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Leesburg, FL – Just when you think you’ve finally got it figured out…WHAM! Mother Nature pitched a sinker (or stinker) right down the middle of the plate Saturday, and conditions at the Sunshine Showdown on the Harris Chain sunk right along with
it, at least for some of the pros.
With an overcast sky at dawn, the sun popped out bright and clear during the mid-morning hour. The only constant throughout the day was wind – and lots of it. A sustained westerly wind blowing at 30- to 40-mph, and gusts up to 50, ravaged the area and all but dashed the hopes of those who didn’t have any protected water to steal away to.
In addition to the winds, heavy rains from last night muddied up the water, making many areas – even ones protected from the wind – all but un-fishable. The Harris Chain lends itself well to windy conditions as there are canals everywhere, so it’s true that the mob of anglers who lined up to fish them did have a distinct advantage; however, reports early were that even they were struggling in the high winds and muddy conditions Saturday had to offer.
By the time the weigh-in rolled around, it was clear that a 10- to 12-pound bag in the third round would be pretty strong. Three pros commented that they had fish jump into (and out of) their boats while on the trolling motor. As added insult, it was a fish that all three could have used given the lack of limits on cut-day.
However, the ever-consistent Brian Snowden was able to make the most of an otherwise bad situation. He adjusted to the wind and stained water inside the protected canal he has been sharing with Kenyon Hill all week. In the process amassed one of less than 30 limits, which weighed 16-13, giving him 54-0 over three days…and a10-pound lead heading into Sunday.
In second place after the third period was Mike McClelland, with a combined weight of 44-2. McClelland weighed five fish Saturday for 13-1, giving him 44-2 in total weight. Third place honors Saturday went to Elite Series rookie Bobby Lane, who brought 8-11 to the stage, giving him a three-day total weight of 41-3.
In fourth headed down the stretch was Dean Rojas, with 42-6 overall. Rojas weighed 13-9 Saturday, giving him almost a pound over his closest competitor, but nearly 12 pounds out of the lead.
Storming into the fifth-place spot from 50th place was Chris Lane. Lane came to the scales with the day’s big bag weighing 19-12 Saturday, giving him 41-3 overall. Rounding out the Super Six was Mark Menendez, with a combined weight of 39-1, after bringing just four fish to the scales Saturday weighing 4-4.
There was a three-way tie for 11th place between three Skeeter/Yamaha pros, including Mark Davis. Unfortunately, the first tiebreaker is in total number of fish weighed. As Mark Davis weighed four fish Saturday, he was the first man out. Still, credit is due to the big man from Mt. Ida as this is his first Elite Series event after a two-year departure to
FLW.
Snowden Stays Consistent
Brian Snowden is one of the few in the field who has remained consistent over the first three days. With nearly 10 pounds over second place, it would appear that at this point the pressure is off. “I’ve just been very fortunate in getting the right bites and landing them,” he sad. “I did lose two fish today, and only had eight bites in all, but I was able to get the right ones to the boat.”
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Snowden wasn’t immune to the brutally tough winds at Harris, but stayed focused on the one-off pattern he’s been running regardless. “It was the a little more difficult today,” he said. “One of my key stretches, the wind was just hammering it, so I wasn’t able to fish it as effectively as I have been. But it’s the same pattern that I’ve been running, so it’s holding up for me.”
The canal that Snowden has found has stained water, but as it’s hard-bottomed and target rich, he’s confident fish he’s catching are spawning. That said, his slow-fall presentation differs enough from the crowd that he’s willing to grind it out when others might leave in search of more fruitful waters.
“I’ve had some other guys in there with me, but because of the wind, they weren’t able to fish the way that had been and left,” he said. “That’s not to say that it wasn’t equally tough for me today, but I’m doing something just a little bit different, so I stayed put.” |
Snowden is alternating between a Sweet Beaver and a Zoom Ultra-Vibe Speed Craw – both in Black Neon. Although the baits are clutch, Snowden made a critical equipment change after the first day that’s made all the difference. “I changed hooks after the first day to a straight-shank hook,” he said. It comes through the plastic a lot easier.”
“We’ll just have to see how many are left in there,” he said. “It will probably be a little tougher still, but all I need is five more bites. If I lose this one, I lose it one my own – it certainly won’t be because I didn’t have a chance.”
McClelland Not Going Down Without a Fight
Mike McClelland, while a long shot at this point, is not going down without fight. Saying that, McClelland is fishing with a great deal of confidence right now – regardless of the wind that bettered the field. “Today it was a little tough,” he said. “It was one of those deals where I got a little frustrated because I couldn’t fish efficiently due to the wind.
“The area that I’ve been fishing, I thought that I could catch them wind or shine. I was wrong, because it was blowing right down the guts of the thing.”
The move he maid paid off because McClelland was able to get a break from the wind and, in the process, get seven quality bites. “The Good Lord was shining down on me because I caught seven keepers off some stuff that I’d never fished before,” he said. “I kind of think these fish are spawning out around the pads. I think I had 11 bites and only caught eight of them, but thankfully it was enough.”
While he’s nearly 10 pounds out of the top spot, his mind is made up that, with his best finish in Florida ever already secured, he’s not willing to give up the next-best slot. “I really don’t think it’s going to be possible to catch Brian (Snowden),” he said.
“I say that, but anything is possible. The thing is that he’s just fishing flawlessly right now, so I really think that I’m fishing for second place right now.”
Bobby Lane Hanging Tough
Putting nearly 27 pounds on the scales Friday (the big bag of the tournament so far), Bobby Lane was riding high. However, the conditions he was faced with Saturday put a damper on his fire. “Today wasn’t like yesterday,” he said. “I started up on the north end and threw a spinnerbait around for a while without any success.
“I put it down and started flipping grass and was able to pull out a little limit.”
Getting out of the wind, Lane tucked the bow of his boat as far into the grass as he could and hunkered down for the day with a flipping stick. What he found saved his day. “They’re spawning in the grass,” he said. “I put five in the boat within the first two hours, but they were all small.
“Yesterday, everything I caught was main-lake. Today, I was tucking in the grass to get out of the bad stuff.”
At least Lane can fall back on the fact that he wasn’t the only pro who struggled. “When the wind blows in Florida, it makes it tough for everyone,” he said. “There were two-foot waves in the areas that I caught them in yesterday, so I really had to scratch around. |
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For Sunday’s final round, Lane – opposite from Friday’s report – is hoping that the wind will lay…at least a little. “It looks like I’ll be fishing for second,” he said. “If the wind lays down tomorrow, I’ll pick up the spinner bait and do everything I can.”
Rojas’ Right Back in the Game
Dean Rojas obviously has a great history in Florida, so it comes as no surprise that on a day when everyone is commenting on the conditions, he’s all smiles. “I’ve had a great three days – catching 10 to 12 keepers each day,” he said. “Everyday I have my limit within the first couple of hours, and will just cull up from there. Today wasn’t an exception.”
Rojas is flipping into shallow cover – anywhere from two- to five-feet deep. The good thing is that the area he’s found is out of the wind, and what little funnels in works to his advantage. “The wind was a factor, but it didn’t make it that hard on me, I was still able to go through and do my same deal,” he said.
“I mean, it was bad, but I’ve seen it a whole lot worse…and on much bigger places. It actually sort of bunched them up for me and made it a little more consistent.”
Fishing four different areas, Rojas reported that he’s catching fish in all of them consistently, but the big bite has avoided him. “I haven’t had to change a thing all week,” he said. “I know what to look for and what I need to be keying on, so when I find it, I just slow down and pick it to pieces.
“I really just need to know what it’s going to take for me to get a big bite because I feel like I’m going to need and eight- or nine-pounder to do have a chance of catching Brian.”
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Chris Lane Bests Best
Before Thursday, Chris Lane hadn’t caught a limit before at the Harris Chain. With nearly 20 pounds Saturday, he jumped into the top five from 50th place. “Today was the day that you had to make a move,” he said. “Today, with the blue-bird skies, it was time to pick up the flipping stick…but you had to fish it so slow.”
Lane culled three times on a day when most struggled to catch a limit. “You had to visualize where they would be sitting on a bed,” he said. “It was a day to double down. By that I mean that I had both of my Power Poles down.”
While his primary sponsor is Power Pole, Lane couldn’t be nearer to the truth in commenting on their effectiveness in the wind. “I’m telling you that without Power Pole, I could not have been able to even fish,” he said. “With the way that the wind was circling around today, it actually pinned the fish closer to cover. |
“These grass lines that I’m fishing are shallow enough that if I would’ve been running my trolling motor it would’ve been ruined.”
Menendez Has Tough Day
Mark Menendez had a magical day Friday out of two small areas on Harris’ north end. Even in the face of 40-mile-per-hour winds, he opted to make the run north Saturday. It didn’t take long to realize that it wasn’t going to work out the same way. “I ran up to where I had a big bag yesterday,” he said.
“With wind the way that it was I couldn’t hardly even stand up. You’d make a cast trying to fight the wind, and almost lose your balance because it was blowing so hard.
Menendez explained that his fish cooperated at first, but decided to duck for cover in the face of the windy onslaught. “They bit a little bit when I first got there, but then it just went to nothing,” he said. “I ran into another small area that I’d caught a few fish from and managed to squeak out a small limit.”
Still confident that he’s got the fish to better his standing, Menendez plans to make the journey north again…regardless of what Mother Nature has in store. “If the wind doesn’t blow like it did today, I know that I can go back up there and get them again,” he said. “I ended up fishing a drop-shot this afternoon and still got two little swimmers, so I know that they’re in there.”
“I feel like with this front passing on through, tomorrow will be another day of tough fishing,” he added. “Florida has always been a nemesis of mine, so I’m just thrilled to be in as good a shape as I’m in with the opportunity to fish tomorrow.”
Notes & Quotes:
Bill Lowen: “3-9/34-7. Whatever I tried for the last two days just didn’t work. It was just brutal out there today, and I missed a couple of really good opportunities. You have to fish clean if you want to make it with these guys.”
Rick Ash: “I took a wave this morning and knocked out my trolling motor. Britt Myers had a spare and let me use it. Without his help, I don’t know what I would’ve done. I can’t say enough about the kind of class that he showed.”
Mark Davis: “I’ve been worm fishing all week, and today wasn’t the day to do that. I figured it out yesterday, and was hoping for the sun. Who could’ve guessed that it would blow 40 miles-per-hour? There’s really nothing that I could have done differently.”
Quinn: “I should’ve stayed in the room and drank all day – it would’ve been a lot better than the way it went. The area that I was in could not have been any muddier if you would’ve dropped the big motor and done laps.”
Mize: “I had a fish jump into the boat that was bigger than anything I’ve weighed in this week. It flopped all the way back to the rear deck and then bounced out the other side. You know that it’s pretty bad when you get one that jumps into the boat and you still can’t catch it with your bare hands.”
Jones: “Late in the day, I had a three or four-pound fish jump into my boat. My co-angler and I were both in shock so we just stood there and watched it flop across the boat and back into the lake. I’ve never had that happen.”
Stone: “My co-angler thought that I had jerked it into the boat, and I though he was wrestling with it. I have never before had that happen.”
Kennedy: “I never even considered that I could’ve made the cut. I just wanted to save some gas money, so I just ran right across from the launch site. As it turned out, that was a pretty good call because I just whacked them in there.”
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DAY
THREE STANDINGS
| Pl. |
Pro
Angler |
DAY
1 |
DAY
2 |
DAY
3 |
TOTAL |
| # |
Weight |
# |
Weight |
# |
Weight |
# |
Weight |
| 1 |
Brian
Snowden |
5 |
17-
3 |
5 |
20-
0 |
5 |
16-13 |
15 |
54-
0 |
| 2 |
Mike
McClelland |
5 |
15-13 |
5 |
15-
4 |
5 |
13-
1 |
15 |
44-
2 |
| 3 |
Bobby
Lane |
5 |
7-
6 |
5 |
26-
9 |
5 |
8-11 |
15 |
42-10 |
| 4 |
Dean
Rojas |
5 |
18-
2 |
5 |
10-11 |
5 |
13-
9 |
15 |
42-
6 |
| 5 |
Chris
Lane |
5 |
11-
4 |
5 |
10-
3 |
5 |
19-12 |
15 |
41-
3 |
| 6 |
Mark
Menendez |
5 |
10-
4 |
5 |
24-
9 |
4 |
4-
4 |
14 |
39-
1 |
| 7 |
Steve
Kennedy |
5 |
12-
8 |
5 |
9-
0 |
5 |
16-
9 |
15 |
38-
1 |
| 8 |
Morizo
Shimizu |
5 |
11-
1 |
5 |
14-13 |
5 |
11-
5 |
15 |
37-
3 |
| 9 |
Rick
Ash |
5 |
15-12 |
5 |
14-12 |
3 |
6-
8 |
13 |
37-
0 |
| 10 |
Kenyon
Hill |
5 |
11-
4 |
5 |
11-
0 |
5 |
13-
1 |
15 |
35-
5 |
| 11 |
Todd
Faircloth |
5 |
11-13 |
5 |
15-
3 |
5 |
7-15 |
15 |
34-15 |
| 11 |
Mark
Davis |
5 |
16-
1 |
5 |
13-10 |
4 |
5-
4 |
14 |
34-15 |
| 11 |
Bradley
Hallman |
5 |
12-15 |
5 |
11-15 |
5 |
10-
1 |
15 |
34-15 |
| 14 |
Britt
Myers |
5 |
15-13 |
5 |
12-
2 |
4 |
6-
9 |
14 |
34-
8 |
| 15 |
Bill
Lowen |
5 |
21-10 |
5 |
9-
4 |
2 |
3-
9 |
12 |
34-
7 |
| 16 |
Casey
Ashley |
5 |
9-
0 |
5 |
14-
7 |
5 |
10-
7 |
15 |
33-14 |
| 17 |
Skeet
Reese |
5 |
11-
9 |
5 |
12-15 |
5 |
9-
5 |
15 |
33-13 |
| 18 |
Rick
Morris |
5 |
13-
9 |
5 |
18-
5 |
1 |
1-13 |
11 |
33-11 |
| 19 |
Dave
Wolak |
5 |
17-12 |
5 |
11-13 |
3 |
3-15 |
13 |
33-
8 |
| 20 |
Gary
Klein |
5 |
13-10 |
5 |
13-
5 |
4 |
6-
4 |
14 |
33-
3 |
| 21 |
Kevin
Short |
5 |
11-
2 |
5 |
17-12 |
2 |
3-15 |
12 |
32-13 |
| 21 |
Bryan
Hudgins |
5 |
21-
6 |
5 |
7-
0 |
2 |
4-
7 |
12 |
32-13 |
| 23 |
Randy
Howell |
5 |
11-
5 |
5 |
13-10 |
5 |
7-
6 |
15 |
32-
5 |
| 24 |
Derek
Remitz |
5 |
9-11 |
5 |
13-13 |
5 |
8-12 |
15 |
32-
4 |
| 25 |
Matt
Reed |
5 |
14-12 |
5 |
12-15 |
3 |
4-
6 |
13 |
32-
1 |
| 26 |
Jimmy
Mize |
5 |
16-
9 |
3 |
7-
2 |
5 |
8-
5 |
13 |
32-
0 |
| 26 |
Mike
Wurm |
5 |
9-15 |
5 |
12-
5 |
5 |
9-12 |
15 |
32-
0 |
| 28 |
Fred
Roumbanis |
5 |
16-
5 |
5 |
8-
3 |
3 |
7-
5 |
13 |
31-13 |
| 29 |
Preston
Clark |
5 |
10-
1 |
5 |
16-
8 |
4 |
4-11 |
14 |
31-
4 |
| 30 |
John
Crews |
5 |
9-
0 |
5 |
12-15 |
5 |
8-
4 |
15 |
30-
3 |
| 31 |
Kevin
VanDam |
5 |
9-
2 |
5 |
12-13 |
3 |
8-
2 |
13 |
30-
1 |
| 32 |
Shaw
E Grigsby |
5 |
10-
1 |
5 |
11-
7 |
5 |
8-
8 |
15 |
30-
0 |
| 33 |
Jared
Lintner |
5 |
10-15 |
5 |
11-
8 |
5 |
7-
7 |
15 |
29-14 |
| 34 |
Stephen
Browning |
5 |
9-12 |
5 |
16-
9 |
2 |
3-
6 |
12 |
29-11 |
| 35 |
Guy
Eaker |
5 |
12-
4 |
3 |
17-
4 |
0 |
0-
0 |
8 |
29-
8 |
| 35 |
Russ
Lane |
5 |
12-11 |
5 |
10-10 |
3 |
6-
3 |
13 |
29-
8 |
| 37 |
Marty
Stone |
5 |
9-12 |
5 |
12-13 |
5 |
6-10 |
15 |
29-
3 |
| 37 |
Alton
Jones |
5 |
8-14 |
5 |
12-10 |
4 |
7-11 |
14 |
29-
3 |
| 39 |
Glenn
Delong |
5 |
9-11 |
5 |
16-14 |
2 |
2-
9 |
12 |
29-
2 |
| 40 |
Takahiro
Omori |
5 |
14-
2 |
5 |
8-
2 |
4 |
6-
8 |
14 |
28-12 |
| 40 |
Tommy
Biffle |
5 |
10-
6 |
5 |
12-12 |
5 |
5-10 |
15 |
28-12 |
| 42 |
Scott
Rook |
5 |
6-
2 |
5 |
17-
5 |
4 |
4-11 |
14 |
28-
2 |
| 43 |
Matthew
Sphar |
5 |
8-
2 |
5 |
13-
8 |
4 |
5-
9 |
14 |
27-
3 |
| 44 |
Aaron
Martens |
5 |
12-
1 |
5 |
9-12 |
3 |
5-
2 |
13 |
26-15 |
| 45 |
Billy
Brewer |
5 |
20-
7 |
4 |
4-
3 |
1 |
2-
1 |
10 |
26-11 |
| 46 |
Clark
Reehm |
5 |
6-14 |
5 |
15-11 |
3 |
4-
1 |
13 |
26-10 |
| 47 |
Gerald
Swindle |
5 |
12-15 |
5 |
9-
1 |
4 |
4-
7 |
14 |
26-
7 |
| 48 |
Kevin
Wirth |
5 |
11-11 |
5 |
10-13 |
3 |
3-11 |
13 |
26-
3 |
| 49 |
Jim
Murray |
3 |
6-12 |
5 |
15-
5 |
3 |
3-15 |
11 |
26-
0 |
| 50 |
Jason
Quinn |
5 |
14-
0 |
4 |
9-12 |
2 |
1-11 |
11 |
25-
7 |
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