With 24-11 Shock-Sack, Kriet Now Leads By 7 Ounces

Until today, the Grand Lake Bassmaster Elite Series was all about the No. 1 ranked angler in the world, and a virtually unknown rookie. Kevin VanDam (the former) and Marty Robinson (the latter) are still right in the game, but now the focus is squarely on home-stater Jeff Kriet.

The Oklahoma pro stunned the field

with a 24-11 sack today that skyrocketed him all the way from 8th into the lead position.

His advantage is just 7 ounces though, so it'd be fair to call it an even heat between him and VanDam, with Robinson less than 2 pounds back. Here's how it all came to be.

VanDam led days 1 and 2 with 21-11 and 21-08. But today he weighed just 16-03, and now sits in 2nd with 59-06.

Robinson opened with 20-even, followed with 20-05, and boxed 17-12 today for 58-01 total.

Kriet started a touch slower with 19-even, stumbled yesterday with 16-02, then rocked 24-11 for his 59-13, 3-day total.

Another shocker was Kevin Short, who caught 21-08 today – second only to Kriet's limit. He began the day in 13th and now sits in 4th.

Edwin Evers, who started the day in 3rd, is still hanging around, but he lost significant ground with his 13-10 limit today. He's now 8th.

Here's a look at the Top 12 anglers who made today's cut and will fish tomorrow. Note that total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.

1. Jeff Kriet: 59-13
2. Kevin VanDam: 59-06 (0-07)
3. Marty Robinson: 58-01 (1-12)
4. Kevin Short: 55-14 (3-15)
5. Davy Hite: 53-03 (6-10)
6. Timmy Horton: 52-15 (6-14)
7. Boyd Duckett: 52-04 (7-09)
8. Edwin Evers: 51-07 (8-05)
9. Matt Reed: 50-12 (9-01)
10. Kelly Jordon: 50-01 (9-12)
11. Mike McClelland: 49-15 (9-14)
12. Terry Scroggins: 49-07 (10-05)

In addition to Short, others who moved into the cut today were Jordon (up from 14th) and Terry Scroggins (up from 18th).

Those who fell out were Scott Rook (9th to 14th), Todd Faircloth (11th to 16th), and Derek Remitz (11th to 20th).

So the leaderboard obviously changed considerably less than yesterday, when upheavals were the rule. That shows the strength of patterns within the current Top 12.

But more than "patterns," the event has really transformed into a battle of spots. The top anglers, for the most part, are working a rotation through several areas. When the large gizzard shad pull up, the big bass follow and the bite turns red-hot for a brief period. Then it dies.

Most of the weight comes during those brief flurries, although Robinson noted that he does have a plan to catch them when they stop eating.

Kriet took advantage of his window today, and said he probably could have culled up to 25 pounds, but he left it alone. He culled out a couple of 4-pounders, and that was enough. He needs those fish tomorrow.

The Top 3 are nearly even, but with what Kriet and Short did today, it's obvious that anyone in the Top 4 could hammer 21-plus-pounds tomorrow and win.

But remember too that if Hite, Horton or Duckett weighs 25 tomorrow, that forces everyone above into an 18-pound situation. In other words, this thing is wide open.

Note that today's weather was considerably different than yesterday's conditions. The field encountered clouds and heavy rains, with heavier winds. Some said it hurt, some said it didn't matter. Tomorrow's forecast calls for 14 mph winds out of the south, but only scattered showers.

Kriet Caught 'Em Early

"It was a good day," Kriet said. "I culled a 4 1/2-pounder, which is pretty unusual on this lake. Everything went right."

He said he caught the bulk of his fish between 9:00 and 12:00. He initially caught a 15-pound limit off one spot, then moved over to another spot and culled everything he had. He moved one more time and culled twice again.

His bag didn't include any giants, "just five good ones."

He added that the tournament's going to come down to timing. "If they bite tomorrow, I think I can catch another good sack. I just have to grind them out. I can't get in a hurry. Today I was just fortunate enough to catch them early."

He's been a solid angler for a number of years now, but has yet to win a tour-level event. About what a win would do for him at this point of his career, he said: "I want to win and all – that would be great. But that's one of those deals. If it's meant for me to win, I'm going to catch them.

"My whole deal is to go out there, fish real hard, and not get in a hurry. If I stay around them and don't get stupid, I think I can catch a good sack. But VanDam will probably catch 25 pounds tomorrow. So the main thing for me is that I want to go into the last tournament of the year with a chance to win Angler of the Year. Points are really important to me."

Back to the win question: "If I won, not only would that help me with (notoriety), but it would help me in the way I fish. It would give me more confidence that I can win at any time. I feel that way already, but I just haven't (won) yet."

2nd: VanDam Mad?

VanDam is usually succinct when there's 1 day left to fish. Today he was all that and more. In short, he seems mad that he didn't close the deal today. And when that happens, watch out.

About his lighter sack today (16-03), he said: "I don't know. I just didn't catch them. I can blame the clouds, or blame a lot of different things. I just didn't catch them.

"I know I'm around (big fish) – there's no doubt about that."

About tomorrow – specifically, what will win the tournament – he said: "It's whoever adapts to the changes. Today Kriet did the best job of that. Whoever catches the big bag tomorrow is going to win.

"I don't have anything (saved) – just my attitude," he added. "It's hard to get yourself in position to win. I'm not going to let it slide by easy."

3rd: Robinson on Plenty

Rookie Marty Robinson, as noted, is right there alongside Kriet and VanDam.

About his position, he said: "I feel good about it. I'm right where I want to be. When you're leading, it's great, but all the pressure's on you. Everything's dead set on you.

"I think being just within striking distance is actually an advantage."

He didn't touch the 20-pound mark today, and said that's because he never got a 5-pound bite. "The big ones move up and move out. One day they feed, and one day they don't. I think it goes every other day. I hope tomorrow all the big ones move up.

"If not, they'll have knocks on their heads from my bait."

About his nerves, he noted: "I'm not really nervous, yet. I'll maybe be a little nervous in the morning, but I'm used to being nervous.

"I'm going for the win. I'm sticking with my bite, and going for the big bites. I'm going for a 20-pound sack. I think I'll have a shot to win it with a 20-pound sack."

Notable is that he doesn't think his fish are used up. He got on a point today where he'd previously caught a 4 and was catching 3-pounders on back-to-back casts. He left it early. And he touched his best spot just once today – a spot where he'd caught three 5-pounders so far.

"The only thing that could hurt me is if the fish aren't biting," he said. "But I can react on it if they don't want to eat."

5th: Hite says "25 Is Possible"

Hite trails Kriet by 6-10, which means he likely needs a monster sack tomorrow to win. But also note that his heaviest limit so far weighed 19-01.

On whether he thinks he's got a shot to win, he said: "If you're fishing tomorrow, you're in it. There's 12 people, and I'm glad to be one of them, that's for sure.

"Twenty-five pounds on this lake is possible for sure. I haven't done it so far this week, and it would take a really good day, but it's definitely possible on this lake for anybody."

He added: "I feel good. I'm in 5th place, and it feels good to be fishing tomorrow. If you're fishing Sunday it's a good week."

6th: Horton 'In It' Too

Tim Horton weighed 18-02 today and is 6-14 in back of Kriet.

On whether he thinks he's still in it, Horton said: "I think so. I was one good bite away from having 21 or 22 pounds. Kriet would have to stumble though, and I don't wish that against him. He's a good angler, and he's due for a major win.

"I'd have to have some bad luck from a couple of guys up top, but heck yeah, if I can catch 25 pounds, I have a shot."

About his fishing so far in this event, he said: "It's really went well. I've fished a lot of new water during the event, and it's worked out. But you can kind of do that on a lake like this.

"I just hope not to fall (tomorrow)," he added. "And I hope to move up. I hope to have a good day and stay busy. Anything's possible and I really like that the deep-cranking bite's happening. I'm throwing a 3/4-ounce Fat Free Shad, which is one of my favorite things to do. You can graph them and catch them – it's a really neat lake."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 46 limits, 3 fours, 1 two.

> VanDam now officially leads the BASS Angler of the Year race.

> Past Grand champion McClelland, who's 11th, said: "The rain really didn't hurt the water color where I was fishing. It's one of those deals where the wind and turbulence changed things. It was really tough to fish the spots I'd been fishing. The wind blew so much harder today that it really got rough out there. Like last year, the fish I'm catching are in very specific spots – little rockpiles and brushpiles. When the wind blows, it's hard to feel those and stay where you need to."

> Scroggins, who's currently 12th, noted: "I caught them on two different baits. One was a medium-running Fat Free Shad (crankbait), and (the other was) a 10-inch Yum worm." He added that he fished the crank in 7 to 10 feet.

> Todd Faircloth caught 12-13 today and fell from 11th to finish 16th. "I had a really good day yesterday," he said. "I felt really good about today until this morning when I saw the weather out there. I caught a lot of fish. I just never caught a big one."

> Remitz on his fall to finish 20th: "All week I'd been catching them on a jig and big crankbait. I just never really got on anything solid. I'd just run around until I found fish. That's probably what hurt me today. I was trying to cover water, and probably covered too much water today."

Weather Forecast

Here's the forecast for the remaining tournament day.

> Sun, June 24 – Scattered T-Storms – 87°/70°
- Wind: From the S at 14 mph

Day 2 Standings

1. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 59-13 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 24-11

2. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 59-06 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-03

3. Marty Robinson -- Landrum, SC -- 15, 58-01 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-12

4. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 15, 55-14 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12 -- Day 3: 5, 21-08

5. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 53-03 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 5, 16-11

6. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 15, 52-15 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-07 -- Day 3: 5, 18-02

7. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 15, 52-04 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07

8. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 51-07 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 19-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-10

9. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 15, 50-12 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

10. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 15, 50-01 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 22-05 -- Day 3: 5, 16-01

11. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 49-15 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

12. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 49-07 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 16-01

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

13. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, OH -- 15, 48-07 -- 251 -- $10,800
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-02

14. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 47-13 -- 248 -- $10,700
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-12

15. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 47-10 -- 245 -- $11,600
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05

16. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 47-04 -- 243 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-11 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13

17. Ben Matsubu -- Hemphill, TX -- 15, 46-15 -- 241 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-04

18. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 15, 46-10 -- 239 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-02

19. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 15, 46-09 -- 237 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

20. Derek Remitz -- Hemphill, TX -- 15, 46-05 -- 235 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06 -- Day 3: 5, 11-14

21. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 15, 46-04 -- 233 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09

22. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 46-01 -- 231 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

23. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 46-00 -- 229 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13

24. Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville , FL -- 15, 45-12 -- 227 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

25. Chris Lane -- Winter Haven, FL -- 15, 45-09 -- 225 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

26. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, TX -- 15, 44-09 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 15-03

27. Jeremy Starks -- Charleston, WV -- 15, 44-08 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-07

28. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 15, 44-06 -- 219 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-04

29. Morizo Shimizu -- Murrieta, CA -- 15, 44-03 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

30. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 44-00 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

31. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15, 43-14 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

32. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 43-03 -- 211 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12

33. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 15, 43-02 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

34. Bradley Stringer -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 42-14 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 5, 10-05

35. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 42-13 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01

36. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, NC -- 15, 42-07 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

37. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 15, 42-06 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

38. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 14, 41-15 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 4, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

39. Darrin Schwenkbeck -- Varysburg, MD -- 15, 41-13 -- 196 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08

39. Jimmy Mason -- Rogersville, AL -- 15, 41-13 -- 196 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-12

41. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 41-11 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

42. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 15, 40-13 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-14 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02

43. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 40-11 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 5, 10-09

44. Glenn Delong -- Bellville, OH -- 13, 39-11 -- 187 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 4, 14-00 -- Day 3: 4, 10-03

45. Dave Smith -- Del City, OK -- 15, 39-08 -- 185 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-10

46. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 15, 39-07 -- 183 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

47. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, MO -- 15, 39-01 -- 181 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 10-12

48. Frank Scalish -- Cleveland Heights, OH -- 14, 39-00 -- 179 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 4, 08-11

49. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 14, 34-09 -- 177 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05 -- Day 3: 4, 07-06

50. Jim Murray -- Arabi, GA -- 12, 33-02 -- 175 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 2, 04-03

Big Bass

> Day 3 -- Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 06-02 -- $1,000
> Day 2 -- Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 06-04 -- $1,000
> Day 1 -- Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 05-14 -- $1,000