By MLF Communications Staff
Things were changing in south Florida on day 3 of the Lake Okeechobee MLF Pro Circuit. The weather was the biggest change as sunshine and relatively calm conditions the first two days were replaced by clouds, wind and rain for much of the day.
Day-1 leader Jim Neece Jr., a rookie from Tennessee, moved back to the top of the standings with a 18-02 stringer that gave him a 56-11 total. He'll start the final day with a 10-ounce advantage over Miles Burghoff, the day-2 leader, and the next three anglers (two of them former Bassmaster Classic champions) are within 1 1/2 pounds of Neece's total.
Burghoff sacked 13-02 for a 56-01 aggregate. Skeet Reese is 3rd with 55-05 (16-00 on day 3), followed by Bill McDonald and Chris Lane, both with 55-04. McDonald weighed 17-12 on day 3 and Lane boxed 19-12.
Neece, who's been camping on one stretch of grass all week, caught a heavyweight kicker to start his day.
“That 7-pounder was the first bite I had,” said Neece. “About an hour later, I lost one that was even bigger after it straightened out my hook.”
He knows the fish to win are in his area on the north end of the lake and he'll head back there to start day 4.
“It’s been the same place all week, but I’ve had to switch baits to get bites,” Neece said. “The first two days, I was mainly fishing a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm and a frog, but they just weren’t biting them as well today.”
Due to the changing weather, he decided to fish a vibrating jig and it helped him put together his limit.
“I had to switch it up because of all of the wind in my area. Today, the [vibrating jig] was the key.”
He’s fishing an area north of Kings Bar that he hopes can produce for one more day
“That’s all I got. We are going to go back again and see what happens.”
Day 3 Standings
1. Jim Neece Jr -- 27-00 (5) -- 11-09 (5) -- 18-02 (5) -- 56-11 (15)
2. Miles Burghoff -- 26-02 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 56-01 (15)
3. Skeet Reese -- 17-12 (5) -- 21-09 (5) -- 16-00 (5) -- 55-05 (15)
4. Bill McDonald -- 17-04 (5) -- 20-04 (5) -- 17-12 (5) -- 55-04 (15)
5. Chris Lane -- 16-06 (5) -- 19-02 (5) -- 19-12 (5) -- 55-04 (15)
6. Dicky Newberry -- 20-12 (5) -- 17-04 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 53-06 (15)
7. Pete Ponds -- 20-00 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 50-15 (15)
8. Cole Floyd -- 14-11 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 17-09 (5) -- 49-15 (15)
9. Anthony Gagliardi -- 24-00 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 49-13 (15)
10. Ryan Salzman -- 12-03 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 22-05 (5) -- 48-07 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.
11. Rusty Salewske -- 16-11 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 46-11 (15) -- $11,000
12. Bobby Lane -- 14-10 (5) -- 19-15 (5) -- 12-00 (5) -- 46-09 (15) -- $11,000
13. Brandon McMillan -- 12-11 (5) -- 14-02 (5) -- 19-11 (5) -- 46-08 (15) -- $11,000
14. Justin Lucas -- 20-05 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 9-09 (4) -- 46-00 (14) -- $11,000
15. Kurt Mitchell -- 12-04 (5) -- 22-15 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 46-00 (15) -- $11,000
16. Jason Vance -- 17-01 (5) -- 15-11 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 45-05 (15) -- $11,000
17. Mike Surman -- 20-01 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 10-02 (5) -- 44-13 (15) -- $11,000
18. Robert Nakatomi -- 13-15 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 44-01 (15) -- $11,000
19. Dylan Hays -- 14-09 (5) -- 17-08 (5) -- 11-03 (5) -- 43-04 (15) -- $11,000
20. Clabion Johns -- 20-12 (5) -- 10-04 (5) -- 12-01 (5) -- 43-01 (15) -- $11,000
21. Lane Olson -- 17-15 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 12-04 (5) -- 43-00 (15) -- $10,500
22. Michael Neal -- 15-00 (5) -- 16-04 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 42-03 (15) -- $10,500
23. Matthew Stefan -- 15-05 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 12-00 (5) -- 42-02 (15) -- $10,500
24. Corey Neece -- 16-15 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 42-01 (15) -- $10,500
25. Jamie Horton -- 22-06 (5) -- 11-07 (5) -- 8-03 (4) -- 42-00 (14) -- $10,500
26. Billy Hines -- 12-15 (5) -- 16-05 (5) -- 12-07 (4) -- 41-11 (14) -- $10,500
27. Jim Tutt -- 19-00 (5) -- 12-04 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 41-07 (15) -- $10,500
28. Lendell Martin Jr -- 17-10 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 41-07 (15) -- $10,500
29. Tyler Stewart -- 21-11 (5) -- 8-06 (5) -- 11-06 (5) -- 41-07 (15) -- $10,500
30. Braxton Setzer -- 13-06 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 11-08 (5) -- 41-01 (15) -- $10,500
31. Jacob Wall -- 13-00 (5) -- 14-08 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 40-14 (15) -- $10,000
32. Gary Yamamoto -- 9-07 (5) -- 18-07 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 40-10 (15) -- $10,000
33. Matt Reed -- 17-10 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 9-01 (5) -- 40-07 (15) -- $10,000
34. Zack Birge -- 12-07 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 40-03 (15) -- $10,000
35. Jeremy Lawyer -- 16-03 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 39-15 (15) -- $10,000
36. Kyle Gelles -- 13-12 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 39-12 (15) -- $10,000
37. Charlie Evans -- 16-15 (5) -- 12-04 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 39-01 (15) -- $10,000
38. Brad Knight -- 11-11 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 37-08 (15) -- $10,000
39. Randy Ramsey -- 10-12 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 10-15 (4) -- 37-05 (14) -- $10,000
40. Jared McMillan -- 9-05 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 37-03 (15) -- $10,000
41. Tom Redington -- 16-07 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 7-15 (5) -- 37-01 (15) -- $10,000
42. James Niggemeyer -- 16-09 (5) -- 10-02 (5) -- 10-05 (5) -- 37-00 (15) -- $10,000
43. Derrick Snavely -- 14-02 (5) -- 12-04 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 36-12 (15) -- $10,000
44. Tim Frederick -- 20-05 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 5-04 (3) -- 36-06 (13) -- $10,000
45. Brian Latimer -- 16-11 (5) -- 10-02 (5) -- 9-02 (5) -- 35-15 (15) -- $10,000
46. Erik Luzak -- 17-00 (5) -- 9-09 (5) -- 9-06 (5) -- 35-15 (15) -- $10,000
47. Brandon Mosley -- 11-10 (5) -- 14-08 (5) -- 8-12 (5) -- 34-14 (15) -- $10,000
48. Trevor Fitzgerald -- 18-02 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 4-15 (3) -- 34-11 (13) -- $10,000
49. Lawson Hibdon -- 13-08 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 7-05 (3) -- 34-01 (13) -- $10,000
50. Laramy Strickland -- 16-07 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 5-12 (3) -- 33-15 (13) -- $10,000