The rain came down and the pollen blew, which made sight-fishing all but impossible today at the Hartwell FLW Tour Major in South Carolina. It helped the spinnerbait/jerkbait bite though, and Oklahoma pro Jason Christie threw the blade for most of the day. He roped 13-06 – his lightest limit so far after back-to-back 20-plus sacks – but easily retained the lead.
Christie's 3-day, 55-14 total is just 4 pounds short of the widely cited predicted winning weight of 60 pounds.
Christie's lead did dwindle a bit though. He started the day 9 pounds ahead of Wisconsin pro Tom Monsoor. But Monsoor weighed 16-06 on a jerkbait, the heaviest limit of the day by far, and pulled 3 pounds closer to Christie.
Stacey King leads the quartet of pros who also made the Top 10 a few weeks ago at Beaver. King, who finished 2nd at Beaver, is blind-casting in a dirty-water bedding area and weighed 13-02 today. The healthy catch bumped him up two places to 3rd.
There was no change to the 4th-place position today. Red-hot Bryan Thrift decided to camp in an area and weighed 12-14 to retain his standing.
Brent Ehrler, who won twice last year and like Thrift was briefly ranked No. 1 in the world, weighed 13-07 today and improved from 8th to 5th.
Monsoor's obviously got the best shot to catch Christie, because after him, King faces a 10 1/2-pound deficit. But several 20-plus-pound bags have been weighed, and countless more lay waiting in the lake. Plus, Christie's 6-pound weight-dip today brings a moment of pause: If he dips 3 more pounds tomorrow, Monsoor would need only 16, King and company 20-plus.
Mike Reynolds was first out of the cut. He left his culling bank early where he was mining ounces and went to hunt a big bite. He missed the cut by 3 ounces.
Here's a look at the Top 10 who'll fish tomorrow. Total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.
1. Jason Christie: 15, 55-14
2. Tom Monsoor: 15, 49-13 (6-01)
3. Stacey King: 15, 45-09 (10-05)
4. Bryan Thrift: 15, 45-06 (10-08)
5. Brent Ehrler: 15, 45-03 (10-11)
6. Ramie Colson, Jr.: 15, 45-00 (10-14)
7. Stetson Blaylock: 14, 43-05 (12-09)
8. Dave Lefebre: 15, 42-06 (13-08)
9. Larry Nixon: 15, 42-05 (13-09)
10. Joe Thomas: 15, 42-03 (13-11)
In addition to King, Thrift, Blaylock and Lefebre also made the Top 10 at Beaver. Thrift triumphed in that affair.
Weather tomorrow calls for more rain and thunder all day.
One concern Christie shares with King and everyone else who's fishing bedding areas: The rain today was exceptionally cold – it felt icy at times – and all that cold water's now pouring down the creeks and into the spawning pockets. It could chase fish off. If that does happen, it could swing the advantage arrow to Monsoor, who's fishing off the bank with a jerkbait.
Christie Relaxed
> Day 3: 5, 13-06 (15, 55-14)
Three times now, Christie led the first day of a tour-level event. But he's never been able to close. Whatever happens tomorrow, the result probably won't come down to a case of nerves. He said he's relaxed and ready to go.
"I'm on the area to win," he said. "It's just about making them bite and I don't really know what's going to happen. All I know is I've got the area, I've got the bait, and if I get the bites I'll win.
"A couple of my areas got blown out today, but I still have one backwater protected from the current. That's where the bulk of my fish came from. Hopefully it'll be good enough to fish tomorrow."
He mentioned that he's got the right bait, but he did mix it up today to see what would trigger them. His go-to bait turned out to be a Booyah spinnerbait. But the fishing isn't easy.
"The water actually got a little clearer in my (backwater) area and the fish were getting too good a look at the bait. It's all about making that right cast that makes them eat. They're on beds, so you can make 10 casts, but if it's not the right cast, they're not going to eat. I lost a 4-pounder today and had another big one follow my spinnerbait for 6 or 8 feet. But when I left, the water was getting dirtier, so hopefully tomorrow it'll have more color."
Asked if he's confident he can catch five, he said: "I don't know. That's a big if. I've said it 100 times this week: I could come in with a big sack, but it's fishing and you never know what'll happen. I'll just go out and let them tell me what they want. Hopefully they'll want the spinnerbait. And maybe I'll do a little more flipping. I need to do a little more of that."
About what a win tomorrow would mean to win, he said: "Everything. That's the only word. Everything. And it would mean even more to my family – all the people who supported me through the years. It would actually mean more to them than it would to me, because they do all the work. I get to come out here and fish, but it's all about them. If I were to win, I'd soak it up 100%, but it'd be for them. I'm out here to make a living, but they're the ones who pushed me to be out here in the first place. Now I need to show them they were right."
2nd: Monsoor Moves Closer
> Day 3: 5, 16-06 (15, 49-13)
Yesterday, Monsoor told BassFans there was "no way" he could catch Christie. That's when he trailed by 10 pounds. But with the deficit now at 6 pounds, Monsoor's got a whole new outlook.
In fact, Monsoor "can't believe" he gained that much ground today, especially after a particular brush with misfortune.
"I had a big one on and fought it for a couple of minutes. I had it tired out and it was about 10 feet from the boat. The guy was ready with the net, and when I looked, I saw this white thing sliding down my line, and then it hit my lure and the fish was gone. I'd never seen anything like it. It was my co-angler's lure. He left his line in the water. I couldn't believe it. It was a 4-pounder."
Monsoor did hook another 4-pounder about 100 yards away, which helped, but the loss still stung as it would have given him 2 1/2 more pounds on the day and he'd be only 3 1/2 pounds back.
Given that misfortune, he's still in disbelief that he caught the day's best sack.
"Nobody's fishing by me. There's a duck there. That's it. Hopefully I can do well tomorrow too.
"Every day I try to check out one or two new spots. Yesterday I got a big one on a new spot, and today too. They're close to where I'm fishing, so I'm just plucking around here and there and doing what I can and hoping for a big bite. That's all you can do. I've never been here before so I'm just fishing what looks good."
He noted he's going to stay in that same general area all day tomorrow. His bites are few and far between and he doesn't want a dry line for even a few minutes.
Stacey King thinks the cold runoff could hurt some folks, and he hopes to capitalize.
3rd: King Still Rolling
> Day 3: 5, 13-02 (15, 45-09)
Fresh off a 2nd-place finish at Beaver, the veteran King is clearly in overdrive. Even if he doesn't catch enough to overcome Christie, he's in position to perhaps notch his second consecutive runner-up finish.
"I just feel good about the fact that things are going so well," King said. "I'm just on a kind of roll. Like I told a couple guys today: I don't know what's got into me, but I'm having a good time with it. I'm fishing real good right now, and when things are clicking, they're clicking."
As noted, he's blind-casting for largemouths in a dirty-water spawning area. And it's a technique he loves. It's how everybody used to fish during the spawn before sight-fishing became the rage, he said, and he's get a lot of confidence with it.
About whether or not he can win, he said: "It would just be a fluke if I were to catch up with him. He's got such a big lead. I'll just go out and fish the best I can and see what I come up with.
"I do feel like the bite will be off tomorrow. It's a cold rain. I don't have a clue how Jason's catching them, but this water running into the backs of pockets may be detrimental. Although my bite's been better with sun. Yesterday when it was sunny I caught 18 pounds. Today I just didn't get the big bites. But you never know what you might come up with."
4th: Thrift Faces Reality
> Day 3: 5, 12-14 (15, 45-06)
Thrift's of the same mindset as King: He's realistically fishing for 2nd.
"I'm 10 pounds back and there's no way I can catch up the way Jason's fishing," Thrift said. "I'd have to have 25 and he'd had to stumble. There's some big fish in the lake, but I think the fish on these blueback lakes like it when it's bright and sunny out. They don't like it when it's cloudy and rainy."
Point of interest: On the two cloudy days (days 1 and 3), Thrift caught identical bags of 12-14. He didn't catch nearly as many fish today though – just seven – and he had to camp and seine all the water he could to get those bites.
"I'm definitely going to spend a lot of time there tomorrow, but it depends on how it goes," he noted. "If it's not raining too bad, I may run around and fish some other stuff."
8th: Lefebre Fishing to Win
> Day 3: 5 12-08 (15, 42-06)
Lefebre's thinking differently than King and Thrift. First, he's a little bummed that he made the Top 10 only to have the leader "run away with it." But at the same time, he thinks there exists an opportunity to win, and he's going to chase it – at least for a while.
"I'm going to fish for big ones first, but there's a point in the day where I've got places I can go and catch 2-pounders pretty easy," Lefebre said. "Jason's caught a lot of fish, but he showed a little weakness today. If he comes in with 10, I think I'd need 23. You need a 6-pounder to get there and that's not out of the question.
"So if it comes to the point where I need some 2-pounders to earn a couple extra thousand, I'll do it. But I'm going to fish for big fish first."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 20 anglers, 17 limits, 2 fours, 1 zero.
> Jimmy Houston recorded the zero. He actually would have weighed 13-01, which would have put him inside the cut at 10th, but he had a mechanical issue and missed check-in.
Weather Forecast
> Sun., March 26 - T-Showers - 60°/42°
- Wind: From the NE at 11 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, Ok -- 5, 22-04 -- 5, 20-04 -- 5, 13-06 -- 55-14
2. Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, Wi -- 5, 18-09 -- 5, 14-14 -- 5, 16-06 -- 49-13
3. Stacey King -- Reeds Spring, Mo -- 5, 13-13 -- 5, 18-10 -- 5, 13-02 -- 45-09
4. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, Nc -- 5, 12-14 -- 5, 19-10 -- 5, 12-14 -- 45-06
5. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 5, 15-13 -- 5, 15-15 -- 5, 13-07 -- 45-03
6. Ramie Colson Jr -- Cadiz, Ky -- 5, 13-02 -- 5, 17-06 -- 5, 14-08 -- 45-00
7. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 5, 12-07 -- 5, 18-10 -- 4, 12-04 -- 43-05
8. Dave Lefebre -- Union City, Pa -- 5, 12-10 -- 5, 17-04 -- 5, 12-08 -- 42-06
9. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 5, 18-02 -- 5, 12-04 -- 5, 11-15 -- 42-05
10. Joe Thomas -- Milford, Oh -- 5, 19-10 -- 5, 11-04 -- 5, 11-05 -- 42-03
The following anglers didn't make the cut and won't be fishing tomorrow:
11. Mike Reynolds -- Modesto, Ca -- 5, 21-15 -- 5, 10-02 -- 5, 9-15 -- 42-00 -- $12,500
12. Dan Morehead -- Paducah, Ky -- 5, 17-08 -- 5, 14-11 -- 5, 9-06 -- 41-09 -- $12,500
13. Jt Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 5, 14-08 -- 5, 14-09 -- 5, 12-07 -- 41-08 -- $12,500
14. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, Sc -- 5, 17-03 -- 5, 15-11 -- 5, 8-05 -- 41-03 -- $12,500
15. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 5, 15-11 -- 5, 14-01 -- 5, 11-02 -- 40-14 -- $12,500
16. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 5, 16-11 -- 5, 13-11 -- 5, 9-14 -- 40-04 -- $12,000
17. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, Ca -- 5, 16-10 -- 5, 13-15 -- 4, 8-01 -- 38-10 -- $12,000
18. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Al -- 5, 18-02 -- 5, 12-03 -- 5, 6-11 -- 37-00 -- $12,000
19. Troy Morrow -- Toccoa, Ga -- 5, 11-11 -- 5, 17-04 -- 5, 7-09 -- 36-08 -- $12,000
20. Jimmy Houston -- Cookson, Ok -- 5, 19-03 -- 5, 10-04 -- 0, 0-00 -- 29-07 -- $12,000
