By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


Just imagine what Greg Hackney could do if he were allowed to fish the whole Sabine River instead of just one side of it.

Hackney, who's dominated the fifth Bassmaster Elite Series event of 2018 from the get-go, added another 4 pounds to his lead on day 3 as his day-best 12-14 stringer pushed his total to 41-00. He's now 8 1/2 pounds in front of 2nd-place Keith Poche on a fishery where a bag of that weight constitutes a pretty good day.

If he catches 9-01 or more on Sunday, his total will be the highest in the circuit's three visits to the venue. On the two previous occasions (2013 and 2015), both Texas and Louisiana waters were in play. This time, the field has been restricted to fishing only the waters of the Lone Star State.

Poche boxed 9-03 to move up one place with a 32-09 total. Shin Fukae also advanced one spot to 3rd with a 9-14 bag for a 32-08 aggregate.

Steve Kennedy, whose 8-01 haul was less than half what he weighed on day 2, fell two positions to 4th with 31-11. Bradley Roy completed the top 5 as his 9-11 haul for a 30-13 total bumped him up one place.

Here are the totals for the 12 anglers who advanced to the final day, with their deficit margins from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Greg Hackney: 41-00
2. Keith Poche: 32-09 (8-07)
3. Shin Fukae: 32-08 (8-08)
4. Steve Kennedy: 31-11 (9-05)
5. Bradley Roy: 30-13 (10-03)
6. Skeet Reese: 30-04 (10-12)
7. Brock Mosley: 29-13 (11-03)
8. Justin Lucas: 29-11 (11-05)
9. Jake Whitaker: 29-05 (11-11)
10. Gerald Swindle: 28-14 (12-02)
11. John Crews: 28-11 (12-05)
12. Brandon Palaniuk: 28-10 (12-06)

There were few big charges from way back in the field on day 3 as the mid-teens bags that showed up the previous day were nowhere to be found. Reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Brandon Palaniuk made the biggest jump in the standings, going from 47th to 12 on the strength of a 12-03 haul. Gerald Swindle, the 2016 points champion, caught 12-01 to climb from 31st to 10th.

Justin Lucas (11-08 on day 3) and Jake Whitaker (11-00) were the other newcomers to the top 12. Whitaker, a rookie from North Carolina, has acquitted himself well in the past three events after a rough start to his pro career and will compete on a Sunday for the first time.



B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

The narrow canal where Hackney has spent the majority of the tournament continued to produce on day 3.

Bobby Lane, who started the day in 10th, tied Palaniuk for the No. 12 slot, but the latter advanced based on his heavier single-day haul. Matt Herren (7th to 19th), Bill Lowen (11th to 22nd) and Skylar Hamilton (12th to 25th) also dropped out of the top 5.

Thunderstorms invaded the Orange, Texas area toward the end of day 2 and are expected to hang around throughout most of the final day. The high temperature should remain in the 80s and the wind will be out of the south, possibly reaching double digits in velocity.

Hackney Went Froggin'

> Day 3: 5, 12-14 (15, 41-00)

Hackney had caught the majority of his best fish on a buzzbait and a few on a crankbait over the first 2 days. He added a frog to the mix on day 3 and it produced three that he took to the scale.

"When I go into an area, the conditions dictate what lure I'm going to use," he said. "In some of the places that are dirtier I'll throw the crankbait, and if I get in the clearer water it'll be either the buzzbait or the frog."

His bag was topped by a 3 3/4-pounder. It contained one dink that prevented his weight from reaching the teens.

Four of the fish he weighed in came from the canal that he's been sharing with Lowen and Casey Ashley, both of whom were eliminated from competition on day.

"One of the reasons I didn't start there today was I decided to let them go in and do their deal and I'd ease in there later in the day. It was different in there today; I'd been catching a few n the frog, but none of the key fish.

"I had three when I went in there and I got a good one right away and then finished my limit shortly thereafter and culled a couple of times."

He won't feel safe on the final day unless he's got a bag that weighs at least 10 pounds.

"With the weather change and all those big bags that were caught yesterday, I have to figure that somebody in that group behind me could catch 15 to 17 pounds."

B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Keith Poche moved up one place in the standings despite catching a much lighter bag than the one he weighed on day 2.

He noticed an increase in the activity level of the fish – and other wildlife – as the thunderstorms approached.

"Everything got fired up about an hour before it hit. I'd been seeing a gator occasionally, but just before it hit they were everywhere and I ended up catching four or five keepers in that period, including two of my best fish."

2nd: Poche Lighter, but Moves Up

> Day 3: 5, 9-03 (15, 32-09)

Poche's bag was almost 6 1/2 pounds lighter than the one he caught the previous day, but he nonetheless moved up one place in the standings.

"I'll take it," he said. "I missed some opportunities – I didn't have as many good bites, but two that I had I should've caught and they both came unbuttoned. One was on a topwater and the other on a creature bait. They bit real funny today.

"I saw one of the ones I lost and it was a 3-pounder. The other one, I honestly don't know (how big it was). I know it was a bass and it was big, I'm sure of that."

He said the water in his best area was 6 or 8 inches lower than it was on Friday.

"The fish weren't up there as tight and I got a lot more dink bites."

He isn't planning to make any major adjustments for day 4.

"I'll just go have fun and run my stuff. If they bite, great. If they don't, I gave it my all. I'll be happy either way – some things have gone my way and I'm blessed to be in this position.

"You never know when you're going to run into a 5-pounder – they've been caught every day. They live here and if it's your day to smack a couple, you can make a move."

3rd: Tide Hurting Fukae

> Day 3: 5, 9-14 (15, 32-08)

Fukae said he's getting less and less of the favorable tide each day.

"Yesterday (when he caught 14-10) I caught most of my good ones in the last 2 hours," he said. "Today I only got an hour of that tide and tomorrow it'll be another hour later. It's getting bad for me.

"The incoming is best for me right now. The outgoing is a little too slow and there's not much water moving."

B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Shin Fukae said the Sabine River tide schedule is no longer working to his advantage.

He boated seven keepers and a 2 3/4-pounder was the biggest. He lost one fish, but doesn't think it would've helped him.

"Tomorrow I might stay in the same spot all day and (hopefully) I can catch some a little earlier than I have the last 2 days."

4th: Tougher Day for Kennedy

> Day 3: 5, 8-01 (15, 31-11)

Kennedy wasn't completely surprised by his big weight drop-off from the previous day.

"That's the nature of this place," he said. "There's very few big bites to be had and if you're in an area when they're feeding, you can catch them. They're absolutely not replenishing.

"I caught a bunch of little ones today and missed a bunch of little ones. On one stretch there was a fish on every stump, but it took me forever to get a limit. I had one big bite late in the day and I bowed up on it, but it popped loose."

He ended up weighing three fish in the 2-pound class, along with a couple of 12-inchers.

"It felt like they started biting better in the last 2 hours and I'm hoping they turn on good tomorrow. I still have fish that I haven't been to in the same general area where I've been fishing.

"Tomorrow has the potential for a big bag for somebody – if you're in the right area at the right time, they might eat."

5th: Roy Stays Steady

> Day 3: 5, 9-11 (15, 30-13)

Roy has perhaps been the steadiest competitor in the event – he weighed his smallest bag on day 3, but it was only 1-04 lighter than his heaviest.

"Anytime you can be consistent at the Sabine, that's definitely a plus," he said. "I've got five different areas that I'm rotating through and usually three end up playing each day. A couple of the places have been pretty crowded but at the other ones there's nobody else there."

He handled 10 keepers, the biggest of which was a 2 1/2-pounder (a 3 is the biggest he's caught in the derby). He lost a couple, but said they'd have accounted for only small upgrades if they'd helped at all.

"I'm just doing typical backwater-fishing stuff. It's nothing fancy."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 40 limits, 3 fours, 2 threes, 1 two, 3 ones, 1 zero.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., June 10 – Thunderstorms - 87°/76°
- Wind: From the at 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 41-00 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 12-14

2. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 15, 32-09 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 07-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-03

3. Shin Fukae -- Palestine TX -- 15, 32-08 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 08-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-14

4. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 31-11 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 07-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05 -- Day 3: 5, 08-01

5. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 30-13 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 10-15 -- Day 3: 5, 09-11

6. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 30-04 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08 -- Day 3: 5, 07-10

7. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 14, 29-13 -- 104
Day 1: 4, 04-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13 -- Day 3: 5, 09-08

8. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 29-11 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 10-15 -- Day 2: 5, 07-04 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08

9. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 15, 29-05 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 08-03 -- Day 3: 5, 11-00

10. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 28-14 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 09-08 -- Day 2: 5, 07-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

11. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 15, 28-11 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 08-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-08

12. Brandon Palaniuk -- Hayden, ID -- 15, 28-01 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 06-09 -- Day 2: 5, 09-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.

13. Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 15, 28-01 -- 98 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 09-02 -- Day 3: 5, 08-10

14. Ott DeFoe -- Blaine, TN -- 15, 28-00 -- 97 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 08-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-01

15. Roy Hawk -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 27-14 -- 96 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-04 -- Day 2: 5, 07-09 -- Day 3: 5, 09-01

16. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 27-14 -- 95 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-10 -- Day 2: 5, 10-03 -- Day 3: 5, 09-01

17. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 27-13 -- 94 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-13 -- Day 2: 5, 06-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08

18. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 27-13 -- 93 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-03 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 5, 09-03

19. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 15, 27-10 -- 92 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 08-08 -- Day 3: 5, 06-14

20. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 15, 27-06 -- 91 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-13 -- Day 2: 5, 07-12 -- Day 3: 5, 10-13

21. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 26-14 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-09 -- Day 2: 5, 06-06 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

22. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 26-13 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-11 -- Day 2: 5, 09-10 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08

23. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 15, 26-10 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-04 -- Day 2: 5, 07-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-13

24. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 15, 26-08 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-02 -- Day 2: 5, 08-07 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

25. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 14, 26-05 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 06-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 07-03

26. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 26-05 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-10 -- Day 2: 5, 09-05 -- Day 3: 5, 07-06

27. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 26-00 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-07 -- Day 2: 5, 08-08 -- Day 3: 5, 10-01

28. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 25-15 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-05 -- Day 2: 5, 06-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14

29. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, TN -- 15, 25-13 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 06-09 -- Day 3: 5, 09-02

30. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 25-00 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 06-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-01

31. Darrell Ocamica -- New Plymouth, ID -- 15, 24-15 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-08 -- Day 2: 5, 07-09 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14

32. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 13, 24-08 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-05 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11 -- Day 3: 3, 05-08

33. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 15, 24-04 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-03 -- Day 2: 5, 08-06 -- Day 3: 5, 07-11

34. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 24-01 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 07-01 -- Day 3: 5, 06-13

35. Tyler Carriere -- Youngsville, LA -- 15, 24-01 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-05 -- Day 2: 5, 08-15 -- Day 3: 5, 07-13

36. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 24-01 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-00 -- Day 2: 5, 08-09 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08

37. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 24-00 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-07 -- Day 2: 5, 08-10 -- Day 3: 5, 06-15

38. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 14, 23-14 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-07 -- Day 2: 5, 06-04 -- Day 3: 4, 08-03

39. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 14, 23-06 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-13 -- Day 2: 5, 08-10 -- Day 3: 4, 06-15

40. Jesse Wiggins -- Cullman, AL -- 15, 22-10 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-08 -- Day 2: 5, 06-14 -- Day 3: 5, 06-04

41. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 15, 22-09 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-13 -- Day 2: 5, 08-10 -- Day 3: 5, 06-02

42. Rick Morris -- Lake Gaston, VA -- 13, 22-08 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-02 -- Day 2: 3, 05-09 -- Day 3: 5, 05-13

43. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 15, 22-07 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-04 -- Day 2: 5, 06-10 -- Day 3: 5, 06-09

44. Josh Bertrand -- San Tan Valley, AZ -- 13, 22-03 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-09 -- Day 2: 5, 09-08 -- Day 3: 3, 05-02

45. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 14, 20-09 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 06-14 -- Day 2: 5, 09-09 -- Day 3: 4, 04-02

46. Fred Roumbanis -- Russellville, AR -- 12, 20-06 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 05-13 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 2, 02-10

47. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 11, 19-06 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-14 -- Day 2: 5, 07-00 -- Day 3: 1, 01-08

48. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 11, 19-03 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 07-12 -- Day 2: 5, 09-14 -- Day 3: 1, 01-09

49. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 11, 19-01 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-03 -- Day 2: 5, 07-08 -- Day 3: 1, 03-06

50. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 10, 16-13 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 09-06 -- Day 2: 5, 07-07 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00