There's a different type of weather every day at the Wal-Mart Open (Beaver FLW), and a different leader after each day's weigh-in. Texas' Shinichi Fukae overcame powerful winds today and caught an 11-03 bag, and he'll take a 1-07 lead into day 4 in pursuit of his second victory of the season.
Craig Powers of Tennessee, the leader at the cut, was 2nd with 9-12 and Arkansas' Mark Rose was 3rd with 9-09. Then there was a big drop to day 1 leader Jeffrey Thomas in 4th (5-07) and Mike Wurm in 5th (5-05).
Here's the remainder of the Top 10 field:
6. Clifford Pirch: 4-02
7. Takahiro Omori: 3-14
8. Koby Kreiger: 3-11
9. Darrel Robertson: 2-14
10. Toby Hartsell: 2-09
Only the Top 3 caught limits on a day that featured 30 mph winds brought in by a high-pressure system. When the day dawned under clear skies, there was talk of a possible sight-bite, but it was quickly quelled by the big rollers.
Day 4 is expected to bring on yet another condition – a cold front that could drop the high temperature all the way down to the upper 50s (it's been in the 70s each day so far).
Day 1 was cloudy and warm and day 2 was marked by a violent thunderstorm that forced most of the anglers to take refuge in the nearest marina. Today's wind was about twice as stiff as forecasters had predicted, so it's anybody's guess what will happen to the weights tomorrow if the front and its accompanying north wind are as strong as expected.
The winner will be determined by the highest combined weight over the final 2 days.
Fukae Confident
Fukae speaks very limited English, and the information in this report was obtained with the help of his friend Kazuki Kitajima, who acted as a translator.
He fished standing timber with finesse worms to catch his day-best bag. He's confident that he can catch another solid sack tomorrow, but said he can be beaten if somebody gets a monster stringer.
"I can catch 12 or 13 pounds max," he said. "If a guy fishing the upper end could catch 15 or 16 pounds, he could win."
He said he caught more than 15 keepers today. His bag consisted of three spots, a largemouth and a smallmouth. His best was a 2 1/2-pound spot.
He said the wind was actually a benefit for him because he fished very clear water and it made the fish less spooky. He doesn't think the cooler temperatures tomorrow will be a problem.
The winner of the season opener at Okeechobbe said he doesn't have a backup plan. "I practiced to catch a limit every day, but I didn't expect to make the Top 10 cut," he said.
Jeffrey Thomas thinks he's still around quality fish, but he'll need more bites than he got today.
Thomas Has Hope
Thomas' co-angler, Richard Strother of Texas, caught three quality fish out of his back seat to win that division with 8-11 today. That gives him confidence that he's fishing in the right places and could have the type of day that would move him from 4th place to the top.
His 5-07 bag today contained just three fish.
"I just really didn't get bit today," he said. "I think I'm still around a few fish, by my co-angler got the only three good bites of the day."
He'll continue to power-fish tomorrow no matter what the conditions. A crankbait has produced the bulk of his bags all week.
"It's the only thing I've got," he said. "If I get bit, the odds are it's a decent largemouth."
He focused on one location during the first part of the day, but was forced to move when it didn't produce. His three keeper bites were spread out – he got one early, one at midday and the last just before quitting time.
"In the beginning I stayed in one area and pounded it, but when that wasn't happening I tried to move around as much as I could. I'll probably move more tomorrow because it's the last day, and you need to take a gamble and see if you can't get lucky and bust a big bag."
How much does he think he needs to catch to have a shot at the top prize? "Give me 13 or 14 pounds, and we'll put them on the scales and see where they go."
Wind Whipped Wurm
Wurm, in 5th, had an extremely tough day in the wind. He ended up with three fish for 5-05.
"It really kind of got into my head," he said. "I couldn't cast, I couldn't feel anything and the boat was hitting the trees. And on top of that, I just couldn't get the bites."
He thinks he can still contend for the win if the wind settles down.
"Realistically, I'll probably need 14 or 15 pounds," he said. "Shin might not catch them as well tomorrow, but he's sure got a leg up.
"The potential is there for me to get 12 to 15 pounds if we can get the weather to cooperate. The colder air temperature won't bother me a bit, but we need to get the wind down to make it interesting. Then I could concentrate and focus more, and that would really help a lot."
He hasn't decided where he'll start tomorrow, but he's pretty sure he'll end up in the same place he's fished all week.
"I'm not going to change much – I need to dance with the lady that got me there," he said. "I had 2 good days there and I'd been catching a 4-pounder each day, so I know I'm around a few bigger fish.
"If I can get a good largemouth and a couple of 2 1/2-pound spots, I might have the weight I need."
Clifford Pirch thinks he'll need at least 15 pounds tomorrow to have a chance at a comeback win.
Pirch Will Jig for Giants
Pirch, in 6th, is more than 7 pounds out of the top slot. He caught just two keepers today for 4-02.
Still, the second-year pro from Arizona hasn't given up hope of victory.
"Shin's got a pretty good lead, but you can get a good one-day bag here if you're fishing for the big ones," he said. "When it works, it works.
"I'm not fishing a certain area, just a pattern, but I know there are a lot of 4- and 5-pounders still around. I'm fishing a lot of the pre-spawn spots where the big females had pulled up, and I'm just trying to fish wherever they may have backed out to. I know there's good ones there."
He plans to fish a jig all day. However, if he catches a couple of big ones early, he might go to a worm to try to fill out his limit.
"With the jig, you might only get five or six bites, but they're tanks when they're going good," he said. "There's a few docks that I could fish with a worm, but it won't be my primary deal."
He thinks if he can catch 15 pounds tomorrow, he'll have a chance to win. "I was pretty excited today when I saw that the weights weren't up," he said. "It was tough all across the board, so it's still open."
Omori's Bites Dwindled
Omori, in 7th, said the high-pressure system gave his river fish a case of lockjaw.
"The weather changed and the fish just didn't bite," he said. "If I get five bites a day, that's what I need to win the tournament. I only got two keeper bites today and three non-keepers."
The rising barometer wasn't the only thing that worked against him. The wind was a big hindrance too.
"It was so windy that I couldn't control my boat to make a good cast," he said. "One of the keys is the angle for the cast, and the wind was blowing the boat so bad that I couldn't get the right angle."
He thinks he'll need to catch 17 or 18 pounds tomorrow to have a chance to win. In other words, he needs a miracle.
"I'll just go fishing and have a good time," he said. "I'll do my best and see what happens. That's all I can do."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 10 anglers, three limits, five 3s, two 2s.
> Rose, in 3rd, is 1-10 back. Does he think he still has a chance to win? "Honestly, no," he said. "I feel like I have the potential, on a real good day, to get 9 pounds again. I was really above my expectations today. I'd love to be in the position to go out and try to catch a big bag, but I haven't been able to do it. If I caught 8 pounds tomorrow, I'd be really happy."
> Robertson (9th) was limited to three tiny spots. He said he caught a bunch of largemouths that were just shy of the 15-inch minumum for that species. "They were all 14 1/2 or 14 3/4," he said. "I probably caught 10 of those."
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Weather Forecast
Heare's the Weather Channel's forecast for the final tournament day.
> Sat., April 8 – Mostly Sunny – 59°/35°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 13 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Shinichi Fukae -- Mineola, TX -- 11-03
2. Craig Powers -- Rockwood, TN -- 9-12
3. Mark Rose -- Marion, AR -- 9-09
4. Jeffrey Thomas -- Broadway, NC -- 5-07
5. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5-05
6. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 4-02
7. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 3-14
8. Koby Kreiger -- Okeechobee, FL -- 3-11
9. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, OK -- 2-14
10. Toby Hartsell -- Livingston, TX -- 2-09
