Kerr Northeastern Stren
3-Way Tie At the Top

Friday, June 16, 2006

Kentucky's Tim McDonald, Virginia's Jacob Powroznik and Ohio's Larry Evans all caught 15-10 on another warm, windless day in North Carolina. They were joined in the Top 5 by day 2 leader Curt Tindall of Vermont (13-13) and Todd Auten of South Carolina (13-10).

Here are the other anglers who'll fish tomorrow:

6. Andy Montgomery: 13-06
7. Cavin Young: 12-10
8. Keith Monson: 12-09
9. Ray Griffin: 11-10
10. Ryan Park: 11-00

It was the second straight day with no clouds or breeze, and several of the Top 20 found it tougher to put together a strong shallow sack. Massachusetts' Mark Burgess, who was 2nd after each of the first 2 days, had the bites to do it, but only one of five made it into his livewell.

Most of the survivors have at least one thing going at each end of the depth spectrum. Seven anglers are within 3 pounds of the lead, so quality bites will be at a premium tomorrow.

Weather-wise, more of the same is forecast for day 4 – the Weather Channel predicts sunny skies, a high temperature of 87 degrees and a south/southwest wind that should top out at 7 mph.

The field was cut to the Top 10 today, and the winner will be determined by highest combined weight over the final 2 days.

1st: Powroznik Rolls 3s

Powroznik is one of the tri-leaders courtesy of three 3-pounders he caught off of docks during the final hour of the day.

"I've kind of been sitting in the same areas all 3 days, and today was the biggest bag I've caught," he said. "The way I'm fishing, more and more seem to be coming in every day."

He caught "about 20" keepers, and the biggest was approximately 4 pounds. "I caught two right off the bat going down the bank, and then I went out deep and caught that 4-pounder," he said. "I also lost a good one out there."

He plans to fish both shallow and deep again tomorrow. He'll try the skinny water first.

"They're due to school anytime, so I'll fish shallow first, then go out deep and try to get a couple, then probably come back shallow again."

He thinks he'll stand a good chance to win if he can duplicate today's weight. "If I can catch another 15, I should be right there."

6th: Late Rally by Montgomery

Day 1 leader Montgomery didn't have a keeper at 11:00, but then caught a limit over the next hour.

"I had a little area that I was trying to save, and it got hot and then turned back off," he said. "For the first half of the day, I probably wasn't around fish. I'm fishing shallow, and they're not replenishing."

He ended up with eight keepers, and his bag was topped by a 3-pounder (he lost a 5). He'll stay shallow tomorrow, but he'll work different locations.

"I'll probably run all new water. I'm just going to keep running the same pattern."

He thinks he has a decent chance to win.

"If I get a big bite or two and land everything, I could get 16 or 17 pounds. It'd probably take that much."

20th: Burgess Couldn't Connect

Burgess got five solid bites, but weighed in just one fish for 2-11.

"They were there, and I lost them," he said. "They were biting a little bit different. They really didn't commit to the bait like they had been and they came off. They were the same quality of fish – 4- to 6-pounders."

He thinks he got fewer bites today because he'd beaten up his best water on days 1 and 2. "I fished a lot of the same water I had the first 2 days because I knew it was holding fish," he said.

He was fishing cuts that had incoming water.

"I'd get as far back in the cuts as I could and fish the little pockets that had brush or laydowns in them right on the bank," he said. "It was key that the creek channel was close by – I didn't catch anything in the flat, shallow water."

He flipped a Yum Wooly Hawg Craw (black neon) and threw a 1/4-ounce prototype Booyah buzzbait (black skirt) with a trailer hook.

"They'd been taking the entire buzzbait in their mouth and I practically had to do surgery on them to get it out," he said. "Today, they broke my heart."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 20 anglers, 15 limits, no zeroes.

> Tracy Watkins (11th) missed the Top 10 cut by one ounce and Henry Zienowicz (12th) missed it by 2 ounces.

Day 3 Standings

1. Tim McDonald -- Hagerhill, Ky -- 5, 15-10

2. Jacob Powroznik -- Prince George, Va -- 5, 15-10

3. Larry Evans -- Southpoint, Oh -- 5, 15-10

4. Curt Tindall -- Brandon, Vt -- 5, 13-13

5. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, Sc -- 5, 13-10

6. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, Sc -- 5, 13-06

7. Cavin Young -- Prince George, Va -- 5, 12-10

8. Keith Monson -- Burgin, Ky -- 5, 12-09

9. Ray Griffin -- Henderson, Nc -- 5, 11-10

10. Ryan Park -- Elizabethtown, Pa -- 5, 11-00

The following anglers didn't make the cut and won't be fishing tomorrow.

11. Tracy Watkins -- Williamston, Sc -- 5, 10-15 -- $2,950

12. Henry Zienowicz -- Budd Lake, Nj -- 5, 10-14 -- $2,700

13. Jamie Hartman -- Poland, Ny -- 5, 9-02 -- $2,450

14. Gerald Beck -- Lexington, Nc -- 5, 8-12 -- $2,200

15. John Madden -- Effingham, Nh -- 3, 7-06 -- $1,950

16. Stephen Deguzis -- Bristol, Ct -- 5, 7-05 -- $1,760

17. Christopher Sumansky -- Renfrew, Pa -- 3, 6-12 -- $1,760

18. Chris Baumgardner -- Gastonia, Nc -- 3, 5-14 -- $1,760

19. Joel Richardson -- Kernersville, Nc -- 2, 3-00 -- $1,760

20. Mark Burgess -- Norton, Ma -- 1, 2-11 -- $1,760