The wind blew with a vengeance today at the Lewisville Bassmaster Elite 50, and the water turned to chocolate syrup. By all measures it was a brutal day and weights took a drastic downturn. Two zeroed, two limited and most of the field trudged onstage with feather-light sacks. But Mike Iaconelli, with his red-hot stick, somehow found fish. He leads after day 3 with his 12-13 limit.
Brian Snowden didn't catch a limit, but he's 2nd with 11-15 (14 ounces behind Iaconelli). VanDam led
days 1 and 2 by an untouchable margin, and was the other angler who caught a limit today, but he stepped backwards to 3rd with 8-08 total. Larry Nixon is 4th with 7-06, Edwin Evers is 5th with 6-02 and Randy Howell is 6th with 5-11.
The rest of the 12-man field is headed home.
Current BASS Angler of the Year Aaron Martens was first out of the cut. He weighed three for 5-09 and finished 2 ounces behind Howell.
Iaconelli's lead over Snowden is slight, and neither angler has a comfortable margin over the rest of the Top 6. One stumble – or one big bite from those below – could topple either competitor. And tomorrow's forecast calls for more wind, which should keep weights down again.
Another important factor is boat traffic. Today's traffic was heavy, but tomorrow is Saturday, when throngs of Dallas–Fort Worth boaters will descend upon the lake. Most feel that makes the morning bite especially critical.
Iaconelli Tuned In
Mike Iaconelli was 4th after day 1, 2nd after day 2 and leads after today. He carried his pattern into the course, but it didn't work on every hole.
"My day went good," he said. "Obviously, it was a tough course – I think a lot tougher than most of us thought it would be.
"I don't know if it was a combination of weather, or maybe a lot of different things at work, but what I was doing didn't work as well in the course.
"I tried to adapt what I did in the qualifying water to the course – I tried to duplicate it in the holes. In three of the holes, I was able to duplicate the same pattern, but the other three were just nothing like what I'd been fishing."
With only 70 minutes to fish each hole, he worked to develop a new pattern in the different water. "I just had to go fishing and try to figure out a secondary pattern," he said. "I figured a little something out, and caught fish in those different holes. That's why I had more success, I think."
As the winner, he's able to choose his hole rotation tomorrow. "It's a one-hole difference tomorrow," he said. "I start in (hole) 5, and I started in 6 today. It's basically a strategic move – taking in some factors.
"One (factor) is today, we had two guys per hole, and tomorrow we have just one. There will also be a whole lot of boat traffic. I'm trying to factor that.
"I've got a good gameplan. I'm pretty excited. I feel like I'm in tune with the rhythm of the fish, and that's important."
Brain Snowden's comfortable in 2nd, and feels he has the right hole rotation tomorrow.
He noted the strong spectator turnout. "It was incredible. I literally had 20 to 30 boats with me the whole day – in every hole. It was pretty awesome, and they were great.
"They kept their distance and made sure they stayed far back. The neat thing is they kept me motivated today. There were a few periods when I went 40 minutes without a bite. The fans kept me pumped up. They'd cheer. That was pretty important – very motivational."
Snowden Comfortable
Snowden, in 2nd, weighed only four fish today, but his biggest was a 4-01, which was big bass of the day.
"The course was basically what I expected," he said. "The holes I didn't feel comfortable in didn't produce. The holes I thought had similar structure to the main lake, I only got a few bites in.
"I didn't get a lot off bites today, but the quality seems good. I had six keepers bites, lost two and had one short fish. I got (the short fish) to touch once, but kept working it and couldn't get it to touch again."
He said 2nd is a good place to be. "I'm in a comfortable place – 2nd and just a little out. It all comes down to tomorrow."
He noted his pattern from days 1 and 2 helped him on the course. "I basically stuck with what I'd been doing. Luckily I wasn't spot-fishing on the lake. I have two little patterns working, and I just tried to cover as much stuff as a I could that looked similar."
And he likes his hole rotation tomorrow. "I'm excited about it. My two best holes I fish first and second, and I end in 6, which is another real good hole. Then for happy hour, I get a good shot at either 6 or 1.
"I put my worst holes in the middle of the day. Hopefully I'll figure something out in those."
VanDam Had 25 Ready
All eyes were on VanDam this morning. He'd caught a new lake record on day 1, and led by 12 pounds after day 2. His combined weight the first 2 days was five times more than his total weight today (8-08).
"The course hurt me," he said. "It was dirty – really, really muddy. There was a lot of spectator boats, which creates a lot of muddy water, and the wind blew hard too.
"It was a tough deal today."
He ended the day in 3rd – 4-05 behind Iaconelli.
"I had 25 rods rigged and ready to go because there's so much diversity in there. I expected it to be much better though. I had a really tough time fishing – as a lot of the guys will tell you. You can look – two guys zeroed. There wasn't much caught.
"But it's far from over."
He starts in hole 4 tomorrow and knows boat traffic could be a factor. "There will be tons (of boat traffic). When I got there today, at my first stop, there were 48 boats watching me. That's like the (Bassmaster) Classic. And then they really got spread out – 20 here, 20 there – but a lot of them followed me the whole time.
"These are some of the best fans I've ever seen. They're enthusiastic and courteous, and very few of them are fishing. As a matter of fact, 99% don't even have any rods on their deck. And there were lots of kids.
"These people are just excited to have an event like this here. This is bass-fishing country."
Larry Nixon had trouble with the mud, and is worried about boat traffic, but said he'll pace himself tomorrow.
Nixon on One Pattern
Nixon, in 4th, needed this. He's 16th in the E50 points and needs to finish in the Top 10 in the points to make the next two Classics. He moved a step closer to the Classic today.
"The course water was pretty windy – it got pretty muddy on us," he said. "I managed to catch 7-06 and made the cut for another day.
"We had high winds all day – about 20 to 25 mph – and it dirtied up the holes. That really hurt all the guys. The fish here, they're kind of like Florida bass – they don't care for it (being) silty."
He also noted the heavy boat traffic. "Actually, there was a lot of boat traffic, but they were pretty courteous. Later in the day tomorrow will be a nightmare. There'll be so many boats running around in there, it'll be ridiculous."
But he said he won't be too aggressive tomorrow before the traffic arrives. "You can't overfish yourself. You need to fish your pace and hopefully make things happen.
"I caught them all basically doing one pattern. If I get in the right areas tomorrow, I can maybe get a big sack. I've got a good hole to start.
"I'll maybe bring some brighter lures tomorrow," he added. "It's pretty muddy and in some places, I didn't feel I was throwing the right bait."
More details on this tournament will be posted soon.
Edwin Evers is scratching his head, but he's "jacked" because he starts in his best hole tomorrow.
Evers Excited
"Double E" made the cut in 3rd yesterday, but slipped to 5th today.
"I didn't catch them today," Evers said. "I really struggled, and I'm scratching my head big-time. I don't know what I'll do tomorrow.
"The course water has gotten pretty muddy, with wind really blowing across it pretty bad."
But he's excited. "I'm jacked about tomorrow. The hole I start in is where I caught three in 10 minutes today. I'm real excited. I think the morning bite's important, and I'm shocked I got the hole. A lot of other people caught fish there too."
And the boat traffic doesn't bother him. "This lake's used to it – it gets boat traffic all the time. It'll affect the fishermen – not the fish. This lake is like a super-freeway with boats, but I don't think it has any effect.
"There's big fish in this lake, and I can't go any further down, so I'll do everything I can to catch a big one tomorrow.
"It's still anybody's tournament."
Clausen Beat Up
Luke Clausen missed the cut. He finished 9th with two fish for 3-14.
"The wind wasn't that bad," he said. "I got more beat up by the fish than by the wind. But I had a good tournament. I had four keeper bites today, and didn't execute on a couple of them.
"That's the way things go. I didn't get on anything strong today. I don't know anybody who did.
"I fished marinas the whole tournament – suspended fish under docks – and it was hard to relate that to the course. Today I caught both my fish flipping laydowns on banks."
Notable
> Day 2 Stats – 12 anglers, 2 limits, 2 zeroes.
> Since Iaconelli won the Classic (2003), he's had four Top 5 finishes, but the Classic was his last BASS win.
> Snowden has never won a BASS tournament.
Weather Forecast
Sat., June 4 - Isolated T-Storms/Wind - 92°/72°
> Wind: From the S at 20 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, N.J. -- 5, 12-13 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13
2. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 4, 11-15 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 11-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 4, 11-15
3. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 5, 8-08 -- 300
Day 1: 5, 24-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14 -- Day 3: 5, 8-08
4. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ark. -- 4, 7-06 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 4, 7-06
5. Edwin Evers -- Mannsville, Okla. -- 4, 6-02 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-01 -- Day 3: 4, 6-02
6. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 3, 5-11 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 9-04 -- Day 3: 3, 5-11
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not be fishing tomorrow:
7. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 3, 5-09 -- 272 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 3, 5-09
8. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, Okla. -- 3, 4-08 -- 268 -- $6,800
Day 1: 5, 11-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12 -- Day 3: 3, 4-08
9. Luke Clausen -- Spokane Valley, Wash. -- 2, 3-14 -- 264 -- $6,600
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 2, 3-14
10. Gerald Swindle -- Hayden, Ala. -- 1, 2-07 -- 260 -- $6,400
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 1, 2-07
11. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, N.C. -- 0, 0-00 -- 257 -- $6,100
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 0, 0-00
11. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 0, 0-00 -- 257 -- $6,100
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 0, 0-00
Big Bass
> Day 3: Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 4-01 -- $1,000
> Day 2: Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 5-10 -- $1,000
> Day 1: Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 11-13 -- $1,000
