DeFoe's Lead Grows Despite Smaller Bag

By BassFan Staff

Throughout his career, Ott DeFoe has developed a reputation for being one of the most consistent performers. For example, after making the move from the FLW Tour to the Elite Series, he cashed a check in 16 of his first 18 full-field tournaments. Now, he wants to be known as an Elite Series champion.

He’ll get that chance Sunday when he again leaves the dock with the lead at the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wis. Today, his cushion was just shy of two pounds. Tomorrow, his lead will be 2 pounds, 10 ounces after he caught 16-07 today, his smallest stringer of the event, to push his total to 51-09.

While conditions have been rapidly changing up and down the river this week, the areas DeFoe has fished haven’t been affected all that much. He remains confident the winning fish are swimming where he’s been casting.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “I’ve got a little bit of a cushion – not much of one, but it’s something and I’ll take it. You can use every ounce in these deals. (To win) would be six years in the making. It would be a pretty big load off of me. A lot of guys have fished longer and not won one, but I’d like to get full-field Elite win number one win out of the way.”

While DeFoe continues to stalk his first full-field win, he’ll have to hold off Seth Feider, whose performance this week has put him back in contention to qualify for the Angler of the Year championship next week in his home state of Minnesota. Feider, who sacked a tournament-best 19-05 Friday, tacked on 16-09 today to jump into 2nd with 48-15.

Jordan Lee remained in the top 5 – it’s his fifth top-12 cut of the season and fourth in a row – with a 14-10 stringer that has him 3rd with 47-14. Alton Jones has weighed progressively heavier bags each day and he’s now 4th following today’s 16-08 output that pushed his aggregate to 46-15.

Rounding out the top 5 is Takahiro Omori, who bagged a day-best 18-04, to move up 21 spots to 5th with 45-05.

Here's a look at the top 12 entering the final day competition, with deficit margin from DeFoe indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Ott DeFoe: 51-09
2. Seth Feider: 48-15 (2-10)
3. Jordan Lee: 47-14 (3-11)
4. Alton Jones: 46-15 (4-10)
5. Takahiro Omori: 45-05 (6-04)
6. Skeet Reese: 44-04 (7-05)
7. Casey Ashley: 43-09 (8-00)
8. Jared Lintner: 43-01 (8-08)
9. Mark Davis: 42-14 (8-11)
10. Gerald Swindle: 42-08 (9-01)
11. Edwin Evers: 42-03 (9-06)
12. Randy Howell: 42-02 (9-07)

After a slow start to his day, AOY points leader Gerald Swindle cobbled together a 15-08 limit that carried him up to 10th (from 26th), earning him his sixth 12-cut of the season. Keith Combs, who trailed Swindle by 41 points before today, finished 18th. Swindle’s lead is now 45 points and if he’s able to finish 4th or better, he’ll only need to catch one fish next week at Mille Lacs to clinch his second career AOY title.

The field for next week’s AOY championship is all but set. The only position up for grabs is the 50th (and final) spot. If Feider falls to 5th tomorrow, he’ll wind up tied for 50th in points with Chad Morgenthaler, who finished 33rd this week. Per Elite Series rules, the tiebreaker would be cumulative weigh caught during full-field days this season. Morgenthaler has the edge over Feider by about seven pounds and would be the last man in the AOY event.

Brandon Card and David Mullins both fell out of contention for the AOY event after struggling today. Card caught 7-10 (three fish) and dropped from 9th to 35th, pushing him down to 55th in points. Mullins plummeted 41 spots to 47th after catching 4-02 (two fish) and he wound up 53rd in points.

Today’s conditions were post-frontal highlighted by a stiff northwest wind and much cooler air temperatures. Current flow continues to be a major factor this week. It’s made some places unfishable and helped position fish better on certain pieces of cover. The fish are concentrated in small areas amidst massive stretches and the challenge has been locating those hot spots and then adjusting with the daily changes in conditions.

Tomorrow’s weather should be pleasant with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70s. The wind is expected to switch around to the south and be in the 10- to 20-mph range.

DeFoe Has Faith in Two Spots

> Day 3: 5, 16-07 (15, 51-09)

DeFoe has split his time between a spillway where he’s casting a swimbait and a flipping spot – and both continue to pump out quality fish.

He’s confident both areas will produce what he needs to win Sunday.

While he caught the tournament-best 6-01 kicker along the spillway Friday, his grassy spot was crucial for him today as he weighed three fish caught there along with two pulled from along the spillway.

“It was better for me today than yesterday,” he said.

He’s weighed in all largemouth so far this week after not paying much attention to rising or falling water in his areas during practice.

“The only constant about a river is it’s going to change,” he said. “It’s always going up or down or getting cleaner or dirtier 100 percent of the time.”

2nd: Feider Focused on First Win

> Day 3: 5, 16-09 (15, 48-15)

With much of the talk about Feider this week centered around his push up the points standings, his sole focus at this point is trying to catch DeFoe and capture his first Elite Series win in his second year on the circuit.

“Mille Lacs isn’t that cool,” he said, referring to the venue for the AOY championship where he’d be among the favorites to win the event. “I’d rather win this tournament than go to Mille Lacs.

“I know Ott will catch a decent bag, but if he catches 14 and I catch 17, I win.”

He knows it’ll take another solid day on the river to do it.

“It would be life changing. I’m on the verge of being broker than hell,” he said. “To win, it’d make it a career rather than just a two- or three-year stint.”

He paused for a moment.

“It’d be everything,” he added.

With the weather clearing up today, he was worried the smallmouth wouldn’t bite in the areas he pillaged yesterday. He made a slight adjustment and re-located the fish, which gives him confidence heading into the final day.

“I feel good about today because I thought the conditions were going to hurt me,” he said. “I made some adjustments and wound up catching fish with less than ideal conditions.

“Now, I feel good about tomorrow. A lot of people’s stuff is drying up and I don’t think I can wear my stuff out. There’s too much of it.”

He feels that some of the water getting dirtier has kept the fish he’s targeting shallower than they would be if the water were clear.

“There’s no cover for them to hide in and it’s not real clear so the sun’s not bugging them,” he said.

3rd: Are Lee’s Spots Fading?

> Day 3: 5, 14-10 (15, 47-14)

Lee noticed the quality and quantity of the fish he caught today was starting to decrease and that has him a little concerned about what Sunday will hold.

“It was a fun day,” he said. “I caught a decent bit. I didn’t crush them. I didn’t have the weight I had the first two days.

“That wind really blew and the water came up a bit. I’ve noticed that it’s blowing a lot of duck weed out and that’s what I’ve been fishing – duck weed mixed in with pads. They’re in real specific spots in the mouths of chutes that aren’t even the size of my boat.”

Without a lot of past experience on the river, he’s left to rotate through the spots that have worked this week.

“I only have about four or five where I’ve caught all my weight,” he added. “It’s getting a little tougher. I didn’t see the quality or the numbers like I had been. Today, I’d catch one and it’d be done.”

Still, he takes a lot of pride in the season he’s had. Not many Elite Series competitors can say they’ve made four straight top-12 cuts and five in one season.

“It’s been an awesome year,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve been trying to figure it out as far as what I’ve been doing. I’ve just been fishing good and been fishing a lot even at home. I literally go every day I’m home. I feel like that’s really helped me.”

4th: Jones’ Spot Is Loaded

> Day 3: 5, 16-08 (15, 46-15)

Jones stuck to his plan of leaning a little harder today on the spot that had produced all of his weight thus far. It resulted in his best stringer of the event.

“My weight’s going up each day and you’re always happy with that,” he said. “I stayed on my spot a little longer and in doing so, I learned more about it. I learned there are more fish there than I’d realized.”

He caught roughly 50 keepers, a mix of smallmouth and largemouth, but has weighed in all largemouth so far with the exception of one smallmouth today. His three key baits so far have been a Texas-rigged YUM Dinger and Christie Critter along with a 1/2-ounce jig with a craw chunk trailer. He’s alternating baits every few casts to give the fish a different look.

“I had my Power-Poles down and was making the same cast,” he said. “It’s a magical spot. It’s one of those spots you find in the summer sometimes. I’ve caught as many good fish on this single spot as I have in my tournament career. If I hadn’t made the top 12, I’d go out and fish there tomorrow.”

Jones said the water has come up a few inches in the area he’s fishing and the current intensity has increased, but he believes that’s bringing more fish to the spot.

“It’s a very isolated spot and it’s the only thing for a long ways that the fish have to hide behind,” he added. “I think the conditions are helping me. I know one thing: The current will not be slowing down anytime soon.”

Despite trailing by more than 4 1/2 pounds, he’s not writing off his chances to win on Sunday.

“When I won at Clear Lake in 2003, I was nine pounds back,” he said. “Any time you’re fishing on the final day, you have a chance. I’d rather be in Ott’s shoes, but anything can happen.”

5th: Omori Getting Dialed In

> Day 3: 5, 18-04 (15, 45-04)

Omori wanted to make up for his 93rd-place finish at the Potomac River a few weeks ago with a solid finish this week so he could take it easy at next week’s AOY event.

He did just that by catching today’s biggest bag. He continued to focus on an area that he fished days 1 and 2. The conditions finally got right today and the bigger fish started to bite.

“I spent a lot of time here pre-fishing and finally figured it out today,” he said. “I found these fish Tuesday. I knew I could catch them pretty good, but the water came up too much Thursday and it wasn’t good during the rain yesterday.

“Today was post-frontal, but it’s all about current at this place. The water where I’m fishing finally settled down so I could fish effectively. There was not too much or too little current. It was just perfect.”

His first fish was a 4-04 largemouth and he loaded his livewell with smallmouth after that. He didn’t upgrade at all after 9 a.m.

He’s not sure he can make up the necessary ground to overtake DeFoe, but he’s enjoying the process of figuring out what makes the Mississippi River bass tick.

“I’m so far behind so I’m probably fishing for 2nd place,” he said. “You can max out here with 19 or 20 pounds and I’m going to do my best and see what happens. I’m not worried about it.

“I’m catching lot of fish in the same area. It’s a fun place to fish. I like this style of fishing. I’m finally starting to understand this place more and I really enjoy that.”

10th: Smallmouth Saved Goal-Oriented Swindle

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

For Swindle, there’s a good amount of pride associated with making all nine top-50 cuts this season, let alone six 12-cuts, including the last four.

“That was one of my focuses,” he said. “I’ve never been a guy known for winning tournaments, but I’ve always prided myself on being consistent and overcoming adversity to fight through bad days and recover. It’s one of those pride things being 9-for-9 and being consistent. I’m pretty proud of that one.”

He had not made the money cut in the two previous Elite Series events at La Crosse, so that was one of his goals this week. He accomplished that Friday, but making the top-12 cut today required a bit more patience on the water.

“It’s been the key for me – setting smaller goals like making sure I get paid,” he said. “I’ve come here twice before and not made a check so I was little bit pissed about that. I came here wanting to make a check and then to make the top 12, so I focused on those smaller goals.

“If you’re trying to climb a mountain and you watch each step and not look at the top of the mountain, you’re not worried about it. That’s how I see this whole event. I’m trying to climb a mountain and I don’t want to look at the top so I’m going to watch where I’m stepping.”

After catching 27-00 over the first two days, his key area was slow this morning, prompting a crucial adjustment in the afternoon.

“The first day, I caught most of my weight in the first hour and culled later in the day,” he said. “Yesterday, I caught 50 to 60 fish and 25 to 30 keepers and culled all day. Today, I went back to the same place and at 11 I had one fish. It was like ice.

“I made an adjustment late in the day and went smallmouth fishing and caught 15-08.”

That has him thinking a change in strategy is in order for Sunday, when he has a chance to move up and increase his lead on Combs.

“I learned you can catch a big bag of smallmouth and I think that’s what I may do most of tomorrow,” he added. “Running around and blindly catching 13 pounds isn’t what I need. I need 17 or 18 pounds to have a legitimate shot to move and I think I can only do that with smallmouth.”

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 38 limits, 5 fours, 4 threes, 2 twos, 1 zero.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., Sept. 11 – Sunny – 78°/59°
- Wind: From the S at 10 to 15 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 51-09 -- 110 -- $500
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11 -- Day 3: 5, 16-07

2. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 15, 48-15 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05 -- Day 3: 5, 16-09

3. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 15, 47-14 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-10

4. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 15, 46-15 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12 -- Day 3: 5, 16-08

5. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 45-05 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04

6. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 44-04 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 5, 16-01

7. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 43-09 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-03

8. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 43-01 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01

9. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15, 42-14 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

10. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 42-08 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

11. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 42-03 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07

12. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 42-02 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

The following anglers missed the cut and will not compete on day 4.

13. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL -- 15, 41-12 -- 98 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

14. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 15, 41-02 -- 97 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

15. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 41-01 -- 96 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

16. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 40-14 -- 95 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02

17. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 15, 40-05 -- 94 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-05

18. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 40-05 -- 93 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-09

19. Hank Cherry Jr -- Maiden, NC -- 15, 40-00 -- 92 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

20. Fred Roumbanis -- London, AR -- 15, 40-00 -- 91 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-13

21. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 39-11 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 5, 12-14

22. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 39-09 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

23. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 15, 39-09 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09

24. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 39-08 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 10-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-09

25. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 39-06 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

26. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 15, 39-05 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

27. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 39-04 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

28. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 39-02 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07

29. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 14, 39-02 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-07 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10 -- Day 3: 4, 12-01

30. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 39-02 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04

31. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 14, 38-07 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 4, 12-02

32. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 14, 38-06 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06 -- Day 3: 4, 08-08

33. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 15, 38-00 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-12

34. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 15, 37-08 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-11

35. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 13, 37-06 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03 -- Day 3: 3, 07-10

36. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 37-05 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 10-06

37. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 37-04 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-11

38. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 15, 37-04 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-13

39. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 37-02 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01

40. Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 14, 36-10 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05 -- Day 3: 4, 08-01

41. Shaw Grigsby Jr. Gainesville, FL -- 15, 36-02 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01

42. Morizo Shimizu -- Suita, Osaka JAPAN -- 15, 36-01 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-05

43. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 15, 35-09 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13 -- Day 3: 5, 10-09

44. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 13, 35-08 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 3, 07-08

45. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 14, 35-00 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 4, 08-13

46. Casey Scanlon -- Rocky Mount, MO -- 13, 34-14 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13 -- Day 3: 3, 08-02

47. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 12, 34-09 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-11 -- Day 3: 2, 04-02

48. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 13, 33-03 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-09 -- Day 3: 3, 07-08

49. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 12, 28-04 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 2, 03-05

50. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 10, 24-13 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-13 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00