By Sean Ostruszka
Special to BassFan
Who’s ready to see some fireworks?
The final round of the Lake Chickamauga FLW Tour is fixing to be a banner day. The entire top 10 is separated by less than 11 pounds, which may seem like a lot. But on a lake like Chickamauga, that could be one fish, and with the way things are changing, a fish like that (or more than one) could be crossing the stage on Sunday.
The event is currently Ron Nelson’s to lose. The Tour rookie from Michigan, long a standout in both the Northern and Southeastern divisions of the FLW Series, caught three quality fish late on day 3 to bring in a surprising 25-15 bag, which was the best of the day. Nelson’s 65-00 total bumped day-2 leader Matt Greenblatt to second with 64-02 as he continues to milk a shallow-grass pattern.
John Cox gave up on his sight-fishing pattern and instead struck gold with a swim jig to bring in 19-15 for a 62-09 total. Then there’s local favorite Buddy Gross, whose weights have been increasing every day. He had the second-best bag of the day (23-12) and is just 2-14 behind Nelson.
David Dudley made for some fun live viewing when he caught an 8-pounder on a shad-spawn bite first thing this morning, which anchored an 18-01 bag, but he didn’t catch near as many as Alex Davis. Fishing an offshore spring, Davis was catching fish at will and brought in 23-05 to sit in 6th.
Ramie Colson (57-00), Austin Felix (55-05), Jared McMillan (55-03) and David Williams (54-02) round out the top 10.
If day 4 transpires as the pros are thinking, what will really happen is a showdown of patterns.
In one corner, you have the shallow anglers. For now, three of the top five all fall into that category, with Greenblatt, Cox and Dudley having done the majority or all of their damage near the bank.
Yet, Dudley may be switching teams tomorrow to the offshore corner, as Gross and Davis both showed how the deep bite may only be getting better. And the tournament leader, Nelson, is also plying the dempths, though he’s been spending about 25 percent of his time shallow.
“I think the fish are coming to me,” said Gross. “But I keep thinking [the shallow guys’] fish are going to run out, but from what I’m hearing and seeing in the bag line I don’t know if they will. Maybe they’re still going to them and we’re not as far along as I thought.
“Tomorrow is going to be a race for all of us right now. I just hope I win the race.”
For now, the lead dog in the race is Nelson, though, he’s not sure what to expect after today. Sitting in 2nd after day 1, he brought in only 14-11 yesterday before nearly bringing in 26 pounds on day 3.
Nelson said he had to camp on an offshore spot for hours, and it took him until nearly 1 p.m. before he had a limit. But once things got rolling, it all happened fast.
“I got a little momentum after the storm rolled through,” Nelson said. “I caught a big one off a bed. Then I was fishing for another on a bed when I saw a good one cruising. I cast over and she bit right away. Then I made a couple more culls.
“Actually, I got back to check-in a little early and said I’d give it all I had, so I did a little cranking and actually lost a good one because my drag loosened up on the boat ride. I fixed that, and right after caught a 5-pounder with minutes to spare. So it was a blessed day.”
He’s expecting Chickamauga to show out on the final day and he has the luxury of being able to catch good ones both shallow and deep, but he also hasn’t been able to dial in on which will be the winner tomorrow.
“I normally like fishing with only a couple rods on my deck,” Nelson said. “My boat is a mess. I have offshore rods, shallow rods.
“I have so many big guys chasing me down right now, and you know they’re going to catch them. Hopefully I do, too.”
Meanwhile, Greenblatt has been saving some offshore stuff and a dock pattern, but thus far, his area of shallow grass continues to reload and produce. Today, he gave the live audience a show when got a “game-changer” 7-03 kicker on a long cast with a wacky rig that seemingly took forever to get to the net.
Needless to say, with fish like that still hanging around, he has no plans on changing just yet.
“I don’t know what’s left out there for me, but I’m going to give them heck,” he said.
As for Cox, he will probably never fully give up on sight-fishing, but he sure did for a little while today, and it saved him. Making the switch to a white swim jig, Cox began burning the bank, particularly areas with sawgrass and laydowns, and got some big kickers to choke on it, especially during the heart of a nasty storm that blew over midday.
Dudley also scored big on a white swim jig when he caught the 8-pounder on his shad-spawn bite. Unfortunately, his hot start didn’t last as he admits he messed himself up.
“I’m kind of frustrated at myself today, for sure,” Dudley said. “I got distracted. I like fishing shallow, but when that rain came, I thought, let me try buzzbait. Then I thought, maybe I should try the shad-spawn bite with the clouds. Little of this, little of that. I got off my game.
“I ended offshore at one point and I finally said, ‘What are you doing, you dummy?’ As soon as I went back shallow it was great again.”
That said, after seeing what Gross and Davis caught away from the bank, Dudley admits he’ll probably head offshore to join them after his shad-spawn bite because he doesn’t think the shallow action will be able to compete with the way Gross and Davis are catching them.
Of course, the offshore bite is far from a guaranteed deal. Gross started fast, with 6-, 4 1/2- and 3 1/3-pounders all before 8 a.m. with a giant crankbait, but he didn’t have a limit until after 1 p.m. And Davis’ spot may have produced big today, but he said it was empty the last two days.
“I think I’m going to focus my efforts where I know can catch quality bites tomorrow,” Gross said. “I have a good starting place, because my last one I brought in had 15 or 20 with it over 4 pounds. But I fished it three or four more times today and they weren’t there, so maybe it’s a morning thing. Maybe it’s a shad-spawn thing. Whatever the case is, let’s hope they show back up tomorrow morning.
“I could truly zero, or I could have a truly big bag.”
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 30 anglers, 27 limits, 1 four, 2 threes.
Day 3 Standings
1. Ron Nelson -- Berrien Springs, Mi -- 24-6 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 25-15 (5) -- 65-0 (15)
2. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 23-5 (5) -- 19-13 (5) -- 21-0 (5) -- 64-2 (15)
3. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 24-11 (5) -- 17-15 (5) -- 19-15 (5) -- 62-9 (15)
4. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, Ga -- 17-12 (5) -- 20-10 (5) -- 23-12 (5) -- 62-2 (15)
5. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 22-2 (5) -- 20-1 (5) -- 18-1 (5) -- 60-4 (15)
6. Alex Davis -- Albertville, Al -- 18-1 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 23-5 (5) -- 58-2 (15)
7. Ramie Colson Jr -- Cadiz, Ky -- 23-2 (5) -- 15-8 (5) -- 18-6 (5) -- 57-0 (15)
8. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 21-0 (5) -- 17-15 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 55-5 (15)
9. Jared McMillan -- Belle Glade, Fl -- 20-9 (5) -- 18-8 (5) -- 16-2 (5) -- 55-3 (15)
10. David Williams -- Maiden, Nc -- 17-3 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 19-7 (5) -- 54-2 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, Ar -- 23-0 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 52-8 (15) -- $12,500
12. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Tx -- 19-11 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 16-7 (5) -- 52-0 (15) -- $12,000
13. Charlie Ingram -- Centerville, Tn -- 11-15 (5) -- 22-5 (5) -- 16-11 (5) -- 50-15 (15) -- $12,500
14. Tim Frederick -- Leesburg, Fl -- 23-0 (5) -- 12-6 (5) -- 15-4 (5) -- 50-10 (15) -- $12,000
15. Chris Whitson -- Louisville, Tn -- 13-11 (5) -- 19-1 (5) -- 17-9 (5) -- 50-5 (15) -- $12,000
16. Luke Dunkin -- Lawrenceburg, Tn -- 15-3 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 17-5 (5) -- 49-8 (15) -- $11,500
17. Barry Wilson -- Birmingham, Al -- 12-7 (5) -- 20-1 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 49-4 (15) -- $11,500
18. Glenn Chappelear -- Acworth, Ga -- 19-3 (5) -- 14-8 (5) -- 15-7 (5) -- 49-2 (15) -- $11,500
19. Aaron Britt -- Yuba City, Ca -- 8-12 (3) -- 27-3 (5) -- 12-8 (4) -- 48-7 (12) -- $11,500
20. Dicky Newberry -- Houston, Tx -- 20-1 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 47-12 (15) -- $11,500
21. Andrew Upshaw -- Tulsa, Ok -- 22-7 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 47-8 (15) -- $10,500
22. Kyle Weisenburger -- Ottawa, Oh -- 14-14 (5) -- 18-6 (5) -- 14-1 (5) -- 47-5 (15) -- $10,500
23. Bradford Beavers -- Summerville, Sc -- 15-1 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 15-4 (5) -- 47-5 (15) -- $10,500
24. Sam George -- Athens, Al -- 17-7 (5) -- 17-4 (5) -- 12-6 (5) -- 47-1 (15) -- $10,500
25. Ryan Salzman -- Huntsville, Al -- 14-9 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 46-1 (15) -- $10,500
26. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, Al -- 16-2 (5) -- 16-7 (5) -- 11-7 (5) -- 44-0 (15) -- $10,500
27. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 19-4 (5) -- 13-2 (5) -- 10-9 (5) -- 42-15 (15) -- $10,500
28. Miles Howe -- San Juan Capistrano, Ca -- 17-1 (5) -- 17-0 (4) -- 8-10 (5) -- 42-11 (14) -- $10,500
29. Terry Bolton -- Benton, Ky -- 14-9 (5) -- 18-2 (5) -- 7-0 (3) -- 39-11 (13) -- $10,500
30. Clark Reehm -- Elm Grove, La -- 14-6 (5) -- 21-13 (5) -- 0-0 (3) -- 36-3 (13) -- $10,500
