By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan


After day 2, Randall Tharp trailed Aaron Martens by 1 ounce for the lead at the Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite Series. On day 3, Tharp used a 15-10 stringer to edge ahead of Martens by the same margin.

What's been a see-saw tournament at the top of the leaderboard through 3 days – Tharp is the third different leader – figures to come down to the wire Sunday when the fourth Elite Series contested on the famed Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wis., in the last 7 years winds to a close.

Tharp’s 3-day total of 49-12 secured a second top-12 cut this season and put him in position to capture a second career Elite Series victory.

Martens, meanwhile, caught 15-08, his smallest stringer of the event, but he also finds himself well within reach of a sixth career Elite Series win. He already has a runner-up and a 5th-place finish to his credit at La Crosse.

Ish Monroe moved up three spots to 3rd with a 17-04 stringer that gives him 49-05. Gerald Spohrer continued to have a strong tournament with 16-05 that put him in 4th with 49-02. It's Spohrer's second top-12 cut in the last three events.

Casey Ashley moved up 15 places to 5th with a tournament-best 18-04 that pushed his total to 48-01.

Here's a breakdown of the 12 anglers who advanced to Sunday's final round, with the deficit margin to Tharp indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Randall Tharp: 49-12
2. Aaron Martens 49-11 (0-01)
3. Ish Monroe: 49-05 (0-07)
4. Gerald Spohrer: 49-02 (0-10)
5. Casey Ashley: 48-01 (1-11)
6. Jacob Powroznik: 48-01 (1-11)
7. Keith Poche: 46-04 (3-08)
8. Gary Klein: 46-03 (3-09)
9. Jacob Wheeler: 45-09 (4-03)
10. Justin Lucas: 45-02 (4-10)
11. Wesley Strader: 44-15 (4-13)
12. Cliff Pace: 44-09 (5-03)

Chris Zaldain, who was 4th after day 2, mustered a 10-00 limit while sharing areas with Martens, but it wasn't enough to keep him in the mix. He finished 28th with 42-07.

Dave Lefebre, who occupied a top-10 spot the first two days, failed to finish off his limit today (four for 12-09) and slid from 8th to 20th. Chad Pipkens, who led after day 1, caught 12-06 for the second straight day and dropped from 11th to 25th.

While the water continues to rise in the wake of heavy rains on Thursday and Friday, the finalists will be treated to dynamite weather on Sunday with temperatures reaching the mid-80s along with a slight breeze out of the south.



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

Tharp had to change up his tactics today after the areas that produced on days 1 and 2 went cold.

Tharp Called An Audible

> Day 3: 5, 15-10 (15, 49-12)

Tharp knew that the pattern he found in practice would not last all 4 days of the tournament with the forecast of higher water each day. While the rising level washed out his initial spot, he believes that it is helping other anglers in the top 12, as their weights have been improving.

“The water is rising faster now than when we got here and it’s going to crest Monday or Tuesday,” he said. “It’s insane how much water is coming through there compared to practice. Everything I caught today would have been dry land first day of the tourney. Everything would have been out of the water."

Compared to his only other experience here in 2016, Tharp believes that the weights and fishing are better than before. He boated 20 keepers en route to overtaking Martens, but knows he can't take anything for granted entering the final day.

“I’m pretty content knowing what I know,” Tharp replied when asked if he thinks his deal will hold up. “I was very lucky to get 2 days out of what I was doing. When I pulled up on my best spot first thing and I never even saw a fish on my first pass, it was my greatest nightmare. When I made a pass on my best stretch this morning, I knew it was done. I did not get a bite in a place that I could call my shots on the last 2 days.”

He found the spot that propelled him to the top during the last half hour of day 2 and that clued him into what he might be doing Sunday after boating a 2- and 3-pound fish from it.

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

Aaron Martens will have lots of water to choose from on day 4.

Armed with a jig, he worked flooded trees, wood and shoreline with machine-like precision. He encountered a few flurries of action, but he also found time to eat lunch. He said Friday and today were among the only times in his career that he’s done that.

“If it’s meant for me to win, I’ll get the bites,” he added. “That was a crucial decision today and 5 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have done it.”

2nd: Martens' Schools Still In

> Day 3: 5, 15-08 (15, 49-11)

Despite not getting to fish his best water today, Martens still weighed a strong bag.

“There’s still fish there, but they’re skittish,” Martens said. “Sure, there’s still fishing moving in and out, but once you catch one they get spooked.”

He doesn’t think there are too many 4-pound fish, but if he catches 30 to 40 bass on day4 he’s confident he could bring 18 to 19 pounds to the scale.

“A 3 1/2-pound bass is golden and yesterday I caught four of them,” he said.

Tharp is actually fishing Martens' back-up spot, but Martens said he's got lots to choose from.

He’s hoping his fish will be fired up in the morning – if not, he figures it’s going to be a grind for him. He’s well aware that two skilled anglers pounding on the same schools of fish for 3 days was not a best-case scenario.

Today resorted to dropshotting a Roboworm and fishing a prototype half-ounce Picasso Rhino-Head shaky-head jig, also with a Roboworm attached.

3rd: Monroe's Big Ones Isolated

> Day 3: 5, 17-04 (15, 49-05)

Ish Monroe and Keith Poche have had their differences in the past but on day 2 they made a gentleman’s agreement in terms of how they would divvy up the water they were sharing and keep things amicable. Monroe said they are not fishing the exact same water and see each other occasionally.

"The only thing that hurt me was the influx of growing duckweed," he said. "I didn’t know how fast it really grows but it doubled from yesterday.”

The vegetation forced Monroe to slow down and be more thorough and fish everything instead of the isolated targets he worked on the previous days.

“I saw stuff today that I had seen all week,” he said. “I can literally Power-Pole down and watch them eating something, and I think it's mayflies underneath the mats. I can hear them blowing up underneath the mats and they create holes. I would pitch to the holes and catch those bass and they’d eat the frog,” he said.

His bigger fish are very isolated. When he doesn’t get a bite within 40 feet, he knows to be ready for a better-quality fish.

The higher water is also unlocking key areas and he’s able to get to the bank where the water is only 1 1/2 to 2 feet deep. His fish seem to only want to eat a frog.

He's added a River2Sea Phat Frog Kit to the back of his signature series River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Matt Daddy Frog to create a buzz-frog that they’ve been eating better in the morning. The benefit of that is that he can reel it and as a bass approaches, he can stop the bait and see the bite for a sure hookset.

Monroe is optimistic and with just cause, he caught more fish than the 50 he’s caught the previous two days and the largemouth are eating it just as good if not better. “The only difference today from today to yesterday is that yesterday, I could have weighed 4 bags at 15-pounds, today I only could have done that twice,” he said.

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

Ish Monroe thinks he'll win if he exceeds his 17-04 day-3 weight on the final day.

He’s been fishing a black/yellow frog, but wishes he’d designed one with a red head – he's watched black and red birds fly close to the water. After the weigh-in, Cliff Crochet told him that he was cleaning black and red feathers out of his livewell. Monroe figures that the largemouth are feeding on them.

Heading into day 4, he’s confident but knows there’s no room for error.

“If I catch more weight than I caught today, I should win,” he said.

4th: Spohrer Playing Numbers Game

> Day 3: 5, 16-05 (15, 49-02)

Gerald Spohrer had to call a play of his own today. He’s been nursing a small area where the majority of his quality of fish have come from and intended to lean on it a bit more. But when he fished it this morning, it leaned back.

Yes, he still caught some key fish from there, and there are still fish in there, but the duckweed mats got shifted around by the influx of current in the area.

“It wasn’t as phenomenal as before,” he said.

He’s not sure if he went in there too often the first 2 days or cycled through too many fish to get his daily target of 16 pounds.

He’s been taking three or four fish out of there each day and setting the hook on another five or six to get the fish he needs.

He said he lost two fish that would have put him in the 17 1/2- to 18-pound range. He did find a spot at the end of the day in Pool 8 where he lost a good fish and another jumped over his frog.

As he heads to the final day, he’s keeping a cool head.

“It’s not easy to catch that kind of weight,” he said. “If I catch 16 pounds a day for 4 consecutive days, then I’ve been lucky.”

All of his fish have come on a rainforest black-colored SPRO Bronzeye 65 frog.

5th: Powroznik Ready to Show Out

> Day 3: 5, 15-11 (15, 48-01)

Powroznik has committed himself to the same area since the tournament began and he'll live by the same sword on day 4. What’s unique about his area is that it hasn't been adversely affected by the influx of water. Instead, remote areas he’d tried to fish on day 2 but were not accessible were in play on day 3..

“I feel I need about 18 pounds to win this deal,” he said. “Don’t forget, I haven’t even caught a big one out of here yet, but catching a 4 1/2-to 5-pounder here is like the luck of the day. The quality is there.”

He missed a couple of fish today that he believes could have helped him, but they’ll be there tomorrow, he says.

“I have to fish really clean tomorrow and let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “It is what it is.”

He’s fished a frog every day of the tournament and he plans to carry it right to the end.

He’s going to stay in the same area that he’s been in and what’s interesting is that the water levels have stabilized and he doesn’t see that being a factor anymore. “It’s about as high as it’s gonna get,” Powroznik said.

“I just think that I know what is going on better than anybody else, I’m just not catching the weight that they’re catching. I think that by the end of the day tomorrow, if I fish clean and catch everything that bites, we’re gonna have a chance."

13th: DeFoe Missed by 1

> Day 3: 5, 14-11 (15, 44-08)

Ott DeFoe isn’t superstitious but after placing 13th in four tournaments this year, he might soon be. He missed the final cut by a single ounce.

He was in 83rd place on day 1 after misjudging what the smallmouth would do when faced with the influx of water that was coming in. After his practice, he believed that smallmouth might be the safer bet as he found them to be more consistent. At worst, he figured he’d end up with 12-pounds and at best he’d weigh 15. Also, based on prior visits to the river, he’d miscalculated what he would need to stay in contention after the first day.

After trying for smallmouth again in the morning of day 2 and only catching a single 16-inch fish, he scrapped his game plan. Instead, he fished an area he’d never fished before but had found on Google Earth. Within his first few casts, he had a 4-pound largemouth in the well and 14 pounds within the first hour. His final weight for the day was 18-04, the second-biggest stringer of the tournament, and had climbed to 18th place.

Day 3 had all the makings for a leap into the top 12 had it not been for the four fish he lost on a frog that were half way back to the boat. For DeFoe, that never happens, he said.

He rounded out his limit flipping and fishing a Terminator Walking Frog Jr.

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 47 limits, 3 fours.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., June 24 – Mostly Sunny - 83°/64°
- Wind: From the S at 5 to 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 15, 49-12 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-10

2. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 49-11 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 5, 15-08

3. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 49-05 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11 -- Day 3: 5, 17-04

4. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 49-02 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-05

5. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 48-01 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 18-04

6. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 15 -- 48-01 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-11

7. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 15, 46-04 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14 -- Day 3: 5, 16-03

8. Gary Klein -- Mingus, TX -- 15, 46-03 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00 -- Day 3: 5, 15-06

9. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, TN -- 15, 45-09 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

10. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 45-02 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 16-06

11. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, TN -- 15, 44-15 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 5, 14-00

12. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 44-09 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

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

13. Ott DeFoe -- Blaine, TN -- 15, 44-08 -- 98 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-11

14. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 15, 44-04 -- 97 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

15. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 44-02 -- 96 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

16. Alton Jones Jr. Waco, TX -- 15, 44-02 -- 95 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08 -- Day 3: 5, 14-02

17. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 44-01 -- 94 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

18. Hunter Shryock -- Newcomerstown, OH -- 15, 43-14 -- 93 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-09

19. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 15, 43-10 -- 92 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 15-05

20. Dave Lefebre -- Erie, PA -- 14, 43-07 -- 91 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05 -- Day 3: 4, 12-09

21. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 15, 43-04 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

22. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 43-02 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-13

23. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 43-01 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-10

24. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 15, 42-12 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09

25. Chad Pipkens -- Lansing, MI -- 15, 42-11 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 12-06

26. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 42-11 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15

27. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 15, 42-09 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

28. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 15, 42-07 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-00

29. Fletcher Shryock -- Dennison, OH -- 15, 42-05 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-11

30. Josh Bertrand -- San Tan Valley, AZ -- 15, 42-01 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

31. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 42-00 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-06

32. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 15, 41-14 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08

33. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 15, 41-12 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04 -- Day 3: 5, 13-11

34. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 41-11 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01

35. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 15, 41-08 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-10

36. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 15, 41-06 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10 -- Day 3: 5, 13-06

37. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 41-02 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 11-05

38. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 15, 40-11 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

39. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 15, 40-11 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02

40. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 15, 40-08 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08

41. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 15, 40-06 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01

42. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 15, 40-06 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

43. Jonathon VanDam -- Gobles, MI -- 15, 40-03 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02 -- Day 3: 5, 11-13

44. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 15, 40-03 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09

45. Chris Groh -- Spring Grove, IL -- 14, 40-00 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 4, 10-15

46. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 39-14 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12

47. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 15, 39-11 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 11-04

48. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 14, 39-05 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 4, 10-12

49. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 15, 39-03 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 5, 11-06

50. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, CA -- 15, 38-07 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-07