Yelas, Ehrler Emerge, Gags Limps Through

Twelve of the 24 anglers who fished today at the FLW Tour Championship rounded turn 3, but saw the finish line

was still miles away. The 12 others hit the wall and watched their season end.

Of those 12 who made it through the smoke, two emerged as frontrunners.

Jay Yelas, who won a Bassmaster Classic in this same city (Birmingham) in 2002, caught 14-03 – the day's best sack. Yelas is clearly on something good, and he's been able to manage his fish. His three weights – 13-01, 13-14 and 14-03 – show not only his consistency, but the scary fact that his bite is getting stronger as other stuff dwindles.

Weights are zeroed for tomorrow's final day of competition, but if Yelas can catch 14 pounds again, it could be a done deal.

The biggest surprise today was Gagliardi's stumble and Ehrler's leap. Gagliardi caught the best bag on both days 1 and 2, but limped in with just 8-08 today. He doesn't feel he's out of fish, but Yelas' fish have bit every day, which definitely throws the odds to Yelas.

Back to Ehrler. Like Yelas, he's getting better – 9-15, 10-12 and 13-04. Ehrler, though, doesn't seem to have anything solid. He's not fishing on luck, but is running by the seat of his pants. If his bite doesn't work tomorrow, he probably doesn't have anything left to fall back on.

Don't overlook Shinichi Fukae, who weighed 12-14 today and knocked out Luke Clausen by 2 ounces. Because of Shin's language barrier, it's difficult to get a read on his bite. But he's been strong, and has won two ultra-tight brackets. He tied Alton Jones on day 1, beat him by an ounce on day 2, then squeaked past Clausen today.

Steve Kennedy's on good stuff, and his weight today (8-09) is misleading. He ditched his shallow stuff, headed south and got on the football-head. He dumped at least three quality fish. If his deep fish bite again tomorrow, he's got all the potential for a 14-pound bag.

George Cochran, as always, is lurking in the shadows. He's on the shallow river bite and all alone. He hasn't weighed an eye-popping bag yet, but has been consistent, and the river bite's slow, but always steady.

Here's a look at the final 12 who will fish tomorrow, followed by their weights today:

Jay Yelas: 5, 14-03
Brent Ehrler: 5, 13-04
Shinichi Fukae: 5, 12-14
Andy Morgan: 5, 11-15
Ray Scheide: 5, 10-15
David Dudley: 5, 10-14
Clark Wendlandt: 5, 10-05
Brennan Bosley: 5, 9-15
George Cochran: 5, 9-09
Steve Kennedy: 5, 8-09
Anthony Gagliardi: 5, 8-08
Kim Stricker: 4, 7-01

Once again, the bracket format dealt out heartbreak. There was Luke Clausen, who caught 12-12 today but won't fish tomorrow. Same for Thanh Le (11-01). All told, six losers caught more than Kim Stricker, who moved past Tony Couch with 7-01.

Two other ultra-tight brackets were David Dudley (10-14) over Scott Martin (10-00) by 14 ounces, and Brennan Bosley (9-15) over Dion Hibdon (8-15) by a pound.

Except for Kennedy's glimmer of football-head hope, the deep bite definitely died today. The popular scapegoat was lack of current – there was none to speak of today – but the fish might just be beat up. The unlimited practice allowed by FLW Outdoors, along with 3 tournament days and local pressure, could just as easily be the culprit.

Both Yelas and Ehrler are committed to docks and the areas in-between them. Most of the other bracket-winners caught shallow fish today.

But Logan Martin is a classic every-other-day fishery, which means the deep bite could turn on again tomorrow. Especially if the expected storms arrive early and get the bait moving.

Deja Vu for Yelas

Four years ago, Jay Yelas won the Bassmaster Classic in this same arena – the Birmingham Convention Center.

As he stood onstage today, he said it was like deja vu. "I won in this same arena at Lay Lake, and the feeling really defies explanation. God has been good to me. I give the glory to Jesus Christ."

About his day, he later said: "I feel good. It was a good day. It started out fast – I maybe had 12 pounds by 9:00 – so I backed off that stuff for several hours.

"I kind of got concerned near the end of the day because I hadn't culled any fish. I thought I needed 13 pounds, so I went back to one of my best spots and caught a 3-pounder.

"It turns out I didn't need that fish. I hope it won't come back to haunt me tomorrow."

He noted that pro fishing "is the only sport in the world where you don't know the score. You just don't know what you need. I figured I'd be better off making sure than coming in guessing.

"You can't win the tournament if you don't make it until tomorrow. (Thanh Le) caught 12 pounds the first day, and I thought he might do it again, so my goal was 13 pounds."

He's fishing a new, but undisclosed, Berkley Power Worm that released last February. He told the weigh-in crowd that if he wins, he'll have one for everybody at the Berkley booth. "I've never fished a worm in Alabama until this week," he added. "These Alabama bass just love it. They're eating it up."

He's won three of the four major titles in pro bass fishing: The Classic, and both the BASS and FLW Angler of the Year (AOY) titles. He has the opportunity to win the fourth tomorrow.

"What a privilege that would be," he said. "I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the FLWTC. That doesn't come along very often. It's not something I take lightly."

Ehrler's Day Was 'Fun'

After days 1 and 2, Ehrler was frustrated that he couldn't get to his morning topwater bite in time. Turns out he didn't need it today.

With a 13-04 limit, he breezed past Ramie Colson Jr. by a 5-10 margin.

"This is awesome – it feels so good," Ehrler said. "I just wanted to make it through.

"I got a couple of good bites early and actually started having fun. I had a really good time today."

He caught all his fish today in 2 to 15 feet of water with a shakey-head and Lucky Craft RC 1.5 crankbait. He's caught only spotted bass all week, and his biggest today was a 3 1/2.

About tomorrow, he said: "If the fish are there, and I can get them to bite, I think I have a good shot at it. I can probably just as easily catch 13 or 14 pounds as 6 pounds.

"There's a lot of big fish where I'm fishing. If I can hook them and get them in, I think I'll do pretty well."

This is only his second year on the Tour, but he's not nervous because "it's up to the fish at this point. I really don't think I can make any different decisions tomorrow. I know exactly where I want to go. It's completely up to them."

Morgan Has No Plan

Andy Morgan caught 11-15 and moved past Gary Yamamoto today by a 1-13 margin. All week he's been on a few-but-quality pattern. That changed today when he worked through about 15 fish. As for tomorrow, he's not sure what he's going to do.

"I'm glad to be here – fishing tomorrow – I'll tell you that," he said. "It was a pretty tough day, and I worked hard. Gary's a great competitor – he's always tough.

"But I'll pretty much have to make it up tomorrow. It was pretty slack today. I thought I'd catch them better than I did."

He did get one big bite late in the day, but it broke off. And he spent most of the day shallow – in 8 feet of water or less.

"I'm starting to take a little toll on it, but I did catch them in a couple of new places today," he added. "I probably think it'll take 14 pounds tomorrow. I can do it. I have a good shot at it."

Scheide Shy of 13

Third-year pro Ray Scheide went into today with a 13-pound goal. He came up 2 pounds shy and weighed 10-15, but advanced past Chip Harrison by a 1-07 margin.

"I had the fish on to get 13, but they got off," he said. "I had them right to the net and couldn't get them in.

"I did what I was doing yesterday," he added. "I needed current. Finally, I pulled up on one of my last current spots and caught a 3-pounder. My co-angler caught a 3-pounder, then I lost a 3-pounder at the boat."

He had one of the larger cheering sections at the weigh-in, and noted how happy he was just to make it to day 4.

"My family all came from everywhere – up and down the East Coast, and Arkansas. This is my third year doing this. Four years ago, never in my wildest dreams would did I think I'd be doing this for a living."

> He threw a Berkley Power Worm at least part of the day.

Dudley's Spot Died

David Dudley had been working a single offshore area, but it did nothing for him today. He spent the rest of the day scrambling and caught 10-14, which moved him past Scott Martin by a 14-ounce margin.

"I never got a bite on my spot," he said. "I don't think they pulled water today. I think (when they do pull water) it just positions them on structure a lot better – they draw tight to it and they're ready to eat.

"When they don't pull it, they're kind of roaming around."

He thinks his fish are still there, since "they bit every day except today," but he just needs "the water to move in order for them to bite."

"I don't study the history of when they pull and don't pull," he added. "I just go fishing, then make the decision of when to move and when not to move."

Wendlandt Doesn't Have One

Clark Wendlandt's 10-05 was more than enough to move past Toshinari Namiki, who only weighed 4-06 today.

When asked about his bite – whether it's still strong or starting to fade – Wendlandt said: "I don't really think I have a bite. I just go fishing and fish what I think's right.

"I'm going to go and try to repeat what I did today. If I can do okay, I think I've got a chance."

He's knows he needs a big bite, though – probably two – which he didn't get today. He caught a 4-pounder on day 1 and a 3-pounder yesterday, but today his sack was pretty much a clump of 2s.

"I'm going to change up," he added. "I'll go to a place I haven't fished, and I don't know how good it'll be. I think it's good, but we'll have to wait and see.

"I won't start there, but I'll fish it."

Cochran Knows What He'll Do

Cochran strung up a small 9-09 limit today and knocked out Rob Kilby, who weighed 6-12.

"I'm real excited," Cochran said. "Alabama is my favorite state to fish, and I'm excited about having a chance to fish tomorrow for that big trophy."

About his day, he said: "I didn't catch what I was hoping to catch. I fished some new water today to start off with, hoping a place I found 6 days ago had some fish. I hadn't fished them yet and wanted to check them out. There was nothing there.

"Then, after I wasted about 2 hours, I ended up catching one good fish, and had one other real good fish pull off."

He noted he caught 10 to 12 keepers, but will change a little tomorrow to try for bigger bites. And he likes that the fishing's getting tougher. That's usually when he shines.

"I've got a better idea of what I want to do tomorrow to catch better fish," he added. "I'll fish different than I've been fishing, to catch different fish. I know the kind of stuff I caught the good one on today, so I'll zoom in on that kind of structure.

"Against these 11 guys, you have to have a good bag."

Kennedy Went South

Kennedy didn't hide the fact that he slipped through. "I'm a little surprised to be standing here," he said after his 8-09 beat out Rojas' 4-14 limit.

About his day, Kennedy said: "I struggled. I've been struggling all week. I went to the same bites I've been fishing, and I had two docks that have been really good to me.

"I put on braid and a 15-pound fluorocarbon leader, hoping to get some of those fish out. I threw under there and didn't get a bite. My partner was throwing 6-pound, and he caught two keepers behind me.

"I picked up 8-pound and on the first cast, a fish took my stuff. So I still didn't get them out of there."

After that, he pulled the plug and headed for the south end to fish deep. He got on something good, but it might have been better if not for more fish-loss problems.

"I ended up going out to a deep spot and threw a football-head (jig) – just like I did at Kentucky Lake," he said. "On my first cast I had an awesome bite, and on my second cast I missed another good one. Then on my third cast I missed a 2 1/2."

He eventually caught his limit from that spot and a few others, and his fifth fish came right at 3:00.

Tomorrow he plans to hit his two good docks again, then go out to the deep stuff.

Gagliardi Limits, That's It

Gagliardi was the tournament stud on both days 1 and 2, but his crankbait bite was off today. He dropshotted an early limit, but never could connect with the quality he did the previous 2 days.

Danny Correia made it easy for him though, and Gagliardi's 8-08 easily surpassed Correia's 6-02.

"I don't know what happened – it was just slow," Gagliardi said. "I never got the bites today. I caught my limit in probably 30 minutes, then left there to make my milk run on brush, points, humps – everything. I just never caught them out there."

He doesn't think his spots are worn out. Instead, he thinks it's a timing deal, and his timing was off today.

"I feel the fish are still there. That's where they live. It's whether you can figure out the right way to be there at the right time.

"So tomorrow I may jumble things up and hit different places early."

Stricker Advances With Four

Of the 12 who advanced today, Kim Sticker caught the least weight. His 7-01 beat out Tony Couch by 11 ounces. Stricker only weighed four fish and noted his co-angler outfished him all day long.

"David Hudson, my partner, caught 15 keepers today," he said. "I did have a 3 1/2-pound spot, but after that I never got another keeper.

"Sometimes it's meant to be. I never thought I would have made it."

As for tomorrow, he said: "I'll position myself to catch better fish. I had somewhat of a strategy going into this. If it pays off, it'll be great."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 24 anglers, 23 limits, 1 four.

> FLW Outdoors CEO and emcee Charlie Evans has noted Jay Yelas' and Luke Clausen's Bassmaster Classic victories each night onstage. This year at the Classic, BASS never referenced by name Luke Clausen's past FLWTC victory.

> Gary Yamamoto celebrates his 63rd birthday tomorrow.

> Toshinari Namiki became emotional onstage as his season ended. He's retuning to Japan and will no longer fish the U.S. for the foreseeable future. "I will really miss it," he said. "But I'm sure I will come back two or three times a year."

> After Wendlandt advanced past Namiki, Wendlandt said: "I want to say something about the Japanese anglers who come to fish. We have here some really awesome fishermen – Toshi, Shinichi, Takahiro (Omori). Those guys are finesse fishermen, but they can power-fish too. They're awesome."

> Cochran, Larry Nixon and Rob Kilby are all from Arkansas and all good friends. In fact, they roomed together for this event. Cochran faced Nixon in the first round, and advanced past Kilby today.

> Kennedy was seen waiting around the Convention Center long after everyone had left. He said he was waiting for his wife Julia to return – she was out on a frantic search of local tackle shops for a bait. What bait was it? He'll tell BassFans tomorrow.

Weather Forecast

Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the final tournament day.

> Sat, Aug. 5 – Mostly Sunny – 95°/71°
- Wind: From the E/SE at 5 mph

Day 3 Standings

The 12 anglers who'll fish tomorrow are all tied for 1st place, since weights are zeroed tomorrow.

Jay Yelas -- Tyler, Texas -- 5, 14-03
Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Calif. -- 5, 13-04
Shinichi Fukae -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 12-14
Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tenn. -- 5, 11-15
Ray Scheide -- Russellville, Ark. -- 5, 10-15
David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va. -- 5, 10-14
Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Texas -- 5, 10-05
Brennan Bosley -- Benton, Ark. -- 5, 9-15
George Cochran -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 9-09
Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Ala. -- 5, 8-09
Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 5, 8-08
Kim Stricker -- Howell, Mich. -- 4, 7-01

The following anglers did not win their brackets and won't be fishing tomorrow:

13. Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wash. -- 5, 12-12 -- $17,000
14. Thanh Le -- Davie, Fla. -- 5, 11-01 -- $17,000
15. Gary Yamamoto -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 10-02 -- $17,000
16. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 5, 10-00 -- $17,000
17. Chip Harrison -- Bremen, Ind. -- 5, 9-08 -- $17,000
18. Dion Hibdon -- Stover, Mo. -- 5, 8-15 -- $17,000
19. Ramie Colson Jr. -- Cadiz, Ky. -- 5, 7-10 -- $16,000
20. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 6-12 -- $16,000
21. Tony Couch -- Buckhead, Ga. -- 5, 6-06 -- $16,000
22. Danny Correia -- Marlborough, Mass. -- 5, 6-02 -- $16,000
23. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline, Texas -- 5, 4-14 -- $16,000
24. Toshinari Namiki -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 4-06 -- $16,000

Day 3 Standings By Bracket

Matchups in red were less than 1 1/2 pounds apart.

Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 5, 8-08
22. Danny Correia -- Marlborough, Mass. -- 5, 6-02 -- $16,000
_____

Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Calif. -- 5, 13-04
19. Ramie Colson Jr. -- Cadiz, Ky. -- 5, 7-10 -- $16,000
_____

Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tenn. -- 5, 11-15
15. Gary Yamamoto -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 10-02 -- $17,000
_____

Jay Yelas -- Tyler, Texas -- 5, 14-03
14. Thanh Le -- Davie, Fla. -- 5, 11-01 -- $17,000
_____

David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va. -- 5, 10-14
16. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 5, 10-00 -- $17,000
_____

Ray Scheide -- Russellville, Ark. -- 5, 10-15
17. Chip Harrison -- Bremen, Ind. -- 5, 9-08 -- $17,000
_____

Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Texas -- 5, 10-05
24. Toshinari Namiki -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 4-06 -- $16,000
_____

Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Ala. -- 5, 8-09
23. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline, Texas -- 5, 4-14 -- $16,000
_____

Shinichi Fukae -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 12-14
13. Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wash. -- 5, 12-12 -- $17,000
_____

George Cochran -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 9-09
20. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 6-12 -- $16,000
_____

Brennan Bosley -- Benton, Ark. -- 5, 9-15
18. Dion Hibdon -- Stover, Mo. -- 5, 8-15 -- $17,000
_____

Kim Stricker -- Howell, Mich. -- 4, 7-01
21. Tony Couch -- Buckhead, Ga. -- 5, 6-06 -- $16,000

Day 3 Standings By Weight

Anglers in red aren't fishing tomorrow.

1. Jay Yelas -- Tyler, Texas -- 5, 14-03
2. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Calif. -- 5, 13-04
3. Shinichi Fukae -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 12-14
4. Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wash. -- 5, 12-12
5. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tenn. -- 5, 11-15
6. Thanh Le -- Davie, Fla. -- 5, 11-01
7. Ray Scheide -- Russellville, Ark. -- 5, 10-15
8. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va. -- 5, 10-14
9. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Texas -- 5, 10-05
10. Gary Yamamoto -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 10-02
11. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 5, 10-00
12. Brennan Bosley -- Benton, Ark. -- 5, 9-15
13. George Cochran -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 9-09
14. Chip Harrison -- Bremen, Ind. -- 5, 9-08
15. Dion Hibdon -- Stover, Mo. -- 5, 8-15
16. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Ala. -- 5, 8-09
17. Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 5, 8-08
18. Ramie Colson Jr. -- Cadiz, Ky. -- 5, 7-10
19. Kim Stricker -- Howell, Mich. -- 4, 7-01
20. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ark. -- 5, 6-12
21. Tony Couch -- Buckhead, Ga. -- 5, 6-06
22. Danny Correia -- Marlborough, Mass. -- 5, 6-02
23. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline, Texas -- 5, 4-14
24. Toshinari Namiki -- Mineola, Texas -- 5, 4-06