Horton Hammers 18-08, Holds Nearly 10-Pound Lead

Alabama's Tim Horton hasn't won a tour-level event in 6 years, but he looks about ready to break that streak at the Champlain Bassmaster Elite Series . He's maintained a screaming 21 1/2-pound average over 3 days and leads Steve Kennedy by 9-13 with 1 day to go.

Horton's daily catches of 21-02, 24-12, and today's 18-08 (64-06 total) have everybody else just shaking their heads and seemingly fishing for 2nd place. Kennedy held that spot yesterday and again today after catching 15-05 for a 3-day total of 54-09.

North Carolinian Britt Myers backed up yesterday's 18-07 with 18-13 today to move into 3rd place with 51-14. Fred Roumbanis bagged a so-so 14-05 today and slipped one place to 4th with 51-09.

Peter Thliveros popped into the Top 12 cut in 5th after catching 19-02 today for a 50-13 total.

Here's the rest of the Top 12 who advanced to fish tomorrow:

6. Skeet Reese: 50-09
7. Yusuke Miyazaki: 50-04
8. Shaw Grigsby: 49-12
9. Tommy Biffle: 49-07
10. Takahiro Omori: 49-05
11. Cliff Pace: 49-00
12. Bradley Hallman: 48-07

The run south to Ticonderoga was pleasant and wide-open throttle this morning, though the area was windy once anglers got there. Not all of the Top 12 are fishing south, but several are, and plan to go back tomorrow.

Wind might be a factor, but since the forecast is for southwest winds, they could hug the New York shore and avoid getting hammered too badly.

Thliveros jumped from 22nd to make the cut today. Grigsby did even better, leaping up from 27th. Not to be outdone, Omori climbed from a tie for 32nd, up 22 spots to fish tomorrow. Pace moved from 26th, and Hallman from a tie for 19th.

Those who dropped out of the cut were Steve Daniel (4th to 45th), Rick Clunn (5th to 26th), Scott Rook (6th to 14th), Paul Hirosky (7th to 47th), and Brent Chapman (8th to 13th).

Chapman was the first man out of the cut, missing it by only 1 ounce.

Horton Went Easy Again

Horton has been catching most of his weight in the first hour or 2 each day, and then leaving his primary water to scout new areas and work his way back toward the Plattsburgh, N.Y. launch site. That pattern repeated today, after he got the calm run he hoped for this morning.

"Everything went real good today," he said. "I stayed on my places about an hour and then left and fished some other stuff. I caught probably 30 to 40 fish, but I think I only culled once later in the day. I culled a 3-01 with a 3-08."

He still didn't want to discuss where he's fishing or any pattern details.

He's had a few spectator boats, but not many, and they've left him plenty of room.

Does he think he can best the 24-12 he caught yesterday?

"I'm really looking forward to staying on those places tomorrow and not having to save anything," he said. "But I'd be tickled with 15 pounds. If I catch much over that I may come back early."

That kind of caution is warranted on a lake where the wind and long runs can wreak havoc with boats, motors, and equipment.

Even if Horton bags just a workmanlike 15 pounds, Kennedy would have to catch a tournament-best 25 pounds to beat him.

2nd: Kennedy's Area Mowed

Kennedy has been fishing way down on the south end of the lake, pulling bass from grass mats with a topwater frog. His weights have dropped every day, and things just continue to deteriorate.

"I think I've caught all the big, aggressive ones on most of my stuff," he said. "Yesterday they bit really well, and I caught 8 or 9 on my first stop. But today, even though the run was calm and we ran wide open, the wind was straight in on where I was fishing. There were rollers on my mats.

"I stayed 2 hours and had only two bites, so I ran other stuff. I caught fish everywhere, but I had only 12 pounds at noon. I stopped a few places coming back north, and then stopped where I started the day and culled three times in 10 minutes.

"It was about as fast as it gets," he noted. "I'd make two or three casts, cull, and do it again. It made for a much better weight than otherwise I would have had, but it really wasn't much. The big bites never happened today."

He won't change much tomorrow.

"I don't see any hope of catching Timmy though. I just hope to hang onto 2nd. I expect probably 15 to 17 pounds, but the potential for a 20 is still there."

3rd: Myers Having a Ball

Myers came to Champlain at 66th in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race – nearly 30 places away from the Bassmaster Classic cutoff. His showing here will help his cause.

"I really needed to move up in the points," he said. "Lake Hartwell (site of the 2008 Classic) is close to home for me."

He's fishing the Ticonderoga grass.

"I located three schools of largemouths, on three different 50-yard square grass mats. In practice I got them on topwater lures, and I thought I'd be fishing that when we started the tournament, but it didn't happen.

"Late in the first day I started fishing a Gambler Ace and flipping a Gambler Ugly Otter. I wish I'd have figured it out earlier. I'm also throwing the Gambler Cane Toad (topwater), but the Ace has been the ace for me.

"I'm flipping it to patches of grass where baitfish are suspended. The bass hit it right away, and if they don't I just pitch to another patch. I'm not letting it go to the bottom."

He weighed just 14-10 on day 1, but over 18 pounds each of the last 2 days.

"If you could fish the whole day down there, everybody would have a 20-pound sack. But with the long run and weather, you have to leave early (to be sure to get back in time).

"I'm going back tomorrow and do the same thing. The only thing that concerns me is that I know there is a 50-boat tournament starting in Ticonderoga tomorrow. I've had a lot of people watching me fish, but if they give me room I think I can catch another 18 to 20 pounds.

"Every day my co-anglers have been catching fish and culling too, but tomorrow I'll have it all to myself."

The co-anglers finished up today, and camera boats will accompany the Top 12 pros tomorrow.

5th: Thliveros Got Better Bites

Thliveros is fishing a Carolina rig (no surprise there) on the north end of the lake, and nailed his best limit of the tournament today.

"The big ones just bit today, that's all the difference there was," he noted. "The weather was perfect today, with light wind, no rain, and the sunshine really helps. I'm not sure why but the largemouth seem to bite better when it's sunny.

"I've been fishing the same two or three places every day. I'm fishing a Carolina rig in 5 to 10 feet of water on the outside edges of grass. It's been consistent all week for numbers, but the size has been inconsistent. I don't know if there will be anything left for tomorrow.

He said he found the places a decade ago.

"Back then the grass grew all the way out to the edge where the rocks are. Then the grassline moved back and the largemouth left and smallmouths moved in. Now the grass is creeping back and the largemouth showed up again.

"I caught smallies in practice but that went south, and it surprised me, but the largemouth kind of replaced them.

He caught a 5 1/2-pounder in practice, but a 4 1/2 is the biggest he's boated in the tournament.

"I'm catching 10 to 15 fish a day. It's not been crazy, but okay.

"I weighed one smallmouth the first day, and I'm catching some every day on different spots from the largemouth, but they haven't helped."

14th: Dead Fish Cost Rook

Scott Rook fell from 6th to 14th today, with a total weight of 48-03. He missed the Top 12 cut by 4 ounces – the exact penalty he suffered for a dead fish at yesterday's weigh-in.

"I guess the rough ride back was too hard on it," he said.

He said all his fish looked healthy when he started his run to the launch site, but one went belly-up in the livewell. BASS rules prevent culling of dead fish.

If he had tied Bradley Hallman for 12th place, the tiebreaker would have been the heaviest single-day weight, which would have gone to Rook.

His weight today of 14-03 wasn't enough to make up the difference.

"I hammered them to make it to that third day," he said. "I guess there weren't enough good ones left. Then when I went to my backup spots, they had other people on them."

He fished the outside edges of grass in the south end using various baits, including a Chatterbait, buzzbait, crankbait, and flipping baits. His fish bit in 8 feet of water or less.

All of them were largemouths but one – a nice 4-pound smallmouth that hit a crankbait. "I don't know what he was doing up there."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 48 limits, 2 threes.

> Practice starts Monday for the next event at Lake Erie out of Buffalo, N.Y. The Top 12 at Champlain will have to load up and drive straight from tomorrow's weigh-in.

> VanDam, who leads Reese by 62 points in the AOY race, finished 27th. Reese made the Top 12 cut today in 6th. He may not overtake VanDam, but with the top-weighted points structure BASS uses, he will likely make up at least half the difference.

Weather Forecast

Here's the forecast for the final day of the tournament.

Sun., July 15 – Scattered T-Storms – 75°/58°
> Wind: From the SW at 14 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 15, 64-06 -- 310
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 24-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-08

2. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 54-09 -- 300
Day 1: 5, 21-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 5, 15-05

3. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, NC -- 15, 51-14 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 18-13

4. Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 51-09 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05

5. Peter E Thliveros -- Jacksonville, FL -- 15, 50-13 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02

6. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 50-09 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13 -- Day 3: 5, 17-08

7. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Mineola, TX -- 15, 50-04 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-07 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

8. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 49-12 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 18-14

9. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 49-07 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

10. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 49-05 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-05

11. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 49-00 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 5, 18-00

12. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 15, 48-07 -- 254 -- $1,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not be fishing tomorrow.

13. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 48-06 -- 251 -- $10,800
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08
14. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 48-03 -- 248 -- $10,700
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03
15. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 47-06 -- 245 -- $10,600
Day 1: 5, 15-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14
16. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 47-05 -- 243 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00 -- Day 3: 5, 17-07
17. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, NC -- 15, 47-01 -- 241 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15
18. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 15, 46-15 -- 238 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-09
18. Preston Clark -- Palatka, FL -- 15, 46-15 -- 238 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-07
20. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 15, 46-04 -- 235 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 17-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14
21. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 46-02 -- 233 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 16-12
22. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 45-15 -- 231 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05
23. Matthew Sphar -- Pavilion, NY -- 15, 45-13 -- 229 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00
24. Ken D Cook -- Lawton, OK -- 15, 45-12 -- 227 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-11
25. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, TX -- 15, 45-09 -- 225 -- $10,250
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13
26. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 45-06 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-02
27. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 45-04 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 13-04
28. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 15, 45-03 -- 218 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-12
28. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 45-03 -- 218 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05
30. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 45-00 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 14-10
31. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline, TX -- 15, 44-14 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01
32. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 15, 44-02 -- 211 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12
33. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 43-14 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04
34. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 15, 43-12 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07
35. James Kennedy -- Lacombe, LA -- 15, 43-07 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06
36. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 15, 43-06 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-06
37. Kurt Dove -- Fairfax, VA -- 15, 43-04 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08
38. Ray Sedgwick -- Cross, SC -- 15, 43-02 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 12-12
39. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, MD -- 15, 42-14 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-10
40. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 15, 42-13 -- 195 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15
41. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- 15, 42-10 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02
42. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 15, 42-09 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13
43. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 42-08 -- 188 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 18-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02
43. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 15, 42-08 -- 188 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-12
45. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 41-14 -- 184 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-11
45. Steve Daniel -- Clewiston, FL -- 13, 41-14 -- 184 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02 -- Day 3: 3, 06-13
47. Paul Hirosky -- Guys Mills, PA -- 13, 41-10 -- 181 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 3, 07-11
48. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15, 39-08 -- 179 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-09 -- Day 3: 5, 11-05
49. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, NC -- 15, 39-00 -- 177 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11
50. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 38-13 -- 175 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 07-05

Big Bass

Day 3: Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 4-13 -- $1,000
Day 2: Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, CA -- 5-07 -- $1,000
Day 1: Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5-08 -- $1,000