Mark Menendez's chances of winning the Dardanelle Bassmaster Elite Series out of an aluminum boat might've gotten a lot better today as day 3 of the tournament was canceled due to unsafe weather conditions.
"I took a gamble going with aluminum and it paid off in a decent finish, so I won that gamble," he said. "What today did was assured me of a very high finish, so it's a double-win by my standards."
BASS officials made the decision to cancel the third day of competition at the marina in Russellville, Ark. this morning with about 15 of the boats already in the water and the remainder of the 50 anglers who advanced to day 3 preparing to launch. As a result, only the Top 12 from the day 2 standings will fish tomorrow's final day.
Wind from the south/southwest was already blowing in excess of 25 mph, causing the rain to fall sideways. The National Weather Service had issued a small-craft advisory for the area that didn't take effect until 10 a.m., so all indications were that conditions would only get worse.
The mid-day gusts turned out to milder than expected, but tournament officials had no way of knowing that this morning. Temperatures are predicted to be nearly 20 degrees warmer (high of 62) with winds dropping to about 10 mph.
"One thing I can say about (BASS tournament director Tripp Weldon) and the other tournament managers is they go to great lengths to ensure safety," said Kevin VanDam, who'll begin the final day in 3rd place. "I'm sure most of us (anglers) would've been fine, but a marshal could've gotten hurt in a bad boat ride, and since there was a small-craft advisory, that's a big liability.
"They did their homework. They were in touch with the National Weather Service, so they were getting better information than we could get from TV. They got an update at 7:00 and made their decision, and it's the same for everybody."
Advantage for Leaders?
Menendez, who's employed a tin G3 boat with a 90-horsepower Yamaha motor all week to access a gnarly backwater stretch, caught a 39-04 total over the first 2 days and will enter the final day with a 13-ounce edge over Cliff Pace. VanDam is a ways back in 3rd with 33-12, followed by Matt Herren with 32-08 and Alton Jones with 32-03.
Both Menendez and Pace said the cancellation likely boosted their odds to win.
"It could be a tough bite tomorrow, but this is going to help me because I have so many targets to fish," Menendez said. "Other guys are fishing sandy pockets with lily-pad stems for spawning fish, and those fish could be harder to locate amongst a field of pad stems. And with the sky high and blue, they might not touch a spinnerbait.
Second-place Cliff Pace (right) hangs out with day-1 leader Brent Chapman as they await BASS' decision on the fate of day 3 at the Dardanelle Bassmaster Elite Series.
"I'm on a pure flipping bite, so I'm pretty optimistic."
Unlike Menendez, Pace had lots of company in his primary area. But a lot of those anglers were sent packing today for next week's event at Alabama's Lake Wheeler.
"Mark's leading this deal and he's all by himself, so he can manage his area," he said. "But I won't have the numbers (of boats) around me that I did have, so it might actually help me.
"Anytime you make it to the last day, your whole goal is to leave nothing out there. I'm going to go out and swing as hard as I can all day, and it'll be up to God who gets the right bites, and I hope He smiles on me. It'd do me a world of good to win this thing and I'm looking forward to the chance."
Jones Slightly Disappointed
Jones, who spent part of the day giving baths to the two Labrador retrievers that travel with him and his family, didn't question BASS' decision to cancel the day from a safety standpoint. However, he would've liked the opportunity to negate the edge that Menendez enjoyed through the first 2 days.
"I'm one of the guys who actually wanted to fish today," he said. "From a fishing standpoint, the small boats have had an advantage this week in that they could access water that a big boat couldn't. And with the water and the weather like they would've been today, my Skeeter could do things that a small boat can't do. It could've been a time for it to shine.
"I'm 7 pounds behind Menendez, and today I might've had a chance to make up a big portion of that. Tomorrow that'll be difficult, although not impossible."
Added VanDam: "I would've liked to have more time out there, without a doubt. Conditions are changing so much and it's going to be real tough on everybody, and whoever figures it out best is going to win it.
"Mark and Cliff are close and then everybody else is back a little bit, but it would be real easy for somebody to stumble tomorrow. I'd hate to be the ESPN crew and have to figure out which six boats to put cameras in."
Herren has caught all of his fish from one spot, and he said today's weather will likely have a negative effect on it.
"I'm in an area that I think's going to mud up, whereas I think some of the other guys aren't," he said. "But I'm here to win and I'd just assume take a 12th place as finish where I'm at.
"It could get tough, but they could also bite like crazy. These stupid river fish have a mind of their own – they're not fickle like Florida fish. They're probably not going to like a bunch of fresh water coming in on them, but who knows?"
James Niggemeyer was eager to fish an area that had been productive in the closing hours of day 2, but had to settle for a 13th-place finish.
No Chance to Advance
The red-hot James Niggemeyer ended day 2 in 13th place, and thus was first out of today's cut. The winner of the Bassmaster Central Open at Toledo Bend earlier this month was 15th at the Elite opener at Amistad and now has two straight tour-level finishes that are higher than any he posted in 11 events last year.
"There's some disappointment because I would've loved to have another chance to go out there," he said. "I left my main spot to check a backup area yesterday and I went in there and culled three times, so there were some definite possibilities there that I saw the potential of. Now I'll never know.
"I had that place all to myself, too. One guy came in and looked around and left, but he never caught a fish."
Rookie Billy McCaghren (14th) lives just 45 minutes from the launch in Mayflower and said he's fished Dardanelle under worse conditions. He would've liked another crack at a lake he knows well, but he's also happy with a finish that garnered him a paycheck and a healthy dose of Angler of the Year points and gave him the confidence that he belongs out here.
"Don't get me wrong – I'm tickled to death to finish 14th against these guys," he said. "I proved to myself that I can fish with my idols and the guys I've looked up to.
"But I was fishing with plans of winning the tournament. I was fishing where the big ones live, but I just hadn't been fortunate enough to catch any of them yet."
Weather Report
Here's the weather forecast for the final day of the tournament. For more weather information, including satellite and radar imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.
> Sun., March 29 - Sunny - 62°/41°
- Wind: From the W/NW at 10 mph
Standings
1. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 10, 39-04 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 21-08
2. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 10, 38-07 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 21-12
3. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 10, 33-12 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06
4. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 10, 32-08 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07
5. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 10, 32-03 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 17-05 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14
6. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 10, 32-01 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05
7. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 10, 31-11 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05
8. Jim Murray -- Arabi, GA -- 10, 31-03 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03
9. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 9, 30-15 -- 264
Day 1: 4, 09-01 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14
10. Chris Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 10, 30-06 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08
11. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 10, 29-06 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09
12. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 9, 28-14 -- 254
Day 1: 4, 10-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04
