Faircloth's Fortunes Rise: He Leads Harris With 52-03

The wind blew again today at the Harris Chain Bassmaster, which caused problems for some anglers, but maybe helped others. Only the Top 12 fished today, so conditions weren't nearly as crowded and

the competitors were able to move around more. Still, the weights are on a steady downward trend as cooler weather – and fishing pressure – stifle the bite.

Texan Todd Faircloth managed to climb two more spots to 1st today with a 15-12 limit – his smallest bag yet. His tournament-leading total is 52-03, and he's weighed a limit every day so far.

Peter Thliveros, with five for 16-13, moved up four spots to claim 2nd. That gives him a total of 49-06 and he's less than 3 pounds behind Faircloth.

Jim Bitter led Days 1 and 2, but slipped to 3rd today with just three fish at 8-12 (13, 49-01 total). Larry Nixon managed to scrabble up one place to 4th with his 13-09 limit (13, 46-09). Fifth is Guy Eaker who weighed 4 at 11-14 today (14, 45-02). The last man in the Top 6 who will fish tomorrow is Aaron Martens, whose limit today weighed 13-14 (11, 42-05).

The rest of the Top 12 shook out like this:

7. George Cochran 12, 41-10
8. Skeet Reese 14, 39-05
9. Mark Rogers 12, 39-04
10. Tommy Martin 13, 37-05
11. Andre Moore 11, 30-14
12. John Crews 10, 27-14

Faircloth Had Faith

Faircloth fished for 5 hours with only one bite this morning, and lost that fish. Around noon he began to second-guess himself, but decided to keep at it in the same area, and "just have faith" that the fish were still there.

"All of the sudden it turned on and I started getting bites," he said. He caught six keepers.

"I'm ecstatic," he said. "I can't believe it. It's a grind out there. It's nothing fast and furious. The first two days they were more aggressive, but today they wouldn't even move with it after they bit. They'd just sit on it."

He's fishing a Yamamoto 5" Cut-Tail worm again, but keying on the pads more than the other types of vegetation in the canal. "The fish are on the stems, not up under the leaves of the pads," he said. "You have to put it right on them or they won't bite, and the wind makes it tough."

He's one of just two in the Top 12 who have weighed a limit all 3 days.

He had company this morning – one other angler in the Top 12 fished nearby. That pro caught some fish early while Faircloth struggled. But since the other competitor didn't make the cut, Faircloth should have it to himself tomorrow. "There are some locals in there, but they've been real courteous," he said.

He has a 2-12 lead going into the final day. "I've been 2nd twice, and I'd really like to win one."

Thliveros Gaining Weight

Thliveros has bagged a limit every day, and his weights have been improving. Today's 16-13 moved him up to 2nd from 6th. Is he using his trademark Carolina rig?

"I never tried the Carolina rig the whole tournament," he said. "Usually you want to fish your strengths, but I just didn't feel conditions were right this time. I'm fishing a Team Supreme spinnerbait in the mornings, and a Zoom Brush Hog and Paddletail Worm later.

"Some are slamming it and others are just real mushy bites. It's . Most of the bites have come when I was working it, not on the fall. I'm fishing canals – in and around bedding areas. The wind hasn't been a factor for me.

He said he caught seven keepers today. "But I lost a big fish and missed another. I've fished the same area all 3 days, and I'm not sure how my weight has been going up. I may be running out of fish, though, since I'm getting less bites. But today they were better ones."

He thinks he'll need to catch 10 to 15 pounds tomorrow to win, but as he pointed out: "One big bite could change everything."

Eaker Ekes Out Four

Eaker traded places with Larry Nixon today – he dropped to 5th – and he's more than 7 pounds off the leader.

"I had eight bites today and I lost four of them," he said. "I broke off a big one in that nasty cover and lost a 5-pounder. The fish didn't take it well, the wind was blowing – man, it was a tough day.

"I couldn't feel them bite," he said. "They'd just be there, holding on and then you'd feel a tug. The first day I had a limit in an hour. Today was a struggle. I think the cold weather had a big effect on them. These Florida fish are the worst I've ever seen about being affected by it."

He's caught most of his fish flipping a black/red flake Berkley Power Tube with a small 1/4-ounce weight. He threw it on braided line. "I used a heavier weight in practice, but I didn't get as many bites. But today I had to go heavier again because of the wind, and I caught a 4-pounder."

He thinks one of the reasons he didn't do as well today was because of the trolling motor on the sponsor boat he had to use for the Top 12 day. "I felt this terrible vibration for most of the day," he said. "When we came back at the end of the day, we noticed that a piece of the prop had somehow just come off.

"I think that (vibration) probably scared my fish. Someone told me later that the boat covers sometimes break the brittle props if you're not careful. This isn't the first one they've had to replace."

Eaker said that the BASS sponsor boats have MotorGuide trolling motors, while he uses a Minn Kota on his own boat.

Cochran Drops Out

Cochran was in the frustrating position of 7th place today, which means he won't fish tomorrow. He caught just two fish that weighed 4-13 and dropped from 2nd place yesterday.

"I'm disappointed," he said. "I'd like to be fishing tomorrow. I lost six fish today. I don't know if I was too excited or jerked too hard or what. I lost a 4-pounder at the boat, and two 2 1/2-pounders just came off on the way to the boat.

"But overall, I'm tickled I finished as good as I did. I want to make the Classic this year, because if you do, you make two (with the new BASS qualifying rules). I'm happy to get a real good start in Florida."

He flipped tubes to heavy cover in the same canal as Eaker and Bitter.

Reese Bittersweet

Reese went into the Harris Chain tournament with high hopes, and even wanted the fishing to be tough. It turned out to be just a bit too tough on him. He scraped up an 8-05 limit today, which dropped him one place to finish 8th with 39-05. "I'd love to be fishing tomorrow, but at least now I've had two good tournaments in a row," he said.

"It was one of those deals where you couldn't fish slow enough," he noted. "Yesterday there were a lot of boats in the area, and for a while Kevin VanDam fished just down from me, and Scott Rook was on the other side of him. Rook caught 22-08, I caught 17-15, and VanDam didn't get but 7-08. He was fishing too fast.

"He'd see me or Scott catch fish, and you could watch him gradually slow down, but not enough. Finally he just said 'I can't do your pace!' After a while he left.

"I don't normally fish that slow, but I knew I had to," Reese added. "I guess maybe the big change in weather today got them, or I may have just run out of fish. I was fishing the same area as Larry Nixon and Tommy Martin, and Tommy didn't make it either."

He caught three sight-fish on Day 1, and one flip-fish. On Day 2, all his fish ate a 6" Berkeley Power Worm (junebug) flipped to cover. He also flipped the Power Worm today.

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 12 anglers, 5 limits, one 4, 3 3s, one 2, one 1, one zero.

> Bitter thinks he's running out of fish. "I'm concerned not only that my area has been fished hard, but also the cold-weather conditions seem to have kept the (spawning) fish from replenishing the area," he said. "Today, I only had one bite and didn't catch a fish until 12:10."

Weather Forecast

Tonight's low will be around 49°, which a little warmer than last night. Here's the rest of the forecast from the Weather Channel.

Sun, Feb 6 -- Partly Cloudy -- 69°/53°
> Wind: From the NE 11 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Texas -- 15, 52-03 -- 315
Day 1: 5, 18-02 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12
2. Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, Fla. -- 15, 49-06 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13
3. Jim Bitter -- Fruitland Park, Fla. -- 13, 49-01 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 26-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09 -- Day 3: 3, 8-12
4. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ark. -- 13, 46-09 -- 285
Day 1: 3, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-09
5. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, N.C. -- 14, 45-02 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 4, 11-14
6. Aaron Martens -- Castaic, Calif. -- 11, 42-05 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 26-03 -- Day 2: 1, 2-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not be fishing tomorrow:

7. George Cochran -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 12, 41-10 -- 272 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 20-06 -- Day 3: 2, 4-13
8. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 14, 39-05 -- 268 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15 -- Day 3: 5, 8-05
9. Mark Rogers -- Naples, Fla. -- 12, 39-04 -- 264 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 4, 13-14 -- Day 3: 3, 11-05
10. Tommy Martin -- Hemphill, Texas -- 13, 37-05 -- 260 -- $8,000
Day 1: 5, 19-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 3, 6-09
11. Andre Moore -- Scottsdale, Ariz. -- 11, 30-14 -- 257 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 1, 0-13
12. John Crews -- Jetersville, Va. -- 10, 27-14 -- 254 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 9-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02 -- Day 3: 0, 0-00

Big Bass

> Day 3 -- Mark Rogers -- Naples, Fla. -- 7-13 -- $1,000
> Day 2 -- Art Ferguson III -- Saint Clair Shores, Mich. -- 11-01 $1,000
> Day 1 -- Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals, Ala. -- 9-07 -- $1,000