By BassFan Staff
Bradley Hallman's day-3 bag at the Lake Lanier FLW Series was 5 pounds lighter than the one he brought to the scale on day 2 and well over 10 pounds shy of the massive sack on day 1. However, that downward trend hasn't affected his place in the standings and he'll take a substantial advantage into the final day.
He boxed 13-01 on Saturday to push his total to 55-03. His lead over 2nd-place Zack Birge is about 5 1/2 pounds.
"Honestly, I was pleased when I saw the scales today," he said. "I thought I only had about 10 or 11 pounds."
Birge weighed 15-01 to move up one place on the leaderboard with a 49-10 total. The red-hot Jeff Gustafson, the runner-up 2 weeks ago at the Harris Chain in Florida, jumped from 15th to 4th with a 17-08 bag that gave him a 48-10 aggregate.
Local standout Jason Johnson made a big move as his day-best 17-10 haul bumped him from 17th to 4th, leaving him 1 ounce behind Gustafson. Joseph Webster rounded out the top 5 with 47-10 in the wake of a 14-13 stringer.
Here are the totals for the 10 anglers who survived the final cut (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margins from the leader:
1. Bradley Hallman: 55-03
2. Zack Birge: 49-10 (5-09)
3. Jeff Gustafson: 48-10 (6-09)
4. Jason Johnson: 48-09 (6-10)
5. Joseph Webster: 47-10 (7-09)
6. Braxton Setzer: 47-05 (7-14)
7. Cody Meyer: 46-14 (8-05)
8. Austin Felix: 46-13 (8-06)
9. David Williams: 46-06 (8-13)
10. Jordan Osborne: 46-04 (8-15)
Weights were down across the board for the second straight day as a chilly weather system moved into the Gainesville, Ga. area and brought rain along with it. The precipitation started in the afternoon and is expected to continue through the final day of the event.
California spotted-bass guru Cody Meyer joined Gustafson, Johnson and Jordan Osborne as newcomers to the top 10. Osborne, a third-year pro from Texas who didn't make a single money cut during his 2016 rookie campaign, will end up posting the best finish of his career and his third straight among to the top-50 for the season.
Hallman got 10 keeper bites on day 3, but only boated six.
Reigning Angler of the Year Bryan Thrift fell from 5th to 15 with an 11-07 bag. James Watson (8th to 27th with four fish for 7-15) Carl Jocumsen (9th to 13th, 12-15) and Kyle Weisenburger (10th to 24th, 8-04) also fell out of the top 10.
Hallman Concerned
> Day 3: 5, 13-01 (15, 55-03)
Hallman was understandably happy to conclude the day with the majority of his lead intact, but was concerned about the weather forecast for day 4.
"We had one rainy day in practice and it was my worst day by far," he said. "I'm worried about how I'm going to catch them tomorrow. I'd like to have a little bit more than I caught today."
He remained on the lower end of the lake and got 10 keeper bites, but only boated six of them (all spots). The biggest was a 4-pounder.
"The ones I lost weren't 4s, but they were good 2 1/2s and they would've helped. But everybody loses fish."
He started the day fishing points, then moved to a marina. He eventually switched his focus to docks and caught several fish by casting underneath them. That tactic produced the 4-pounder.
Zack Birge climbed from 3rd place to 2nd with a 15-01 stringer.
"Every day I've done something kind of different. This afternoon, coming back in, I got a few bites fishing in a totally different way than I had been, so I may go try that tomorrow, at least for the first couple hours.
"Going by what I've been catching in the mornings, I won't be missing anything."
2nd: Fewer Bites for Birge
> Day 3: 5, 15-01 (15, 49-10)
Birge moved up one slot despite a bag that was more than 3 pounds lighter than the one he brought to the scale the previous day.
"I only got like six good bites today," he said. "It's a grind. If I can get five more tomorrow, I'll be happy."
He's fishing the mid-lake area near Brown's Ridge - approximately where the Chattahoochee and Chestatee rivers converge. He's throwing a 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse swimbait on a quarter-ounce ball-head jig in 8 to 15 feet of water.
His first fish was a 4-pounder and it held up as his biggest of the day. He broke off a couple and said he had a lot of fish that just nipped at his bait without committing to it.
"I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing and let the chips fall where they may. I don't have anything different to do to try to catch a bigger bag. I'm just hoping to have another day like yesterday (when he caught 18 pounds).
3rd: Gustafson on a Roll
> Day 3: 5, 17-08 (15, 48-10)
Gustafson is only 2 places out of the top spot in the standings, but feels his chances to win are slim.
"I'm just going to go out and catch what I can catch tomorrow and see what happens," he said. "I've been doing this long enough to know that you never know, but we're probably fishing for 2nd place."
He went through about 40 keepers on day 3 and the five he took to the scale were all 3 1/2-pounders. He didn't lose any that he felt would've helped him.
"There was no wind today and I think that helped. I'm fishing out deep, on the bottom, and I caught a lot yesterday too, but they were all 2-pounders.
Jeff Gustafson is on his way to notching his second straight single-digit finish.
"I probably see a couple hundred a day on my screen - they're in little groups of six or eight. You can pull up and catch one, and you might get a second one, but they smarten up real fast. That's where the luck factor comes in; you hope the bite you get is one of the bigger ones and not a 2-pounder."
He'll need several big ones to bite tomorrow in order to have a chance at catching Hallman.
"I'm doing the right thing to get those bites, but those fish aren't everywhere."
4th: Johnson Kept Going Back
> Day 3: 5, 17-10 (15, 48-09)
Johnson's big bag was highlighted by a 5 1/2-pound spot.
"I caught it the fourth time I went to that place," he said. "At 2 o'clock, it was finally ready to bite.
"I'm all-in on the deal I'm doing and I knew it'd be the way to win if I got the right bites. Yesterday the big ones didn't want to cooperate and I never got a decent bite all day long."
He's fishing saddles, other high spots and creek-channel bends in 25 to 40 feet of water. He has five big-fish locales, all of which he's fished for years, and several other places where he can rack up numbers.
He boated 15 keepers and didn't lose any. He believes that a bag in excess of 20 pounds is entirely possible on the final day.
"My team partner and I caught multiple bags over 20 this winter," he said. "In this tournament I've caught a 5-09, a 5-06 and a 4-09 off the same spot - two the first day and one today.
"If I get real lucky, 22 to 25 pounds can happen."
27th: Not Enough Sun for Watson
> Day 3: 4, 7-15 (14, 40-05)
James Watson had rocketed from 76th place to 8th with a 19-08 bag on day 2, but came in with considerably less than half that weight today as he was one fish shy of a limit.
"I'd gotten a few bites in practice on the new River2Sea World Wide Spoon and I've never spoon-jacked them this early in the year before," he said. "I figured it was a fluke, but on the first day of the tournament I had a small limit and that series of docks where I'd gotten the spoon bites was nearby, so I decided to hit them.
"On the seventh stall I fished I had a 4-pounder and two 3s come after the spoon and I caught the 4. I fished it for another hour and had two more followers, so decided to try it again the next day after I'd caught a limit of spots on a grub. I ended up catching the biggest bag I've ever caught on a spoon."
That occurred under a sunny sky, which he knew he wouldn't get much of on day 3 - just a few hours in the morning. He had six followers, but only one bit and he failed to catch it.
"What I needed was to have the sun from 11 o'clock to 3," he said.
Notable
> Day3 stats – 30 anglers, 28 limits, 2 fours.
Weather Forecast
> Sun., March 11 - Rain - 53°/43°
- Wind: From the ESE at 8 mph
Day 3 Standings>
1. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Ok -- 23-11 (5) -- 18-7 (5) -- 13-1 (5) -- 55-3 (15)
2. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 16-6 (5) -- 18-3 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 49-10 (15)
3. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, On -- 17-12 (5) -- 13-6 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 48-10 (15)
4. Jason Johnson -- Dawsonville, Ga -- 18-4 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 17-10 (5) -- 48-9 (15)
5. Joseph Webster -- Winfield, Al -- 16-7 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 47-10 (15)
6. Braxton Setzer -- Montgomery, Al -- 14-0 (5) -- 18-7 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 47-5 (15)
7. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 15-8 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 46-14 (15)
8. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 15-1 (5) -- 19-5 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 46-13 (15)
9. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 18-7 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 11-9 (5) -- 46-6 (15)
10. Jordan Osborne -- Longview, Tx -- 12-10 (5) -- 18-11 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 46-4 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Randy Haynes -- Counce, Tn -- 19-3 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 13-8 (5) -- 45-7 (15) -- $12,000
12. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 16-9 (5) -- 14-5 (5) -- 14-8 (5) -- 45-6 (15) -- $12,000
13. Carl Jocumsen -- Frisco, Tx -- 14-5 (5) -- 18-0 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 45-4 (15) -- $12,000
14. Alex Davis -- Albertville, Al -- 15-8 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 45-3 (15) -- $12,000
15. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 15-13 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 11-7 (5) -- 44-12 (15) -- $12,000
16. David Nichol -- Gainesville, Ga -- 17-6 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 13-8 (5) -- 44-10 (15) -- $12,000
17. Allen Boyd -- Salem, In -- 13-0 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 13-5 (5) -- 43-5 (15) -- $12,000
18. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 17-5 (5) -- 13-0 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 42-12 (15) -- $12,000
19. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Tx -- 14-13 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 13-0 (5) -- 42-12 (15) -- $12,000
20. Jared McMillan -- Belle Glade, Fl -- 14-2 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 12-9 (5) -- 41-12 (15) -- $12,000
21. Matthew Stefan -- Junction City, Wi -- 15-2 (5) -- 14-4 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 41-9 (15) -- $10,000
22. Jason Meninger -- Saint Augustine, Fl -- 19-5 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 41-8 (15) -- $10,000
23. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 15-11 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 11-3 (5) -- 40-10 (15) -- $10,000
24. Kyle Weisenburger -- Ottawa, Oh -- 17-5 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 8-4 (5) -- 40-8 (15) -- $10,000
25. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 18-7 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 9-10 (4) -- 40-8 (14) -- $10,000
26. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 12-10 (5) -- 17-6 (5) -- 10-8 (5) -- 40-8 (15) -- $10,000
27. James Watson -- Lampe, Mo -- 12-14 (5) -- 19-8 (5) -- 7-15 (4) -- 40-5 (14) -- $10,000
28. Grae Buck -- Harleysville, Pa -- 13-15 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 9-13 (5) -- 40-0 (15) -- $10,000
29. Rob Jordan -- Flowery Branch, Ga -- 16-1 (5) -- 13-1 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 39-12 (15) -- $10,000
30. Tim Cales -- Sandstone, WV -- 20-5 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 8-7 (5) -- 39-10 (15) -- $10,500
