You don't get as hot as Mike Iaconelli is right now unless you've made a substantial string of great strategic decisions. He made another great one today. The 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion went on a hunch that took him away from day 2 leader Brent Chapman, with whom he'd had words yesterday. Ike weighed 21-00 – the heaviest sack of the tournament so far – to take the day 3 lead at the Chevy Open (Potomac FLW) by a 3-12 margin. The move put him in prime position to claim his first FLW Tour win.
Meanwhile, neither man in the Angler of the Year (AOY) chase helped his own cause much today. They both grabbed brooms to start sweeping the basement. Toshinari Namiki, in 9th with 12-00, must make up six places on 10th-place Greg Hackney tomorrow to prevent The Hack Attack from claiming his first AOY crown.
A rejuvenated Clark Wendlandt, in 2nd with 17-04, is the biggest threat to Iaconelli tomorrow. Three anglers are bunched up in the Nos. 3-5 slots — day 1 leader Jerry Williams with 14-12, Gary Yamamoto with 14-13 and Sam Newby with 14-14.
The day was sunny and hot with temperatures in the 90-degree range and a 15 mph wind from the south. Similar conditions are forecast for tomorrow.
Ike's 'Killer' Day
Iaconelli noticed something late on day 2 and parlayed the observation into his huge day 3 bag.
"When I was on a grassbed yesterday, I realized there was sort of a funnel nearby and that fish that had just spawned were making their way out of there and stopping on that particular grassbed," he said. "We got a couple of good fish there, so this morning I said, 'Hey, let me give it an hour and see what happens.'
"It turned out to be a good decision. I got a 4-pounder right away and ended up camping there all day. It was just one of those killer, amazing days where you wake up in a cold sweat and you just know something good is going to happen."
If that spot proves unproductive tomorrow, he'll revert to the two patterns he used the first 2 days. He's got one for high tide and another for low tide.
"There'll be a lot more (recreational) boats tomorrow, it'll be a shorter day (anglers must be at the weigh-in site by 1:45) and some other elements will come into play," he said. "But even if my first plan doesn't work out, I'm pretty sure I've saved enough fish to where I can go scratch out a limit.
"If I can get 15 pounds or better, I think I'll have a good shot at winning. But you never know — a lot of weird things can happen. I've put myself in position to win and if it's meant to be, it'll happen."
Clark Wendlandt's back, and fishing with no fear.
Wendlandt's Back
Wendlandt, in 2nd, feels like his old self again. The two-time FLW AOY's performance here has boosted his confidence after a dismal season.
He came into the event 130th in the FLW Tour points.
"I feel like I'm back to fishing well and making good decisions," he said. "I'm fishing without fear, whereas before I felt like I was fishing not to fail. There were some other factors involved that I never figured out, but a lot of people said I was just going to have to fish my way out of it. I feel like I'm doing that and I feel great right now."
His confidence for tomorrow is tempered a bit by the notion that he might have taken most of the good fish out of his primary spot.
"I really have no idea about tomorrow," he said. "The good thing about the Potomac is that the fish replenish themselves. If they're back in there, I could do okay.
"I think if I can get another 17 (pounds), 34 might be pretty tough to beat. At least that'll put some pressure on (Iaconelli)."
Sam Newby wants to see the clouds return, and the topwater bite.
Newby Wants Clouds
Newby, in 3rd, hopes to get a little bit of cloud cover between him and the blazing sun tomorrow. He wants to go for broke and spend the day chucking topwaters.
"If it's cloudy, I just might smash a big sack," he said. "I know they're back in there where I'm fishing, so I'm going to pretty much swing for the fences.
"I just saw on the satellite that there's a bit of a tropical front starting to move up the East Coast. If it gets here in time and brings some high-level clouds, I might stroke them pretty good."
He said Iaconelli will be tough to catch, but such a feat isn't out of the question.
"I could catch 20 tomorrow and he might get 14, so I'm not giving up by any means," he said. "But it's certainly his tournament to lose."
Wind Hurts Williams
Williams, in 5th, led day 1 with a stout 20-04 sack. He had that spot to himself, but it got blown out on day 2 and he's been unable to fish it since.
He caught about 20 keepers today, but most were in the 1 1/2-pound class.
"I just didn't get the big bite," he said. "I have one spot where I have confidence and if the wind will stop, I might catch some. Then again, the fish might not be there."
If that spot doesn't produce, then he's probably history.
"I'm fishing a pattern and you can't pattern a body of water that has 400 or 500 boats on it," he said, referring to the weekend crowd that'll arrive tomorrow. "I don't have one spot where I can go and know I'm going to catch a limit.
Jerry Williams had the don spot on day 1, but it blew out on day 2.
"What I need is a west wind. If I don't get it, I'll just go fishing and try to stay out of people's way."
Chapman Slides
Chapman fell from 1st to 8th with 12-02 today. He fished near Iaconelli yesterday, and the two got into it, which resulted in Chapman protesting Iaconelli. The two didn't see each other on the water today.
"I made some subtle mistakes," Chapman said. "I learned some things that might help me try to come back tomorrow, but it's going to be a lot crazier out there, so I really don't know what to expect.
"Obviously he (Iaconelli) made the right decision to go somewhere else."
Chapman admits that his goal coming in was just to make the Top 50, earn $10,000 and nail down his berth in the Forrest L. Wood Championship. He has other things on his mind — his wife is scheduled to deliver their second child next week.
"I'm kind of anxious to get home," he said.
Namiki Faces Reality
Namiki knows he needs a huge move up the standings tomorrow to overtake Hackney for the AOY title. He also knows that'll be extremely difficult, since he'll need a lot of help from other anglers in front of him.
"It's exciting that we'll still be battling tomorrow," he said. "It will be fun, but my confidence isn't high. I think I can get 12 pounds, but I don't know if I can go over 15.
"I have one spot where I think I can get a limit, but I don't know about the quality," he said. "But I'll do my best."
Notable
> Day 1 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits.
> Iaconelli endured a lousy first half of the FLW season, when he finished no higher than 141st across the first three events. He's had a 55th and a 45th since, and could surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings with a victory here. More notable is his Bassmaster performance this year: 8th in the Bassmaster Tour points and 2nd in the Elite 50 points. He's ranked No. 12 in the State Farm-BassFan World Rankings.
> Carl Svebek III, who's 7th with 12-10, got nearly half of his bag on one bite. He caught a 6-02 that was the big fish of the day. "I got the one good one, but then I just had to fill in my limit," he said. "It wasn't one of my better days."
> BassFan Big Stick and Complete Co-Angler columnist Chris Koester finished 8th in the co-angler division. His day 3 report will posted as soon as it's received.
Weather Forecast
Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the tournament's final day.
Sat., June 25 — Sunny — 93°/70°
> Wind from the S at 10-15 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, Nj -- 5, 21-00
2. Clark Wendlandt -- Cedar Park, Tx -- 5, 17-04
3. Sam Newby -- Pocola, Ok -- 5, 14-14
4. Gary Yamamoto -- Mineola, Tx -- 5, 14-13
5. Jerry Williams -- Conway, Ar -- 5, 14-12
6. George Cochran -- Hot Springs Np, Ar -- 5, 13-04
7. Carl Svebek Iii -- Siloam Springs, Ar -- 5, 12-10
8. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Ks -- 5, 12-02
9. Toshinari Namiki -- Hachioji- City, To -- 5, 12-00
10. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La -- 5, 10-10
