By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Riddle: How does a 10-pound bass become an 8-pounder?
Answer: When you stick it in your livewell after you've already boxed a limit and you neglect to toss out one of the smaller specimens before making your next cast.
That scenario played out for Jacob Wheeler on day 3 of the Lake Chickamauga FLW Pro Circuit Super Tournament. What would've been a tournament-best 27-12 stringer was reduced to 25-12 as he was docked 2 pounds for the self-reported violation.
Nonetheless, his haul was plenty big enough to put him back in the top position he'd held after day 1. With a 72-06 total, he'll start the final round with an advantage of almost 5 pounds over 2nd-place Jason Reyes, with nobody else within 10 pounds.
Such an occurrence is not uncommon in top-level fishing and has been particularly prevalent of late, but Wheeler said it was the first time it had happened to him.
"When you catch a fish that big you kind of get flustered and I just threw it in the well because I was so excited to make another cast," he said. "I go up and fire out there, then I realized there were six in there and I called (tournament director) Daniel Fennel."
He said that competing primarily in Major League Fishing events over the last couple of years, in which catches are released immediately and livewells aren't utilized, combined with the size of the beast led to the mental error.
"I'm always very methodical in the process of what I do. If it'd been a 3-pounder, there's no way that would've happened. After that I was just determined to catch enough that I didn't even have to worry about those 2 pounds."
The winner of the Bass Pro Tour event at Lake Eufaula in January and the No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings has put himself in prime position to claim his second tour-level victory of 2020. He also topped the field in an FLW Series event at Pickwick Lake last month.
He estimated that he made 30 stops on day 3 and went through 40 keepers. He mostly stayed offshore – the three shallow-water locales he visited didn't produce any weigh-in fish.
"I'm sure I'll have to make a couple adjustments tomorrow – every day I've caught fish off new places," he said. "I'll do the same kind of thing and see how it goes and let the day come to me.
Jason Reyes will have to overcome a deficit of almost 5 pounds on the final day in order to achieve his first tour-level win.
"With only 10 guys on the water, it should open up a lot of places. I'm looking forward to running around and seeing if I can close this thing out."
Reyes caught 17-11 – his lightest bag of the derby by about 5 pounds, to boost his total to 67-09. He's more than 5 pounds ahead of 3rd-place Cole Floyd, who sacked 18-05 for a 62-03 aggregate.
Cody Meyer moved up one spot to 4th with an 18-15 stringer for a 57-01 total. Miles Burghoff completes the top 5 with 55-06 after weighing 20-02 on day 3.
The other anglers who advanced to the final round were John Cox with 55-01 (13-05 on day 3), Alex Davis with 54-11 (19-10), Joshua Weaver with 53-02 (18-02), David Williams with 51-15 (16-15) and Alton Jones with 51-14 (19-02).
Reyes continued to fish the same well-known area where he's remained throughout the event, throwing a wacky-rigged Senko. He had a 6-pounder in his bag, but the other four were in the 2 1/2- to 3-pound range.
"I'm not complaining at all – I still have a chance, but I'm probably going to have to bring in a really big back to win it," he said. "It's doable and it's happened a couple of times this week (he weighed 27-04 on day 2), so there's no reason to doubt anything now.
"Fishing-wise, nothing's changed for me and I probably won't change anything at this point. I might pick up a frog if I see something that's high-percentage for it, but that'd be just like a bonus fish if I caught one."
He's looking forward to the challenge of trying to run down Wheeler.
"We all know who's leading and how good he is on this lake and how good he is in general. What better way to test yourself?"
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 50 anglers, 41 limits, 2 fours, 1 three, 3 twos.
Weather Forecast
> Fri., June 26 – Partly Cloudy - 86°/66°
- Wind: From the SW at 7 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, Tn -- 24-9 (5) -- 22-1 (5) -- 25-12 (5) -- 72-6 (15)
2. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 22-10 (5) -- 27-4 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 67-9 (15)
3. Cole Floyd -- Leesburg, Oh -- 17-12 (5) -- 26-2 (5) -- 18-5 (5) -- 62-3 (15)
4. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 16-14 (5) -- 21-4 (5) -- 18-15 (5) -- 57-1 (15)
5. Miles Burghoff -- Soddy-Daisy, Tn -- 18-4 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 20-2 (5) -- 55-6 (15)
6. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 23-6 (5) -- 18-6 (5) -- 13-5 (5) -- 55-1 (15)
7. Alex Davis -- Albertville, Al -- 14-4 (5) -- 20-13 (5) -- 19-10 (5) -- 54-11 (15)
8. Joshua Weaver -- Macon, Ga -- 19-14 (5) -- 15-2 (5) -- 18-2 (5) -- 53-2 (15)
9. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 16-8 (5) -- 18-8 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 51-15 (15)
10. Alton Jones -- Lorena, Tx -- 14-6 (5) -- 18-6 (5) -- 19-2 (5) -- 51-14 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Dakota Ebare -- Denham Springs, La -- 18-5 (5) -- 19-2 (5) -- 14-3 (5) -- 51-10 (15) -- $14,000
12. Spencer Shuffield -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 15-7 (5) -- 22-8 (5) -- 12-2 (5) -- 50-1 (15) -- $14,000
13. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 18-6 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 16-0 (5) -- 49-2 (15) -- $14,000
14. Wade Strelic -- Alpine, Ca -- 11-15 (5) -- 21-7 (5) -- 15-8 (5) -- 48-14 (15) -- $14,000
15. Mark Daniels Jr -- Tuskegee, Al -- 11-12 (5) -- 18-15 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 48-9 (15) -- $14,000
16. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 21-9 (5) -- 12-6 (5) -- 14-4 (5) -- 48-3 (15) -- $14,500
17. Kerry Milner -- Bono, Ar -- 12-5 (5) -- 21-4 (5) -- 14-8 (5) -- 48-1 (15) -- $14,000
18. Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, Wi -- 18-7 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 15-7 (5) -- 47-11 (15) -- $14,000
19. Jesse Wiggins -- Logan, Al -- 14-11 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 46-14 (15) -- $14,000
20. Fred Roumbanis -- London, Ar -- 16-14 (5) -- 19-14 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 46-10 (15) -- $14,000
21. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 14-15 (5) -- 16-0 (5) -- 15-9 (5) -- 46-8 (15) -- $11,000
22. Christopher Brasher -- Longview, Tx -- 18-12 (5) -- 16-1 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 46-7 (15) -- $11,000
23. Justin Atkins -- Florence, Al -- 16-13 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 46-6 (15) -- $11,000
24. Jason Meninger -- Saint Augustine, Fl -- 12-5 (5) -- 21-7 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 46-3 (15) -- $11,000
25. Jonathan Canada -- Helena, Al -- 12-2 (5) -- 17-9 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 46-1 (15) -- $11,000
26. Barry Wilson -- Birmingham, Al -- 14-13 (5) -- 19-5 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 45-15 (15) -- $11,000
27. Kyle Cortiana -- Coweta, Ok -- 18-7 (5) -- 16-8 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 45-14 (15) -- $11,000
28. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 14-8 (5) -- 17-2 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 45-9 (15) -- $11,000
29. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 17-0 (5) -- 14-8 (5) -- 14-1 (5) -- 45-9 (15) -- $11,000
30. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, Fl -- 15-6 (5) -- 16-11 (5) -- 13-4 (5) -- 45-5 (15) -- $11,000
31. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 16-11 (5) -- 13-8 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 45-2 (15) -- $10,000
32. Bradford Beavers -- Summerville, SC -- 15-4 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 13-7 (5) -- 44-15 (15) -- $10,000
33. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 18-0 (5) -- 14-0 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 44-13 (15) -- $10,000
34. Joey Cifuentes -- Clinton, Ar -- 14-12 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 44-12 (15) -- $10,000
35. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, Az -- 18-2 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 44-9 (15) -- $10,000
36. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Al -- 20-3 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 9-1 (5) -- 44-0 (15) -- $10,000
37. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fl -- 16-14 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 43-14 (15) -- $10,000
38. Casey Scanlon -- Lake Ozark, Mo -- 13-14 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 13-6 (5) -- 43-14 (15) -- $10,000
39. Jimmy Washam -- Covington, Tn -- 17-4 (5) -- 14-0 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 43-12 (15) -- $10,000
40. Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 16-13 (5) -- 14-6 (5) -- 12-6 (5) -- 43-9 (15) -- $10,000
41. Ron Nelson -- Berrien Springs, Mi -- 18-8 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 11-6 (5) -- 41-11 (15) -- $10,000
42. Kyle Hall -- Granbury, Tx -- 14-14 (5) -- 15-6 (5) -- 11-7 (5) -- 41-11 (15) -- $10,000
43. Troy Roder -- Brookeland, Tx -- 11-13 (4) -- 20-5 (5) -- 9-7 (5) -- 41-9 (14) -- $10,000
44. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 14-4 (5) -- 16-8 (5) -- 10-8 (5) -- 41-4 (15) -- $10,000
45. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, Al -- 16-14 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 10-4 (4) -- 40-1 (14) -- $10,000
46. Chip Harrington -- Olathe, Ks -- 10-9 (3) -- 23-6 (5) -- 4-8 (2) -- 38-7 (10) -- $10,000
47. Alvin Shaw -- Camden, SC -- 16-15 (5) -- 12-9 (5) -- 7-6 (3) -- 36-14 (13) -- $10,000
48. AJ Slegona -- Pine Bush, NY -- 13-14 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 6-8 (4) -- 36-12 (14) -- $10,000
49. Chad Grigsby -- Maple Grove, Mn -- 13-0 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 5-10 (2) -- 35-7 (12) -- $10,000
50. John Murray -- Spring City, Tn -- 15-4 (5) -- 16-5 (5) -- 3-12 (2) -- 35-5 (12) -- $10,000
