Logan Moves Into 1st On Home Venue

By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

Wes Logan grew up fishing this 11,200-acre Coosa River fishery, so it’s no surprise his intimate knowledge of the lake helped him climb to the top of the leaderboard on day 3 of the Neely Henry Lake Bassmaster Elite Series.

But with the Neely Henry bass still adjusting to extremely heavy rains last week, Logan admits he’ll have to lean on every bit of his experience if he’s to win his first B.A.S.S tournament Monday.

Logan has three consecutive limits for a total weight of 43-08. He was in 8th place after day 2, but a 16-15 bag on Sunday tied for the tournament high and vaulted him into the pole position.

Despite his know-how on Neely Henry, Logan is leery of all nine of the remaining competitors. That’s mostly because the lake has been a mystery since the extreme storms trained across the area last week. The water level soared, the lake muddied and the bass scattered to some unusual places. It was a combination that tested the Elites from the start, Logan included.

“The only thing that helps me is I know how things act when something changes here,” Logan said.

And there have been plenty of shifts on Neely Henry in the past few days. The north end of the lake had high water following the heavy rain but is now draining into its south end, which had been extremely shallow. As the water pushes through the lake, bass are moving with the heaviest flow, which Logan said convinced him to try for offshore bites on Sunday.

It’s not what he’d normally do, but this week has been different.

“I caught a 3 1/2-pounder in a place I’ve caught fish in the past, but this time it was in bright sunshine and in 6 inches of water,” he said. “That fish shouldn’t have been there. I was running by and wasn’t even going to go in there, but I went with my gut feeling. I’ll have to do that tomorrow because where I thought I could win the tournament, there’s not going to be any water in the grass anymore.”

Logan’s heaviest bass weighed 5-04, which was only 2 ounces shy of the heaviest catch on Sunday. He said he’ll look for more of that caliber bass on day 4, feeling he’ll need the extra weight to hold off his competitors.

“After that morning flurry, I find if you get an afternoon bite, it’s going to be a good one,” he said. “So, no way I’m fishing for 2-pounders. Like that big one I had today, I don’t like fighting big ones on crankbaits. I like boat-flippin’ them on a frog or a swim jig. Getting that bite later in the day was a blessing for sure.”

Logan predicted earlier in the tournament that 55 pounds over four days could win the event. If so, he’d need only about 13 pounds Monday, which he said feels about right.

Still, he’s not going to complicate matters. He may be junk-fishing, but he’s using the same lures, just in different places.

“Swim jig, frog, squarebill and a 5/8s big jig,” he said, listing the four baits he is sure to have tied on Monday. “It’s the only rods you need here.”

Connecticut pro Paul Mueller led after day 2, but he caught 12 pounds even on Sunday and now is 2nd with 42-06.

Mueller, 37, is also junk-fishing, hoping he can find a few quality bites to keep him in the hunt for a tournament title. He knows he’ll have to improve on the bag he weighed Sunday.

“I’m gonna have to really think about what I’m doing tomorrow because I only caught five fish today,” he said. “I thought I would drop to 7th or 8th with the weight I had. If I get three solid bites tomorrow, I’ll have a shot.”

Mueller is fishing the lower end of the lake and he’ll likely go back there Monday because he prefers to fish away from other boats. He’s caught his bass Sunday on a Deps Evoke 2.0 squarebill crankbait (chartreuse/brown back) and a 1/8-ounce custom shaky-head with a custom Gamakatsu hook and a Zoom Swamp Crawler (watermelon candy).

Jay Yelas won the daily $1,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award for the 5-06 he caught Sunday. Cliff Prince’s 5-11 caught Saturday remains the heaviest of the tournament to date.

The 10 remaining anglers will take off Monday from the Gadsden City Boat Docks, also known as Coosa Landing, at 6:30 a.m. CT for the fourth and final day of the tournament and the winner will claim a $100,000 first prize. Weigh-in will start back at the Gadsden City Boat Docks at 2:30 p.m.

Day 3 Standings

1. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 15, 43-08 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-15

2. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 15, 42-06 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

3. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 15, 40-12 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-11

4. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 39-02 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

5. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 39-00 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 14-14

6. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 37-15 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 5, 08-09

7. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 15, 37-15 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 12-14

8. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 15, 37-13 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 08-00

9. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 15, 37-09 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07

10. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 15, 36-15 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 10-07 -- Day 3: 5, 11-04

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

11. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 15, 35-14 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

12. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 15, 35-13 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

13. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 15, 35-11 -- 88 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-13 -- Day 3: 5, 10-01

14. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 15, 35-00 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 08-00

15. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 15, 34-13 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05 -- Day 3: 5, 11-04

16. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 34-12 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 11-15

17. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 15, 34-08 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 07-14

18. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 14, 34-06 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 09-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

19. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 15, 34-06 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05 -- Day 3: 5, 11-11

20. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 15, 33-14 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 10-15

21. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 15, 33-10 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-06

22. Jay Yelas -- Lincoln City, OR -- 14, 33-03 -- 79 -- $11,000
Day 1: 4, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04

23. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 14, 33-00 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-08 -- Day 3: 4, 09-11

24. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 32-14 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-02 -- Day 3: 5, 10-04

25. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 15, 32-02 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-00 -- Day 3: 5, 09-00

26. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 15, 32-02 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-13 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08

27. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 14, 31-13 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 4, 06-08

28. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 15, 31-05 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 07-15

29. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 14, 31-03 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 4, 08-11

30. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 15, 31-02 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-11 -- Day 3: 5, 06-15

31. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 15, 30-12 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 07-12 -- Day 3: 5, 09-02

32. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 15, 30-03 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-04 -- Day 2: 5, 09-14 -- Day 3: 5, 10-01

33. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 14, 29-12 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 10-05 -- Day 3: 4, 09-02

34. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, ON -- 13, 29-09 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 06-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08 -- Day 3: 5, 09-09

35. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 13, 29-06 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 3, 06-13

36. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 15, 29-06 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 5, 09-14

37. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 15, 29-04 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-00 -- Day 3: 5, 09-11

38. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 15, 28-15 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-07 -- Day 2: 5, 09-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-04

39. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 15, 28-09 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-12 -- Day 2: 5, 09-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-04

40. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 11, 28-04 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 4, 12-10 -- Day 3: 2, 05-11

41. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 15, 27-15 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-02 -- Day 2: 5, 09-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-04

42. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 13, 27-13 -- 59 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01 -- Day 3: 3, 04-07

43. Dale Hightower -- Mannford, OK -- 15, 27-13 -- 58 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-01 -- Day 2: 5, 09-12 -- Day 3: 5, 09-00

44. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 27-11 -- 57 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-01 -- Day 3: 5, 07-13

45. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 12, 27-07 -- 56 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 2, 03-10

46. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 15, 27-07 -- 55 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 09-03 -- Day 3: 5, 08-05

47. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 14, 26-13 -- 54 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 4, 05-15

48. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 11, 24-08 -- 53 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-07 -- Day 2: 4, 09-07 -- Day 3: 2, 03-10