Williamson's Giant Fish, Huge Bag Send Him To Top

Jason Williamson had fallen into a disturbing trend this season – he cashed checks only in Bassmaster Elite Series events that Skeet Reese won. But Reese is long gone from the derby at Georgia's Clarks Hill Lake, and Williamson now has a lead of more than 4 pounds with just 1 day left to fish.

The 6-foot-5 resident of nearby Aiken, S.C., who has vast experience on this impoundment, caught a 19-02 sack – easily the biggest of the tournament – and climbed four places on the leaderboard to assume the top position with a 3-day total of 45-12. He's seeking his second Elite Series victory, having triumphed at Amistad in last year's opener.

His nearest pursuer is Louisiana rookie Cliff Crochet, who's been remarkably steady throughout the event. He sacked 14-04 today and gained one spot to 2nd with 41-09.

Day-2 leader Terry Scroggins brought in 10-05 today and fell two spots to 3rd with 39-12. South Carolina's Casey Ashley, like Williamson a Clarks Hill regular, caught 13-03 and moved up 17 places to 4th with 36-11.

In 5th was the rejuvenated Derek Remitz, who finished in that same position here during his sterling rookie campaign of 2007. He struggled the last 2 years, but this is his second straight 12-cut and he's in strong contention to qualify for the 12-angler postseason.

Here's a look at the anglers who'll fish tomorrow, with deficit margins indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Jason Williamson: 45-12
2. Cliff Crochet: 41-09 (4-03)
3. Terry Scroggins: 39-12 (6-00)
4. Casey Ashley: 36-11 (9-01)
5. Derek Remitz: 35-15 (9-13)
6. Gary Klein: 34-01 (11-11)
7. Chris Lane: 34-00 (11-12)
8. Tommy Biffle: 33-10 (12-02)
9. Mark Davis: 33-09 (12-03)
10. Bobby Lane: 32-08 (13-02)
11. Terry Butcher: 32-06 (13-06)
12. Matt Reed: 32-00 (13-12)

Williamson, whose bag was topped by a 7 3/4-pound giant that was more than a pound and a half bigger than any fish caught this week, is now in firm control of the tournament. His weights have improved considerably each day even as the overall bite's gotten tougher, and if he equals his lightest bag tomorrow, Crochet or Scroggins would have to venture into the high-teens to catch him.

There was a three-way tie for the 12th-place cut spot between day-1 leader Jeff Kriet, Rick Clunn and Matt Reed. Kriet was two fish shy of a limit on day 2, so he was eliminated because the other two weighed limits each day. Reed then beat out Clunn by virtue of the heaviest single-day bag (12-07 today).

The vast majority of the best fish continue to be caught during the first half of the day when they're chasing the blueback herring on the points. That narrowed time window makes a catch-up scenario even tougher as the lake is more or less a Dead Sea for everybody from about 11:00 on.

Tomorrow's forecast for the Augusta, Ga. area calls for isolated thunderstorms with a high temperature of 90 degrees and just a light breeze out of the northwest.

Williamson on Home Turf

A win here would be a huge thrill for Williamson, who's greeted at each day's weigh-in by a big throng of family members and friends. He's had an up-and-down season to this point, having cashed checks in two of the first five events. He was the runner-up to Reese at Smith Mountain, and his next-best showing was a 36th at Guntersville (which Reese also won).

He's staying at a house on the lake that his family owns and said his local knowledge is playing a major role in his success.

"I told everybody all week that this was going to come down to big bites, and I finally got one," he said. "I'm fishing the tail end of the herring spawn and I've got some isolated deep spots that have a few fish.

"It's very important to capitalize on the bites you get early in the day because it gets real tough later on."

The monster was his first fish of the day and bit at about 7:15.

"It got good there for awhile, and then it quit. Catching one like that right off the bat makes all the difference in the world. A big one like that carries you a long way."

He's catching some of his fish on surface baits and some off the bottom. The big one came from the depths.

He won't set any kind of target weight for tomorrow.

"I don't know exactly what I can catch, but I'm going to go out and catch all I can. There won't be any reason to hold back."

2nd: Crochet stays Steady

Crochet fished the same way in the same place that he has all week and caught another solid bag. The only problem was that Williamson's heroics increased his deficit from about 2 pounds to more than 4.

"I'm learning a little more about the area I'm in every day," he said. "Hopefully tomorrow I can take everything I've learned through the week and put it all together and catch my best limit.

"I'd go so far as to say I have the potential to catch 20 pounds. Will I catch 20? Probably not, but if you take the best five fish I've caught over the last 3 days, it proves those kind of fish are in there."

He caught seven keepers today and his bag was topped by a 4-pounder. He had another one that was well over 3.

The former deputy sheriff is extremely excited to make his first Top 12.

"It's amazing to finally be a part of it after watching it for years and years. It's pretty humbling, to be honest with you."

"I have a chance (to win) if everything lines up right. I'll just go out and catch as much as I can and see how it goes."

3rd: Scroggins Missed some Good Ones

Scroggins said that if he hadn't lost a couple of good fish today, his bag would've approached the 17 pounds he weighed on day 1.

"Today (the bite) was actually pretty good and I had some opportunities," he said. "I had a 5-pounder that broke off at the boat and a 2 1/2-pounder that came off when I tried to swing it over the side.

"They did right, but I didn't do right. I had a few mishaps."

He caught only eight keepers today, compared to about 25 yesterday. His biggest was a 4 1/2-pounder.

He admits he'll be at a disadvantage tomorrow, and not just weight-wise.

"I don't know much about this lake and (Williamson and Ashley) know a lot. This place has thousands of points and only a few of them have fish, so I'd be in trouble if I had to go out and start looking.

"I think I'm better off sticking with what I've got. I'll go out and do the same thing I've been doing and see what happens."

4th: Ashley still Confident

Ashley spent most of the day within sight of Williamson. His confidence for day 4 is buoyed because he thinks Williamson's primary area is about out of big fish, whereas his own has the capability of kicking out a huge stringer.

"If they cooperate, I can catch 20 pounds, no problem," he said. "I'm not wishing (Williamson) bad luck or anything, but he won't catch them tomorrow.

"I saw every one he caught today except that big one. I don't know where he got that one."

He boated about 15 keepers on the day, including a couple of 3 1/2-pounders.

"I've got a place with some big ones on it, but they're hard to catch. I got two of them to bite today and that was it. It's usually a lot easier than this, but we caught the lake at a bad time.

"They'll come up and school probably eight or 10 times during the day, and then go back down. Sometimes it's a group and sometimes it's a single fish, and sometimes they don't bite."

He'd be in a much better position if he hadn't weighed just 8 pounds on day 1.

"I couldn't get them to bite that day. I don't know if I got there too late or what."

5th: Remitz Gains a Spot

Remitz is in the final-day field for the second straight event. Before his 12th-place finish at Guntersville earlier this month, he hadn't competed on a Sunday since he did it here 3 years ago.

"The way practice went, I'm just really happy to be in the Top 12," he said. "I've based everything on my last hour of practice – I was going to go in early, but I made myself stay out a couple more hours.

"I got six or seven bites and figured that maybe I could ride this thing through and make some money. I was just hoping for a check."

He's running points, just like the majority of the field. He got some quality topwater bites on day 1, but has caught everything since on a Carolina rig or a jig.

He got six keeper bites today and the best was a 3-pounder.

"I'll hit a few spots tomorrow that I think one or two more fish might be on, and if I get a whim I'll try some other stuff and see what happens."

18th: Lost 4-Pounder Haunts Herren

Matt Herren began the day in 7th place, but weighed only three fish for 5-13. He had a 4-pounder hooked this afternoon that would've put him in the cut with plenty to spare, but he couldn't land it.

"I was probably fishing deeper than anybody – I caught my fish from 14 to 18 feet on a Santone mop jig and a little shakey-head I designed," he said. "I found a brushpile yesterday and caught a quality fish out of it, and today I had that big one right up to the boat and it came off when I was trying to get my hands on it.

"It's been that kind of year for me – just fighting through stuff. It's still a Top 20 and I needed points to get me back in the swing for the Classic, and this will help me some. But I seem to keep having two or three key bites get unbuttoned.

"As long as I keep getting the bites, it'll work out okay."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 47 anglers, 32 limits, 5 fours, 8 threes, 1 two, 1 one.

> Just 11 of the 47 anglers – less than a quarter of the field – weighed a double-digit sack today. Williamson's 7 3/4-pound fish alone was bigger than 26 stringers.

> This is Davis' second straight Top 12 after going the previous 12 events without one.

> Reed made the biggest climb to reach the final day as he moved up 28 spots from 40th.

Weather Forecast

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

> Sun., May 23 - Isolated T-Storms - 90°/66°
- Wind: From the NW at 5 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15, 45-12 -- 305
Day 1: 5, 12-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-02

2. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 15, 41-09 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-04

3. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 15, 39-12 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 10-05

4. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 36-11 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 08-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-03

5. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 15, 35-15 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 10-07

6. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 15, 34-01 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 10-13 -- Day 3: 5, 09-06

7. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 34-00 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 10-00 -- Day 3: 5, 10-05

8. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 13, 33-10 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09 -- Day 3: 3, 04-04

9. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 14, 33-09 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 4, 06-08

10. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 32-08 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-13 -- Day 3: 5, 08-02

11. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 14, 32-06 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 4, 08-02

12. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 15, 32-00 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 09-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

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

13. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 32-00 -- 251 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01 -- Day 3: 5, 09-09

14. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 13, 32-00 -- 253 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 3, 06-11 -- Day 3: 5, 07-01

15. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 31-09 -- 245 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03 -- Day 3: 5, 07-14

16. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 15, 31-06 -- 243 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 07-01

17. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 31-00 -- 241 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 5, 07-01

18. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 13, 30-15 -- 239 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 10-03 -- Day 3: 3, 05-13

19. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 30-13 -- 237 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 06-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01

20. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 15, 30-11 -- 235 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 04-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

21. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 15, 30-09 -- 233 $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 09-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-04

22. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 29-11 -- 231 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-08

23. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 29-11 -- 229 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14

24. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 15, 29-11 -- 227 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-07 -- Day 2: 5, 09-03 -- Day 3: 5, 10-01

25. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, KY -- 15, 29-06 -- 225 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-08 -- Day 2: 5, 09-13 -- Day 3: 5, 10-01

26. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 13, 29-06 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 08-04 -- Day 3: 3, 06-04

27. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 13, 28-14 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 3, 04-01

28. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 15, 28-13 -- 219 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 5, 07-09

29. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 15, 28-08 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-12 -- Day 2: 5, 10-15 -- Day 3: 5, 09-13

30. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 15, 28-06 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 06-10 -- Day 3: 5, 07-09

31. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 14, 28-04 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11 -- Day 3: 4, 08-02

32. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 15, 28-00 -- 211 $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 06-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-14

33. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 13, 28-00 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-09 -- Day 3: 3, 04-14

34. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 14, 27-04 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 07-12 -- Day 3: 4, 06-11

35. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 26-12 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-02 -- Day 2: 5, 08-13 -- Day 3: 5, 06-13

36. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 26-10 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 09-02 -- Day 3: 5, 07-03

37. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 26-09 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 05-14

38. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 26-08 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-03 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 07-03

39. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, OH -- 14, 26-08 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 4, 05-04

40. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 15, 26-07 -- 195 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-14 -- Day 2: 5, 10-03 -- Day 3: 5, 06-06

41. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 13, 26-03 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 08-03 -- Day 3: 3, 03-15

42. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 25-15 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-04 -- Day 2: 5, 10-04 -- Day 3: 5, 05-07

43. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 11, 25-03 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11 -- Day 3: 1, 02-09

44. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, AR -- 15, 25-00 -- 187 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-07 -- Day 2: 5, 09-07 -- Day 3: 5, 06-02

45. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 13, 24-05 -- 185 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-15 -- Day 2: 5, 09-04 -- Day 3: 3, 04-02

46. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 12, 23-09 -- 183 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 08-15 -- Day 3: 2, 02-09

47. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 13, 22-11 -- 181 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 05-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-09 -- Day 3: 3, 04-09