Santee Cooper Southeastern EverStart
Mauldin Moves Into The Lead

Photo: FLWOutdoors.com Mark Mauldin decided to start safe today and threw a finesse worm.

Just over a pound away from the lead is Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C. He's in 2nd with 4 fish for 14-04. First-round leader Allan Glasgow of Ashville, Ala. is in 3rd. He boated three fish for 13-07. In 4th is Richard Szcerbala of New Hill, N.C. with three fish for 13-00. In the 5th position is tour pro J.T. Kenney with an 11-03 limit.

The final outcome is anybody's guess. Since the Top 5 anglers are all within a few pounds of each other on a lake known to produce massive stringers, look for the warmer overnight temperatures, plus a little wind, to possibly kick-start the big-fish action.

Mauldin Picked Up the Worm

Mauldin switched his flipping stick for a finesse rig to start the day. His focus had been on big fish, but since the weather was cold with hardly any wind and bluebird skies, he felt the need to get a limit early.

"My plan changed slightly today," he said. "I decided to play it conservatively and fish a little finesse worm around docks to get some extra fish. The best spot for me has produced big bites, but not a lot of them. I figured with the weather conditions we had today, the fishing would be real slow for big fish until the afternoon. It paid off and I caught three little keepers fishing the docks."

His fish have been more active later in the day. But tomorrow, he feels the slight change in weather conditions may trigger an early morning bite.

"My best area is a cypress-lined ditch in the upper lake," he said. "This spot turns on later in the day. It's only about 200 yards long. The smallest fish I've caught here were the 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 I caught today. Tomorrow I think I may catch a few more fish earlier in the day. I'll do just what I did today."

Ormand Hung On

When Ormand started the day, he felt confident that his area would produce big fish. He was so confident, in fact, that he made the 52-mile run up the lake to fill his limit. He came up one short and relied on junk-fishing to save the day.

"Man, I'm just hanging in there," he said. "I made the trip all the way up the lake to fish my prime area and I caught nothing – talk about discouraging. I had no bites in the first 2 1/2 hours. It was awful. I decided to stop what I was doing and searched for similar areas. I just started to run out of them. I caught fish on four different types of lures today."

He feels the fish are in transition now, moving out of some of the backwater areas toward deeper edges in the creeks. Even though he failed today in his go-to spot, he plans to give it another chance tomorrow.

"I have to go back and fish my number-one spot," he said. "I caught 27 pounds off that area in 2 days – there's no way I'm not giving it a try."

His primary lure is a homemade shallow-diving crankbait, and he fished it along the deepest bank of a creek channel.

Glasgow Lost Fish

First-round leader Glasgow had trouble with hookups today. While he remained in the hunt, he only boated three fish. He said the lost fish would have put him the lead.

"I had just another awesome day," he said. "I know I only weighed three today, but I'm just less than 2 pounds off the leader. I know my area has big fish. I got a 6-pounder today and lost several others. I just couldn't keep them hooked up.

"One I lost had to be a 7- or 8-pounder. I was either too quick on the draw, or I'd get them tangled in the cypress roots."

His confidence is high, since his approach is slightly different from what others are doing. Even with another angler in his spot today, he hooked several fish, while the other angler only caught one.

"Today there was another boat in my area," he said. "I only saw him hook into one fish. I lost some big fish today and caught a few. I know I can catch them tomorrow. I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. I just won't lose them this time."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 10 anglers, 2 limits, 1 zero.

> Only two limits were caught by the entire pro and co-angler field today. A total of 34 fish were caught for a weight of 122-11.

> Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa. is in 8th with 5-07. His day started out a bit muddier than most. "I don't know what happened, but my spot was so muddy it was almost unfishable," he said. "There was no rain or wind, but the entrance has been muddy. I guess it just filtered back in there. It was so bad the surface looked almost orange. I'll be back there tomorrow, because I know the big fish are still there. Hopefully, it'll clear up a bit."

> Mauldin had a perfect day. "My day went exactly as planned," he said. "The only exception was that my partner caught a 7-08 today. I know he's in it for money too, but I sure would've liked to catch that fish."

Day 3 Standings

1. Mark Mauldin -- Cleveland, Tn -- 5, 15-06
2. Alex Ormand -- Bessemer City, Nc -- 4, 14-04
3. Allan Glasgow -- Ashville, Al -- 3, 13-07
4. Richard Szczerbala -- New Hill, Nc -- 3, 13-00
5. J T Kenney -- Frostburg, Md -- 5, 11-03
6. Warren Wyman -- Calera, Al -- 3, 10-01
7. Yancy Windham -- Gordo, Al -- 2, 8-14
8. Jason Knapp -- Uniontown, Pa -- 1, 5-07
9. Sean Stepp -- Stafford, Va -- 1, 1-09
10. Pat Fisher -- Danielsville, Ga, 0 -- 0-00