J.T. Kenney Heads Top 10 FLW Field

Yet another relative unknown, J.T. Kenney from Frostburg, Md., leads the field going into the Top 10 final round of the Lake Okeechobee FLW Tour event. He caught 21 pounds 10 ounces of bass on a day when some of the sport's lions -- including 2-time FLW Angler of the Year Clark Wendlandt -- struggled to catch 10 pounds.

Kenney anchored his catch with two solid bass, and said that he fished the same way he has on days 1 and 2: flipping a Gambler crawdad with a 5/16-ounce weight. He said he caught about 35 keepers today. "About noon the big ones started biting and it got really fun," he said.

Right behind was Texas' Joe Don Setina, who's fishing his fourth year on the FLW Tour. He weighed in 19-04, and also had big fish of the day (and the tournament), a 9-03. He caught it at 3:15 -- and check-in was at 4:00 p.m. That big bass "brightened my whole world," he said.

Here's the full Top 10 fishing in tomorrow's final round:

1) J.T. Kenney -- Frostburg, MD -- 21-10
2) Joe Don Setina -- Pittsburg, TX -- 19-14
3) Jimmi Leuthner -- Vernon, VT -- 15-05
4) Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 13-03
5) Jay Yelas -- Tyler, TX -- 13-00
6) Jim Tutt -- Longview, TX -- 12-00
7) Keith Green -- Arkadelphia, AR -- 11-12
8) Sam Newby -- Pocola, OK -- 11-11
9) Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 11-07
10) David Dudley -- Manteo, NC -- 10-03

(Places 11-20 are at bottom.)

More Change Today

Weights were smaller today, even though the weather was milder and thus better for sight-fishing. The problem was that the bass weren't locked on the beds, which frustrated most of the pros.

Texas' Kelly Jordon is one pro who chose to sight-fish today. "They barked at it, but wouldn't bite," he said. "The bass weren't protective (of the beds). It was really frustrating. I saw a whole bunch of 2 1/2- to 3-pounders that would've made an easy 15 pounds, but they could've cared less. I wasted a lot of time on them."

He added that with the bites he got, "a lot of them had just the tail, even if you let them take it and swim off."

Getting Ready for the Moon

Jordon didn't make the Top 10 cut, but fellow Skeeter pro Jay Yelas did and again was the model of consistency. Yelas' three days have been 13-00, 13-03 and 13-00. Obviously the weather change didn't affect him.

"It was a great day to sight fish," he said. "I saw 6 big females over 6 pounds, which is more than I've been seeing. Yesterday I saw one 7-pounder and caught her, and the day before I didn't see any.

"I assume the fish are moving in with the moon (a full moon should arrive here in a few days), and they're spooky. They aren't spooky because of the weather," Yelas noted. "They're just moving up to the beds and need a few days to get acclimated. Today you'd pitch in and they would swim away."

Yelas is flipping a Berkley Power Tube (watermelon) and 6-inch Power Lizard (watermelon and black/chartreuse).

Notable

> Keith Green -- Green spent all morning on his Rat-L-Trap spot where he caught 21-12 yesterday, but eventually left after catching only three bass. "I needed more wind," he said. "That would've helped." He added that boat traffic may have hurt him: he had a camera boat and two photo boats nearby, and non-competitors were fishing within 40 yards of him -- which was worse than it sounds because he was fishing a large flat. "Today I really struggled, but on this lake you never know," he said. "You can catch 20 pounds any day."

> Gary Klein -- Apparently Klein's area has petered out, or at least he feels it won't produce enough weight to win. "I caught 13-03 today, and that means I better do something a little different. Tomorrow I know I'll have to change areas."

> Terry Baksay -- Baksay, who did not make the cut, said: "I had no aspirations of doing as well as I did in this tournament. I had a spot where if the wind blew, 20-25 pounds would not be a problem. But the spot I've been fishing got kind of worn out. I didn't have anything left and knew it." He said he spent his whole day on a Rat-L-Trap spot, where he made 20 casts on the first 2 days and caught two 4-pounders and two 6-pounders. Today he fished it all day and caught two bass weighing 4-15.

> These bass change every day. Anyone could win.

Places 11-20

11) Randy Howell -- Trussville, AL -- 10-00
12) Clark Wendlandt -- Cedar Park, TX -- 10-00
13) Jerry Rhyne -- Denver, NC -- 9-13
14) Shad Schenck -- Waynetown, IN -- 9-09
15) Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 6-15
16) Chuck Economou -- Redington Shores, FL -- 5-14
17) Rusty Rust -- Hermitage, TN -- 5-04
18) Terry Baksay -- Monroe, CT -- 4-15
19) Koby Krieger -- Osceola, IN -- 3-01
20) Jeff Sims -- Punta Gorda, FL -- 1-04

Tomorrow's Info

The Top 10 will launch tomorrow at 7 a.m. from Roland Martin's Marina (920 East Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston). The final weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1005 West Sugarland Highway in Clewiston.

A Family Fun Zone located in the Wal-Mart parking lot features free children's games and product samples, and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26.

DON'T FORGET

For those BassFans who aren't local to Okeechobee, don't forget to watch the new live broadcast of the FLW Tour weigh-in. Times are 3 p.m. EST and Pacific, and 2 p.m. Central.

After you check it out, vote in the BassFan Poll or click here to tell us what you think about the new FLW show.