Martens, Biffle Just 7 Ounces Apart After Day 3

By BassFan Staff

Brandon Palaniuk's overnight departure from the Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite Series left veterans Aaron Martens and Tommy Biffle in the top slots. It looks like they intend to stay there.

Martens, seeking his first full-field victory since 2009, held onto the lead he inherited when Palaniuk's day-2 weight was disqualified due to a culling violation. The 16-05 stringer he caught on day 3 pushed his total to 47-12.

Biffle retained the No. 2 position and reduced his deficit to just 7 ounces with a day-best 17-05 bag for a 47-05 total. From there, it's a near 4 1/2-pound drop down to John Crews in 3rd with 42-14 (he sacked 14-06 today).

Brandon Card, who's having a nice bounce-back event after 94th- and 93rd-place finishes in the previous two, caught 14-06 to move up two more places to 4th with a 42-08 aggregate. Fred Roumbanis completed the Top 5 as his 13-15 stringer increased his total to 41-09.

Here are the totals for the 12 anglers who'll return to the water for the final day (red numbers in parentheses denote margin of deficit from the leader):

1. Aaron Martens: 47-12
2. Tommy Biffle: 47-05 (0-07)
3. John Crews: 42-14 (4-14)
4. Brandon Card: 42-08 (5-04)
5. Fred Roumbanis: 41-09 (6-03)
6. Takahiro Omori: 41-08 (6-04)
7. (tie) Bobby Lane: 41-02 (6-10)
7. (tie) Cliff Pirch: 41-02 (6-10)
7. (tie) Todd Faircloth: 41-02 (6-10)
10. (tie) Edwin Evers: 40-14 (6-14)
10. (tie) Cliff Crochet: 40-14 (6-14)
10. (tie) Randy Howell: 40-14 (6-14)

Edwin Evers, the leader in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year race, made a huge move today that propelled him closer to the crown. His 15-03 sack catapulted him from 23rd place to 10th, and he'll have a chance to climb a bit more on day 4.

He came in with a 25-point lead over Skeet Reese, and that margin will be at least 43 points when the event concludes. Reese bowed out of the tournament with a 30th-place showing.

Lane and Pirch also moved into the Top 12 today. They supplanted Greg Vinson (tied for 8th to 13th, 13-05 on day 3) and Ott DeFoe (tied for 8th to 15th, 12-05).

It was another stormy morning in the La Crosse, Wis. area, although conditions weren't nearly as bad on day 2 when the launch was delayed for more than an hour and a half. It rained early and then got windy before everything settled down just prior to weigh-in.

Tomorrow's forecast again calls for scattered thunderstorms. The high temperature is predicted to be in the mid-80s and the south wind will approach 20 mph.

Martens Hopes there's More

> Day 3: 5, 16-05 (15, 47-12)

Martens and Biffle are the only anglers who've caught at least 16 pounds on each of the last 2 days, and Martens knows that tomorrow could end up being a showdown between them.

"I'm not real comfortable, but I don't think anybody's real comfortable going into the fourth day of a tournament," he said. "Hopefully his fish are fished out and I have more left than he does. I can catch a lot of fish, but it's getting harder to get the bigger ones."

He had all but a few ounces of his weight by 9 o'clock today. His bag was headed up by a 4-15 bruiser that was tops for the day.

"If I can get another one or maybe two of those tomorrow I'll be in good shape. I have one place where I can hopefully get a couple of big ones and then I'll bounce around.

"After I got my limit today, it got a little tough – I could hardly get any more bites. I spent a lot of time there trying for one more good one, but it didn't happen. Hopefully they'll re-gather tomorrow and I can just sit there and pummel them. That's not too far-fetched."

2nd: Biffle Comes in Bigger Again

> Day 3: 5, 17-05 (15, 47-05)

Biffle continued to carefully oversee the smallmouth-laden area that's produced most of his big fish. His day-3 bag was his best of the event.

“I didn’t want to fish it out, and I didn’t want anyone to see me on it," he said. "But I’m going to start on it tomorrow. I think I can catch an 18-pound bag if I stay there all day.”

His sack contained three smallmouths and a couple of largemouths that he caught flipping in another location. A 4-01 smallmouth was the highlight and he didn't lose any that would've helped him.

He's currently hovering near the Classic points cutoff, so he'd be thrilled to put an end to that quest with a victory.

“I would rather have the win-you’re-in deal. That way I don’t have to worry about it.”

3rd: Crews Stays Put

> Day 3: 5, 14-06 (15, 42-14)

Crews held onto the No. 3 position he's held throughout the event.

"I'm trying to hang in there," he said. "Today went about the same way as the others, but I feel like there's more fish moving into my area, which is always a good thing.

"I caught about the same number of keepers (as on day 2), but I caught some in areas where I'd already fished and hadn't caught anything."

A 4-pounder was the biggest of the 10 keepers he boated.

"I lost a couple that would've helped. I didn't have any major execution errors - they just came off."

He said he might be able to catch 16 or 17 pounds on day 4.

"I think that's definitely possible, and if I get a little lucky, I could have more than that. I definitely don't want anybody to pass me in the standings and I want to try to catch the two guys in front of me.

"I'll go crack on everything that bites and see where I end up."

4th: Card Camped Out

> Day 3: 5, 14-06 (15, 42-08)

Card has spent the vast majority of the past 2 days in a single area in Pool 8 (the launch pool). He settled into it early on day 2 when most of his other stuff was covered up by other competitors.

"It's about a 300-yard stretch and I'm throwing a frog, a swim-jig and doing some flipping," he said. "I'm really mixing it up."

"Today I caught at least 20 that were over 2 pounds – I was balance-beaming all day. I'm thinking tomorrow, with only 12 guys left, I'll have free reign over some other areas as well."

His bag consisted entirely of largemouths, all in the 2 1/2- to 3-pound range. He's caught a few random smallmouth over the course of the event, but none have helped him.

"Hopefully that place will hold up – every day it seems like more fish are coming. Realistically, those guys in front of me would have to stumble for me to have a chance, so all I can do is go out and catch as much as I can."

15th: No Big Ones for DeFoe

> Day 3: 5, 12-05 (15, 39-07)

DeFoe had been catching a 3 1/2- to 4-pounder each day, but got no bites in that class today and thus fell out of the final-day cut. However, his performance will garner him enough points to move inside the Classic cutoff.

"I would've loved to have made the Top 12 and gotten a few more points, but with the way the year's gone, I'm happy," he said. "I got a lot of the points that I needed and if I can have good events in the next two, I'll end up right where I want to be."

He caught a lot of his fish this week on a new Berkley Havoc soft jerkbait called the Jerk. He enticed a few on a Rapala Crankin' Rap and his biggest fish fell for a frog.

Notable

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

> Of the Palaniuk situation, Martens said: “I felt bad for Brandon, but also relief at the same time. I think he would have dominated, been hard to catch. It would have been tough to beat him. Now I have a chance to win.”

> Brent Chapman spent most of the tournament downstream in Pool 9. He was in 59th place after day 1, but rallied to finish 31st. To read his competition recap, click here to go to BassFan's Pro View Reports.

Day 3 Standings

1. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 47-12 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

2. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 47-05 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05

3. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 15, 42-14 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06

4. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 15, 42-08 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-06

5. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 15, 41-09 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

6. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 41-08 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

7. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 41-02 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

8. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 41-02 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-11

9. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 41-02 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-14

10. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 40-14 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-03

11. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 15, 40-14 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-02

12. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 15, 40-14 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

13. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 15, 40-12 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

14. Casey Scanlon -- Lenexa, KS -- 15, 40-03 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-00

15. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 39-12 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

16. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 15, 39-07 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

17. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 15, 39-05 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13 -- Day 3: 5, 13-03

18. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 15, 39-04 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-11

19. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 39-04 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

20. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 15, 39-02 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

21. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 39-00 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-11 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09

22. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 39-00 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

23. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 38-13 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-06

24. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 38-08 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-00

25. Rick Morris -- Lake Gaston, VA -- 15, 38-01 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 13-09

26. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 15, 38-00 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

27. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 15, 37-15 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

28. Kevin Hawk -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 37-14 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

29. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 15, 37-13 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01

30. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 37-01 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 10-12

31. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 37-00 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

32. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 36-13 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08

33. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 36-08 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08

34. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 15, 36-07 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-14

35. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 36-06 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

36. Kelly Jordon -- Palestine, TX -- 15, 36-02 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-15

37. Casey D Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 35-14 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

38. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 15, 35-11 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 09-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

39. Shaw E Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 14, 35-05 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 4, 10-11

40. Grant Goldbeck -- Boerne, TX -- 15, 35-05 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 5, 10-15

41. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 34-13 -- 59 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01

42. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 15, 34-11 -- 58 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-07

43. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 15, 34-09 -- 57 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

44. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 34-09 -- 56 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 11-04

45. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 15, 34-06 -- 55 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 5, 10-09

46. Michael Simonton -- Fremont, OH -- 15, 34-04 -- 54 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05 -- Day 3: 5, 09-06

47. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 14, 33-08 -- 53 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-09 -- Day 3: 4, 09-08

48. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 15, 33-07 -- 52 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

49. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 14, 30-13 -- 51 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 4, 07-04

50. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 9, 23-05 -- 50 -- $5,000
Day 1: 4, 11-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00