It's Peter T.'s To Lose, Menendez 1-05 Back

Peter Thliveros was the potent portable today. He took what he'd learned the first 2 days

at Texas' Eagle Mountain Lake and grafted it onto brand new water at nearby Lake Benbrook. His Eagle Mt. pattern held up and he slammed another 7-pounder.

He added three other fish to his 7-pound toad for 15-03 total. He leads the Bassmaster Memorial by 1-05 with 1 day to go.

Of the 12 anglers who fished today, Mark Menendez was the only one who caught a limit. He's currently 2nd with 13-14.

Mike Iaconelli, who came up 19 spots yesterday to lead the cut, is 3rd with four fish for 10-12.

Skeet Reese, currently 4th, lost a big one today and weighed four for 10-09.

Greg Hackney caught enough to fish again, but is committed to a wholesale change tomorrow. His three-fish, 7-10 sack puts him 5th.

Edwin Evers was the last angler who advanced to fish tomorrow. He's 6th with three fish for 7-03.

Here's how the rest of the field finished:

7. Mike McClelland: 3, 7-00
8. Todd Faircloth: 2, 4-11
9. Dave Wolak: 2, 4-06
10. Randy Howell: 1, 4-02
11. John Crews: 2, 4-00
12. Matt Reed: 0, 0-00

The Benbrook bite is tough to read. There's a general agreement that the best bite is deeper, and that holes 1, 2 and 6 are the best. But Hackney thinks holes 3 and 4 are the key – even though he didn't catch anything there today.

Hole choice is based on Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year (AOY) standings, so Iaconelli gets first choice for tomorrow, followed by Hackney, then Reese.

A major factor today was navigation. Three anglers suffered boat trouble, and at least two of those incidents were caused by submerged wood. Anglers have never fished the lake before, and even a conservative run between holes can be hairy.

Another factor was wind. Sustained winds in the teens kept some anglers shallower than they wanted to be. If it lays down tomorrow, that'll open up some of the deeper points and sunken forests that were unfishable today.

Thliveros' pattern seems solid. He caught a 7-pounder yesterday at Eagle Mt. on it, and again today at Benbrook. He caught his fish along the dam on both lakes. At Benbrook, the dam water is split by two different holes, which he fished last today.

He doesn't have much going besides the dam bite, and that's his only visible weakness. He's in clear command, but if his dam bite doesn't happen – or it if happens and he doesn't execute – he'll leave the $250,000 door wide open for someone else to walk through.

Thliveros Ready

Thliveros, a 24-year pro, last won at the Harris Chain Bassmaster in 2005. A win here would net him $250,000 – more than twice what the Harris Chain paid.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "I feel like I'm ready to catch them tomorrow. I had five keeper bites that I know of for sure, maybe six. And I lost one about 3 1/2 or 4 pounds.

"I think I can get that many bites tomorrow, but I have to put them all in the boat.

"My pattern carried over," he added. "I fished the exact same pattern 2 days in a row on different lakes. All my fish came off riprap on the dam."

With 12 anglers today, two anglers fished a hole simultaneously. That meant he could see a little of what others in the field were doing. He noted nobody he saw was fishing the way he was.

"The only thing I'll do different tomorrow is I'll show up an hour earlier where I'm catching them, as opposed to the exact same time.

"I'm trying to time it to where I get there in the same timeframe every day. (Hole choice) worked out the way I wanted it to, and I got the position I wanted to start in for tomorrow.

"I think it's mine to lose," he added. "I'm not nervous. I'm ready to get 'er done. It's not about having to or getting to – it's just about wanting to.

"I want to win this one."

4th: Reese Started Fresh

Unlike Thliveros, Reese couldn't bring his pattern over to Benbrook. He's not out of it – he's 4-10 behind the Thliveros – but he could have been a lot closer if he executed on a big fish today.

"I'm happy to be in the Top 6 – at least I'm fishing tomorrow," he said. "I still have an opportunity to win the tournament.

"Would I like to have a 10-pound lead over everybody? Yeah. But I had my opportunity to have a much bigger bag and lost one between 6 and 7. That would have made a huge difference."

On his chances to win, he said: "I'm not feeling super optimistic about going and catching a big stringer of fish tomorrow. The best I can do is win, the worst I can do is 6th.

"I'll just fish my butt off, hope I can get five good bites and do the best I can do. And it's still possible that I catch 10 pounds tomorrow and still win. Anything's possible."

He caught two fish today on a 5/8-ounce Terminatorjig, and three on a new Berkley Power Shaker.

"That's the first time I've thrown a worm all week," he said. "I rigged about 15 rods last night for all different situations."

He got the third pick for a starting hole tomorrow. "Ike picked 1, Hackney picked 2, and I picked 6. So I think there's three holes producing fish – 6, 1 and 2.

"I didn't know if I should start in 3 and 4 and work my way down into better stuff, so I said give me 6 and I'll start there. If I don't catch any in the first 3 1/2 hours, I'm screwed, because holes 3 and 4 suck. I think 5 is bad too."

5th: Hackney Will Change

Hackney only boated three keepers today for 7-10, and he's a little more than 7 1/2 pounds behind Thliveros. But he took some positives away from his day – mainly, the conviction that he needs to change tomorrow.

"I eliminated a lot of stuff today," he said. "I only had three opportunities, and I caught them on three different baits.

"So I'm completely changing everything tomorrow – I'll fish totally different. I'm going out almost like I've never seen the lake before."

His main problem this morning was he tried to use his Eagle Mt. pattern, but the conditions were too different. And as part of his "different" mentality, he'll attack holes 3 and 4, where he didn't catch a fish today.

"I'm really looking most forward to those holes tomorrow. The way I see it, they're really subject to producing a big bag.

"And I can win it. If you look at the weights today, there was only one limit, and he (Menendez) only had five bites. I don't necessarily know that anybody's dialed in to the point where their pattern will work tomorrow. It'll be wide-open.

"It's Peter T.'s to lose," he added. "If he goes out and catches anything, he'll win. If he doesn't, he leaves it open for the five other guys."
More details on this tournament will be posted soon.

7th: McClelland Mixed About Finish

Mike McClelland finished 7th with 7-00 and missed the cut by 3 ounces.

"I feel really good about the finish – my first Top 12 this year," he said. "It'll definitely boost the confidence.

"But I'm disappointed that I'm not fishing tomorrow because I really think I finally figured something out in a couple holes this afternoon. I think I really could have caught them tomorrow.

"It's just one of those deals," he added. "You don't capitalize on some bites you get, and it costs you."

He didn't lose any fish today, but missed hooking a few – although he caught a few drum and the missed bites could have been drum too.

He fished a jig all week. Today he threw a new 1/2-ounce Jewel Heavy Cover Finesse jig (peanut-butter-and-jelly/smoke), tipped with a Zoom Tiny Brush Hog.

On Eagle Mt. he swam a 5/16-ounce Jewel Eakins' jig (watermelon/purple-flash) with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. (root-beer/pepper-green).

9th: Wolak Satisfied

Dave Wolak led day 1, then made the cut in 2nd. But he only weighed two fish for 4-06 today.

"I'm satisfied," he said. "It's heartbreaking when you don't catch the one more you needed to make another cut, but it was more than I expected, so I'm happy with it."

He fished a lot of different stuff today and approached "each hole with a new outlook." He Carolina-rigged and threw a shakey-head in the clearer water near the dam, then threw reaction baits up the river in the mud.

"I just needed one more keeper. A lot of it had to do with the rotation. I started on hole 2, then went 3, 4, 5, 6. I think 3, 4 and 5 were the toughest holes. Most anglers I talked to didn't catch anything in those holes.

"And you couldn't fish out deep (in those holes) today – it was too windy. The holes down by the dam had deep-water access and better concentrations of fish, but I didn't get down there until later in the afternoon."

About his Eagle Mt. pattern – which produced 16-14 on day 1 and 10-00 on day 2 – he said: "I just looked for areas with deep-water access. Whether I caught fish deep or shallow, there had to be deep-water access close by. The fish were in late post-spawn and moving out to deep water.

"I tried to intercept them when they were suspended near deep structure."

One of his key cover elements was long docks that stretched out to 30 feet of water, where he fished the 15- to 20-foot zone.

"I was using a little vibration bait called a Bass Egg," he noted. "It's a custom bait made by a guy in North Carolina. And I did catch one good one a Swarming Hornet (jighead-spinner).

"The Bass Egg weighs 1 ounce and has a very tight vibration. I'd kind of pump it off bottom and work it in 10-foot sweeps for suspended fish. I caught a 5-pounder on it 20 feet down in 30 feet of water." He fished the Egg on braided line for a better feel.

He also threw worms to catch suspended fish on the fall.

12th: Reed Lost Lower Unit

Matt Reed zeroed today and finished 12th.

"I knocked the crap out of a stump," he said. "It's dangerous as all get out. And I was in like 25 feet of water and couldn't see one anywhere."

It knocked him out commission for a little while – until BASS loaned him a boat – but he didn't blame the trouble for his zero. "That wasn't the death of my day, but that was in my first hole and it didn't get the day off on a good note.

"I just never got anything going. I really think the worst thing was I got one keeper bite in about 6 inches of water and I got locked in to trying to make something work. I spent too much time doing that."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 12 anglers, 1 limit, 3 fours, 3 threes, 3 twos, 1 one, 1 zero.

> ESPN2 will broadcast same-day coverage of tomorrow's weigh-in at 7 p.m. EST.

> Menendez appeared on the weigh-in stage with his dog Barkley. He said, "You've got to let instincts take over when you have little knowledge of a fishery. I just let that Strike King bait show me the way."

> Menendez received a hardship exemption, which helped him qualify for the Memorial. He was stricken with meningitis last year and missed the majority of the 2005 Bassmaster Tour. BASS instead used his 2002, 2003 and 2004 AOY standings to calculate his position in qualification.

> After competition, Iaconelli will fly to California for a an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The show will air Wed., May 24 at 12:05 a.m. EST on ABC.

Weather Report

> Sun, May 21 – Mostly Sunny – 92°/67°
- Wind: From the S at 13 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, Fla. -- 4, 15-03 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 8-03 -- Day 2: 4, 13-12 -- Day 3: 4, 15-03

2. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, Ky. -- 5, 13-14 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 12-03 -- Day 2: 4, 8-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-14

3. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, N.J. -- 4, 10-12 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 10-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 4, 10-12

4. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 4, 10-09 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 4, 10-09

5. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 3, 7-10 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 9-11 -- Day 3: 3, 7-10

6. Edwin Evers -- Talala, Okla. -- 3, 7-03 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 8-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 3, 7-03

The following anglers didn't make the cut and won't be fishing tomorrow:

7. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, Ark. -- 3, 7-00 -- 0, $16,500.00
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 4, 8-01 -- Day 3: 3, 7-00

8. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Texas -- 2, 4-11 -- 0, $16,000.00
Day 1: 5, 9-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 2, 4-11

9. Dave Wolak -- Warrior Run, Pa. -- 2, 4-06 -- 0, $16,500.00
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 4, 10-00 -- Day 3: 2, 4-06

10. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 1, 4-02 -- 0, $15,000.00
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 4, 7-04 -- Day 3: 1, 4-02

11. John Crews -- Salem, Va. -- 2, 4-00 -- 0, $13,100.00
Day 1: 2, 6-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06 -- Day 3: 2, 4-00

12. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, Texas -- 0, 0-00 -- 0, $13,000.00
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-09 -- Day 3: 0, 0-00

Big Bass

> Day 2 -- Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, Fla. -- 7-05 -- $1,000
> Day 2 -- Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, Fla. -- 7-00 -- $1,000
> Day 1 -- Mark Menendez -- Paducah, Ky. -- 7-01 -- $1,000