By Sean Ostruszka
Special to BassFan
It’s a tried-and-true winning formula in Florida – get in a decent-sized area and milk it for a giant kicker and four solid fish each day. Buddy Gross apparently didn’t get the memo.
On a day that saw all the top 3 anglers from day 2 all trip up, Gross continued to be the image of consistency at the FLW Tour event at Lake Toho. The Alabama pro cracked 21-07 and 20-13 the first two days, and then backed it up with 19-12 on day 3 to jump into the lead with 62 pounds even.
Amazingly, he’s accomplished this consistency with no kickers over 5 1/2 pounds – a small fish considering the numerous 8-, 9- and 10-pounders that have crossed the stage. And 14 of his 15 fish coming from one tiny spot. How tiny?
“It’s a one-cast deal,” Gross said. “I catch one and then have to leave to let it sit so another can move up on it.”
In a chain of lakes lush with vegetation, Gross has located a tiny indent in an offshore grass flat of Toho where bass are sitting on the edges and then trapping bait that swim into the channel. How he knows this is from time to time he actually watches one do it, waking up on the surface to trap a baitfish against the edge of the indent. No surprise, every time he sees that, he catches one.
Considering the pressure system that moved in today and brought strong winds, clouds and some late rain, Gross figured he may finally get some of those big kickers today. Yet, it never happened.
“I really thought I was going to wreck them today with this weather,” said Gross, who's switching between a swimbait, swim jig and a spinnerbait on his main spot. “The wind was blowing in on my area and funneling the bait right to it, but I really struggled to catch them today. It took awhile, but when I did get bit it was in a flurry. So I’m around the right fish. I’m just worried my spot might’ve run out.”
That’s not a concern for guys like John Cox, Braxton Setzer, Casey Scanlon and Terry Bolton. The anglers who resided in the 1st, 3rd, 7th and 9th spots, respectively, after Friday know their spots have run dry, as none brought in a double-digit bag today.
Aaron Britt (2nd place after day 2) and Scott Martin (4th place) also struggled mightily today, though Britt’s 12-03 bag was more a product of lost fish than disappearing fish.
It was hardly a bad day of fishing for many pros, though.
Darrell Davis' 25-12 haul moved him into 2nd place.
Tommy Dickerson only made the top-30 cut by a couple ounces, but he’d been saving a spot in hopes he’d finally get some wind. He got it today, and the result was pulling up on the spot first thing and catching “6-pounder, 6-pounder, 6-pounder.” He brought in 24-01 to jump from 28th to 8th. Wade Strelic also did some moving, climbing from 15th to 6th thanks to a 22-13 limit.
No one had a better day than Darrell Davis, though, and he lost the fish that would’ve helped him bring in a 30-pound bag.
Making the long run to the south end of Kissimmee, Davis is fishing for spawning bass he can’t see via a combination of moving baits and flipping. After practice he said he was “pretty amped” about what he’d found down there, but day 1 saw his area covered in boats, including the small section he considered the best.
“I had guys on top of me, and I really let it get to me the first day,” said Davis of the mediocre 14-05 limit he weighed in on Day 1. “Fortunately, they didn’t know how to fish it the right way, so they were only catching random big fish. Yesterday I was able to get in on the best spot, and again today.”
That's resulted in back-to-back 20-pound bags on days 2 and 3, capped off with the biggest bag today, a 25-12 limit that was anchored by a pair of 7-pounders.
Davis mentioned his spot was getting even better today, as the lack of boats finally allowed more big spawners to move in, and he says he’ll be the only boat in there tomorrow. Problem is, it’s such a shallow spot, he’s worried all the rain tonight and continued wind could run the fish out of his area.
“I was just checking the weather,” Davis said. “If it looked better, I’d be a lot more excited. So we’ll see.”
Of course, that could be said by any of the top 10 at this point. According to the forecast, it looks like most of the rain should be gone by mid-morning, but anglers will still face a steady, switching wind and the first full day of clouds since practice.
And with the top 6 anglers separated by less than 5 pounds, one giant kicker could lead to a six-figure paycheck on the final day.
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 30 anglers, 27 limits, 2 fours, 1 three.
Weather Forecast
> Sun., Feb. 10 – A.M. Showers - 78°/62°
- Wind: From the E at 14 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, Ga -- 21-7 (5) -- 20-13 (5) -- 19-12 (5) -- 62-0 (15)
2. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 14-5 (5) -- 20-14 (5) -- 25-12 (5) -- 60-15 (15)
3. Josh Douglas -- Isle, Mn -- 19-9 (5) -- 22-10 (5) -- 18-0 (5) -- 60-3 (15)
4. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 31-9 (5) -- 17-4 (5) -- 8-11 (5) -- 57-8 (15)
5. Aaron Britt -- Yuba City, Ca -- 21-2 (5) -- 24-2 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 57-7 (15)
6. Wade Strelic -- Alpine, Ca -- 21-4 (5) -- 13-2 (5) -- 22-13 (5) -- 57-3 (15)
7. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 24-12 (5) -- 17-15 (5) -- 12-1 (5) -- 54-12 (15)
8. Tommy Dickerson -- Orange, Tx -- 13-5 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 24-1 (5) -- 54-3 (15)
9. Tyler Woolcott -- Port Orange, Fl -- 18-8 (5) -- 20-13 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 53-1 (15)
10. Joseph Webster -- Winfield, Al -- 16-10 (5) -- 18-10 (5) -- 16-2 (5) -- 51-6 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 19-8 (5) -- 12-1 (5) -- 18-12 (5) -- 50-5 (15) -- $12,000
12. Casey Scanlon -- Lake Ozark, Mo -- 12-10 (5) -- 28-0 (5) -- 9-2 (5) -- 49-12 (15) -- $12,000
13. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 11-5 (5) -- 21-2 (5) -- 16-7 (5) -- 48-14 (15) -- $12,000
14. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, Ga -- 16-10 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 47-11 (15) -- $12,000
15. John Voyles -- Petersburg, In -- 24-15 (5) -- 10-8 (5) -- 12-3 (5) -- 47-10 (15) -- $12,000
16. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 16-7 (5) -- 14-6 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 47-10 (15) -- $11,500
17. Braxton Setzer -- Montgomery, Al -- 19-7 (5) -- 23-5 (5) -- 4-3 (4) -- 46-15 (14) -- $11,500
18. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 15-14 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 46-15 (15) -- $11,500
19. Terry Bolton -- Benton, Ky -- 14-12 (5) -- 21-0 (5) -- 9-13 (5) -- 45-9 (15) -- $11,500
20. Brian Latimer -- Belton, SC -- 18-3 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 45-9 (15) -- $11,500
21. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 21-10 (5) -- 11-1 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 44-5 (15) -- $10,500
22. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, Al -- 9-14 (5) -- 25-8 (5) -- 8-8 (5) -- 43-14 (15) -- $11,000
23. Ron Nelson -- Berrien Springs, Mi -- 21-6 (5) -- 9-12 (5) -- 12-1 (5) -- 43-3 (15) -- $10,500
24. Austin Wilson -- Citrus Heights, Ca -- 21-11 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 9-11 (5) -- 43-1 (15) -- $10,500
25. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, Ar -- 19-10 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 42-9 (15) -- $10,500
26. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 17-4 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 12-0 (5) -- 42-1 (15) -- $10,500
27. Brandon McMillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 12-8 (5) -- 19-7 (5) -- 9-10 (4) -- 41-9 (14) -- $10,500
28. Chad Warren -- Sand Springs, Ok -- 18-7 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 41-0 (15) -- $10,500
29. Andrew Upshaw -- Tulsa, Ok -- 16-5 (5) -- 15-9 (5) -- 8-8 (5) -- 40-6 (15) -- $10,500
30. Jeremy Lawyer -- Sarcoxie, Mo -- 18-5 (5) -- 14-2 (5) -- 7-5 (3) -- 39-12 (13) -- $10,500
