)
7. Jim Moynagh -- Shakopee, Mn -- 18-4 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 18-4 (5) -- 54-6 (15)
8. Jason Lambert -- Michie, Tn -- 16-9 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 19-11 (5) -- 53-3 (15)
9. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 15-13 (5) -- 18-9 (5) -- 18-5 (5) -- 52-11 (15)
10. Russell Lane -- Prattville, Al -- 15-9 (5) -- 19-3 (5) -- 17-6 (5) -- 52-2 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 14-5 (5) -- 17-6 (5) -- 20-7 (5) -- 52-2 (15) -- $14,000
12. Grae Buck -- Green Lane, Pa -- 12-1 (5) -- 21-10 (5) -- 17-13 (5) -- 51-8 (15) -- $14,000
13. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 17-7 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 51-4 (15) -- $14,000
14. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, Al -- 21-14 (5) -- 13-1 (4) -- 14-15 (5) -- 49-14 (14) -- $14,000
15. Joseph Webster -- Winfield, Al -- 20-14 (5) -- 13-8 (4) -- 15-5 (5) -- 49-11 (14) -- $14,000
16. Matt Becker -- Finleyville, Pa -- 10-11 (5) -- 19-12 (5) -- 18-13 (5) -- 49-4 (15) -- $14,000
17. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, Al -- 15-13 (5) -- 19-4 (5) -- 14-2 (5) -- 49-3 (15) -- $14,000
18. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Tx -- 19-1 (5) -- 18-8 (5) -- 11-2 (3) -- 48-11 (13) -- $14,000
19. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 18-8 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 12-11 (4) -- 47-15 (14) -- $14,000
20. Jeremy Lawyer -- Sarcoxie, Mo -- 20-14 (5) -- 20-4 (5) -- 6-8 (2) -- 47-10 (12) -- $14,000
21. Cole Floyd -- Leesburg, Oh -- 14-12 (5) -- 17-4 (5) -- 15-9 (5) -- 47-9 (15) -- $11,000
22. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, Al -- 16-6 (5) -- 18-6 (5) -- 12-12 (3) -- 47-8 (13) -- $11,000
23. Fred Roumbanis -- London, Ar -- 18-1 (5) -- 18-4 (5) -- 10-15 (4) -- 47-4 (14) -- $11,000
24. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Ca -- 12-4 (4) -- 19-7 (5) -- 14-2 (4) -- 45-13 (13) -- $11,000
25. Mitch Crane -- Columbus, Ms -- 15-7 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 45-1 (15) -- $11,000
26. Kyle Hall -- Granbury, Tx -- 13-3 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 16-0 (5) -- 45-1 (15) -- $11,000
27. Jonathan Canada -- Helena, Al -- 8-0 (5) -- 24-8 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 44-15 (15) -- $11,000
28. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mi -- 17-3 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 44-0 (15) -- $11,000
29. Cliff Pace -- Petal, Ms -- 15-11 (5) -- 17-4 (5) -- 10-9 (5) -- 43-8 (15) -- $11,000
30. Joshua Weaver -- Macon, Ga -- 13-1 (5) -- 19-0 (5) -- 11-5 (4) -- 43-6 (14) -- $11,000
31. Clark Reehm -- Elm Grove, La -- 13-2 (5) -- 18-1 (5) -- 11-4 (5) -- 42-7 (15) -- $10,000
32. Barron Adams -- Mineral Bluff, Ga -- 11-1 (4) -- 18-13 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 42-6 (14) -- $10,000
33. Tyler Woolcott -- Port Orange, Fl -- 14-10 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 41-1 (15) -- $10,000
34. Ron Nelson -- Berrien Springs, Mi -- 15-2 (4) -- 19-2 (5) -- 6-1 (2) -- 40-5 (11) -- $10,500
35. Miles Burghoff -- Soddy-Daisy, Tn -- 14-8 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 9-2 (4) -- 39-7 (14) -- $10,000
36. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 14-8 (5) -- 13-7 (5) -- 10-1 (4) -- 38-0 (14) -- $10,000
37. Dakota Ebare -- Denham Springs, La -- 13-1 (5) -- 16-2 (5) -- 8-4 (4) -- 37-7 (14) -- $10,000
38. Wade Strelic -- Alpine, Ca -- 12-14 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 6-0 (2) -- 35-4 (12) -- $10,000
39. Rusty Salewske -- Alpine, Ca -- 14-12 (5) -- 15-4 (5) -- 5-2 (2) -- 35-2 (12) -- $10,000
40. Tim Frederick -- Leesburg, Fl -- 13-0 (5) -- 15-4 (5) -- 6-4 (3) -- 34-8 (13) -- $10,000
41. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, Tx -- 19-10 (5) -- 10-13 (4) -- 3-15 (1) -- 34-6 (10) -- $10,000
42. Billy Hines -- Vacaville, Ca -- 12-8 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 4-9 (2) -- 33-13 (12) -- $10,000
43. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 13-1 (5) -- 19-1 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 32-2 (10) -- $10,000
44. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 17-5 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 4-4 (2) -- 31-15 (12) -- $10,000
45. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 16-0 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 31-13 (10) -- $10,000
46. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 14-4 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 2-8 (1) -- 31-12 (11) -- $10,000
47. Kerry Milner -- Fisher, Ar -- 14-13 (5) -- 16-2 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 30-15 (10) -- $10,000
48. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, Al -- 15-13 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 29-7 (10) -- $10,000
49. Lane Olson -- Sherwood, Or -- 15-6 (5) -- 13-9 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 28-15 (10) -- $10,000
50. Bradley Dortch -- Atmore, Al -- 9-2 (4) -- 19-4 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 28-6 (9) -- $10,000
