Cox Still On Top Of Jam-Packed Leaderboard

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

It's official: John Cox will get no practice for next week's FLW TITLE Championship at Sturgeon Bay. But with his newfound proclivity for catching smallmouth, he may not need any.

He's on top of the leadeboard for the third consecutive day at the Lake St. Clair Bassmaster Elite Series, but only by the slimmest of margins and with the entire remaining field within easy striking distance with 1 day to go. Two competitors are just 1 ounce back and the Top 10 is separated by only 4 1/2 pounds.

Cox caught 20-12 on day 3 to push his total to 66-02. Rookie Cody Hollen (23-06) and Cory Johnston (23-01) have 66-01.

Clark Wendlandt trails by exactly 1 pound in 4th place after a 20-13 stringer gave him a 65-02 aggregate. Shane LeHew rounds out the Top 5 with 64-09 (21-00 on day 3).

The remaining list of contenders is comprised of Jay Yelas with 64-00 (20-01), Chris Johnston with 64-00 (21-02), Bill Weidler with 63-10 (22-10), Jake Whitaker with 62-07 (22-06) and Takumi Ito with 61-09 (19-03).

Chris Johnston was the winner of last month's event at the St. Lawrence River and his brother and Ito have solidified their third consecutive Top-10 placements. Weidler's finish will be his best of the campaign by far, as he fared no better than 57th in any of the previous four tournaments.

Mother Nature has been in a generous mood for this event and that will continue for the final round. The Sunday forecast predicts a mostly sunny sky, a high temperature of 88 degrees and wind from the south/southwest at about 10 mph.

Cox, who's fishing seawalls in the St. Clair River with a dropshot rig, endured a sluggish morning. The afternoon was much more productive, however, as the last five fish he caught were the ones he weighed and one of those checked in at a hefty 5-10.

His spots are getting hammered by locals as soon as he leaves them and some of the recreationists are throwing live bait.

"If I could get something going in the morning and catch a couple nice ones that were close to 4 pounds, I'd feel pretty good," he said. "Today was just a waste until about 11 o'clock. I can't move around like I could the first 2 days, when I could go back and revisit spots. Now if it's something that's already been shown (on the Bassmaster Live streaming coverage), there's boats on it.

"I was trying not to get frustrated and I slid up further to a place where I wasn't getting bites before and caught a 4 and a 3-06. The awhile later I caught a 4-something and I thought I was really going to start catching them, but then I didn't do anything after that. I finally stopped on a place where I caught a couple 2-pounders in practice and caught that 5-10."

There may be some new stops on his agenda for the final day.

"I might run some new stuff farther up the river to try to get away and see what happens. I might stop in the lake in the morning – I don't really want to, but it might be better than not catching anything in the morning.

"The water's falling really fast; it's down about a foot since the first day. That might help on some of the deeper spots that I thought had potential."

Hollen is in a position that's entirely new for him. His previous best finish was a 23rd in the opener at the St. Johns River.

"I'm 1 ounce out of the lead and I'm trying not to think about it," he said. "I'm not going out tomorrow thinking I'm going to win – I'm just going to go fishing and see what happens, which is what I did today.

"I'm not catching a bunch of fish, but I'm around the right ones. I don't know whether I can get them to bite tomorrow, but I'm going to give it everything I've got."

He's primarily dropshotting, but he catches a few fish each morning on a crankbait. His day-3 bag contained two bronzebacks in the 5-pound class.

"My second spot where I caught the big ones today, there's nobody else there," he said.

Cory Johnston has been among the Top 6 after each of the three weigh-ins. His day-3 bag was his heaviest by about a pound and a half.

"I ran into a few good ones," he said. "I've been catching quality all week, but I've had a hard time getting the 5-pounders and today I got two. My brother found an area where there's a bunch of fish and I spent a little time there and caught a few keepers, so it was a little bit of an area change and there was a little bit of luck involved."

He said the day-4 conditions should be ideal for catching a big bag.

"It'll be sunny and calm and that brings them up off the bottom where I can see them on the (Garmin) LiveScope. It'll be a matter of covering a lot of water and getting a few of those bigger bites. I can catch 20 to 21 pounds, but the difference (between that and a 23-pound sack) is 5-pounders."

Notable

> Day 3 stats: 40 anglers, 37 limits, 1 four, 2 threes.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., Aug. 23 – Mostly Sunny - 88°/68°
- Wind: From the SSW at 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. John Cox -- DeBary, FL -- 15, 66-02 -- 100 -- $1,000
Day 1: 5, 24-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-10 -- Day 3: 5, 20-12

2. Cody Hollen -- Beaverton, OR -- 15, 66-01 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-15 -- Day 3: 5, 23-06

3. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 15, 66-01 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05 -- Day 3: 5, 23-01

4. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 15, 65-02 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 24-05 -- Day 3: 5, 20-13

5. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 15, 64-09 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 21-12 -- Day 3: 5, 21-00

6. Jay Yelas -- Lincoln City, OR -- 15, 64-00 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-14 -- Day 3: 5, 20-01

7. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, ON -- 15, 64-00 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-03 -- Day 3: 5, 21-02

8. Bill Weidler -- Helena, AL -- 15, 63-10 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 5, 22-10

9. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 15, 62-07 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 21-10 -- Day 3: 5, 22-06

10. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 15, 61-09 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-11 -- Day 3: 5, 19-03

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

11. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 15, 61-05 -- 90 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 24-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-04 -- Day 3: 5, 17-15

12. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 15, 61-03 -- 89 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-04 -- Day 3: 5, 20-15

13. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 15, 60-15 -- 88 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 20-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07 -- Day 3: 5, 18-14

14. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 15, 60-14 -- 87 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 21-10 -- Day 2: 5, 19-10 -- Day 3: 5, 19-10

15. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 15, 60-03 -- 86 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15 -- Day 3: 5, 21-01

16. Destin DeMarion -- Grove City, PA -- 15, 60-02 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12 -- Day 3: 5, 21-11

17. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 15, 59-10 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05 -- Day 3: 5, 19-13

18. Hunter Shryock -- Newcomerstown, OH -- 15, 59-10 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 20-00 -- Day 3: 5, 21-01

19. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 15, 59-04 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-09 -- Day 2: 5, 19-10 -- Day 3: 5, 19-01

20. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 58-12 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-06 -- Day 3: 5, 19-07

21. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 15, 58-05 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-04

22. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 15, 57-14 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 19-09 -- Day 3: 5, 19-08

23. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 15, 57-10 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 22-03 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10

24. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 15, 57-02 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04 -- Day 3: 5, 21-00

25. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 15, 56-12 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05

26. Drew Cook -- Midway, FL -- 15, 56-05 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 21-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04

27. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 15, 56-05 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 21-02 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10

28. Tyler Carriere -- Youngsville, LA -- 15, 56-02 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-15

29. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 55-07 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00 -- Day 3: 5, 19-01

30. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 15, 54-14 -- 71 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 19-06 -- Day 3: 5, 18-14

31. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 15, 54-10 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

32. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 15, 54-07 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 5, 17-02

33. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 15, 54-04 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07 -- Day 3: 5, 17-06

34. Chris Groh -- Spring Grove, IL -- 15, 53-09 -- 67 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11 -- Day 3: 5, 16-10

35. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 53-08 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

36. Derek Hudnall -- Denham Springs, LA -- 15, 52-09 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09 -- Day 3: 5, 16-11

37. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 51-14 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14

38. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 13, 50-00 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 22-10 -- Day 3: 3, 07-12

39. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 13, 48-06 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 3, 09-14

40. Mike Huff -- Corbin, KY -- 14, 46-14 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08 -- Day 3: 4, 09-03