Rowland Still Leads, But Santee Cools Off

The Santee-Cooper mammoth bass factory slowed down just a bit today: "Only" three of the Top 12 anglers weighed 20-pound sacks. Pros cited falling water and Saturday fishing traffic as the cause for the cool-off.

Even so, the lowest weight brought to the scales by any of the Top 6 was the day 2 leader Zell Rowland , whose 16-13 today means he still leads the event with a monstrous 75-11.

That equates to a 6-04 lead over Kevin VanDam, a 6-07 lead over Mark Davis, a 6-08 lead over Edwin Evers, a 7-09 lead over Larry Nixon and an 11-02 lead over Illinois rookie Chad Morgenthaler.

Rowland said: "I wanted to catch over a 100 pounds this week, and it's still possible." Anything's possible, and it looks like it's Rowland's to win or lose, but it should be noted that VanDam and Davis have caught more weight than Rowland over the last two days.

VanDam had a 22-02 stringer today, and has been catching them by pitching to stumps with a Strike King lizard. "I know the right fish are there," he said. "It's just a matter of figuring out what it's going to take to get the big ones to bite."

Evers' Painful Penalty

Evers is in 4th with 69-03. He brought in 19-13 but would have had about 25 pounds if he hadn't accidentally brought 6 fish to the scales instead of the legal limit of 5. In accordance with B.A.S.S. rules, Evers' biggest fish, a 7-pounder was taken from him.

"I don't know what happened," he said, still apparently stunned by the mistake. "I came in and there were 6 fish in the well."

His smallest fish was a 2-pounder, and he estimates that the mistake cost him about 5 pounds. Twenty-five pounds would have been the biggest stringer of the day, and would have put him just a pound behind Rowland.

Evers has been catching his bass on a Mad Man lizard and Mad Shad. With the water falling today, he said he moved out from where he had been fishing the last two days.

Nixon: No Rest for His Fish

Nixon is in 5th with 68-2. He caught 21-14 today, but said it wasn't as easy as it's been the last two days.

"I'm still fishing the same place the same way," he said. "I haven't done anything different. The water fell a little bit today and about a dozen local boats came into the area. They were respectful of my situation, but I was kind of boxed in.

"One key is that I have to let the fish rest for a while, and then ease through there real quietly. But today I could never let them rest. They get wary with all those trolling motors around."

He caught 10 today and is optimistic about tomorrow. "I hope to get in there and do my damage early, before the local traffic gets there."

Morgenthaler 'Sticks' Them

Morgenthaler came from the back of the pack with 18-07 to secure the last spot in the "Super Six."

He had been catching his fish on buzzbaits, but had to change today. "It got sunny and calm, so I had to go to a Tiki Stick and sight-fish today," he said. "I caught about two limits on it."

He's worried that the lower water and fishing pressure are taking their toll. "The fish are getting real finicky in there, but I think some more are coming in so hopefully it will hold up."

Hamilton Hindered by Pollen

Bass spawning season is also tree pollination season. One of the dangers of sight-fishing at this time of year is that thick pollen slicks cover the surface so you can't see in the water -- as Robert Hamilton discovered today. After catching 19-05 yesterday, he only brought in two bass that weighed 4-06 today to finish 12th.

"I was sight-fishing in real shallow water and it probably dropped a foot today, so that hurt me," he noted. "But the pollen also hurt. I guess a bunch of it fell overnight and drifted in there. It looked like mud floating in on my bed-fishing areas this morning."

Notable

> Pros estimated that the lake fell 6 to 8 inches today.

> Evers won the at Eufaula event last month. When asked about his momentum, he said: "I'm just fishing like I always have, but lately I've been connecting with a few balls instead of striking out."

> Rowland's last win was in April 1999 at a BASSMASTER Top 150 (now the Tour) on Nevada's Lake Mead. Before Toledo Bend, his last Top 10 (not including Mead) was an 8th at a Top 150 on Lake Champlain in September 1999.

> VanDam's last win was at the 2001 Classic. His last Top 10 in B.A.S.S. was on Lake Guntersville in April of last year.

> Believe it or not, Davis' last (and only) win was at the 1995 Classic.

Weather Forecast

From the weather channel: less sun forecast for tomorrow.

> Sun. Mar 23 -- Mostly Cloudy -- 71°/48°
Wind: From the NW at 4 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Texas -- 15, 75-11
Day 1: 5, 28-10 -- Day 2: 5, 30-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

2. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- 15, 69-07
Day 1: 5, 23-01 -- Day 2: 5, 24-04 -- Day 3: 5, 22-02

3. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, Ark. -- 15, 69-04
Day 1: 5, 19-06 -- Day 2: 5, 28-00 -- Day 3: 5, 21-14

4. Edwin Evers -- Mannsville, Okla. -- 15, 69-03
Day 1: 5, 22-08 -- Day 2: 5, 26-14 -- Day 3: 5, 19-13

5. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ark. -- 15, 68-02
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 28-10 -- Day 3: 5, 21-14

6. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville, Ill. -- 15, 64-09 --
Day 1: 5, 22-12 -- Day 2: 5, 23-06 -- Day 3: 5, 18-07
__________

The following anglers missed the Top 6 cut and won't be fishing tomorrow.

7. Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 15, 62-04 -- 169 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 24-14 -- Day 3: 5, 16-02

7. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, Ark. -- 15, 62-04 -- 169 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 23-15 -- Day 2: 5, 24-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

9. Roland Martin -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 13, 62-00 -- 167 -- $9,000
Day 1: 5, 24-10 -- Day 2: 5, 24-15 -- Day 3: 3, 12-07

10. Mark Tucker -- Kirkwood, Mo. -- 12, 59-07 -- 166 -- $8,000
Day 1: 5, 24-15 -- Day 2: 5, 28-15 -- Day 3: 2, 5-09

11. Ray Sedgwick -- Cross, S.C. -- 13, 56-06 -- 165 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 31-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15 -- Day 3: 3, 4-05

12. Robert Hamilton Jr. -- Hattiesburg, Miss. -- 12, 52-03 -- 164 -- $5,600
Day 1: 5, 28-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05 -- Day 3: 2, 4-06

Big Bass
> Day 3 -- Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, Ark. -- 7-08 -- $1,000
> Day 2 -- Greg Hoskinson -- Louisville, Ky. -- 8-12 -- $1,000
> Day 1 -- Jimmy Houston -- Cookson, Okla. -- 9-12 -- $1,000