Posted -  April 4th, 2008   8:41pm CST

Canterbury 2nd, Kreiger 3rd.

Story by Matt Pangrac - Photos by Dan O'Sullivan

Jasper, AL – Jasper, AL - The final 10 anglers remaining in the second stop for the FLW Tour on Smith Lake received a chilly greeting at the launch ramp on Saturday. With a cold front rolling through the area, temperatures barely topped sixty by the conclusion of the day. 

The changing conditions appeared to cool off several anglers’ bites. Glenn Browne, who led the field heading into the weekend, was unable to carry his solid performance into the weekend and fell to 9th after bringing only two bass to the scales. Greg Pugh was also unable to repeat his 17 pound performance that vaulted him into the top 10 on Friday, and had to settle for a small limit just shy of 10 pounds. 

Saturday’s big mover was Michael Bennett. Despite losing several quality fish throughout the day, the California pro jumped into the day 3 lead with a limit weighing 14-9. Chasing Bennett is FLW Tour rookie, Scott Canterbury, who recorded 12-7 on Saturday and sits just over two pounds out of the lead. 

Of the four anglers making the first Top 10 appearance of their careers, only Canterbury was able to crack the top five Saturday as Jason Christie, Danny Pierce, and Brandon Coulter concluded the day in 7th, 8th, and 10th respectively. 

The Rest of the Best 
Glenn Browne, who led after the second day of competition with 27-6, was unable to bring a limit the scales Saturday, weighing in two bass for 4-5 leaving him in ninth. 

Only six pros brought a limit to the scales on Saturday. Of those six, only four bags broke the ten pound mark. 

On the co-angler side, only four bass were brought to the scales on Saturday and Lynn Oswalt’s two bass weighing 3-5 took the co-angler title. 

Bennett Leads
Michael Bennett made the Top 10 with back to back limits of over 12 pounds. On Saturday, he upped the ante by bringing in a 14-9 limit, giving him a lead of just over two pounds heading into the final day of competition. 

Despite losing three quality fish in cables, ropes, and brush piles, Bennett still managed eight keeper bites Saturday. “It was just one of those days that was meant to be, I guess.” said Bennett. “I really don’t know what to say, there was nothing that I could do except hang on and try to ease them out. It was crazy.” 

After becoming more familiar with his areas, Bennett believes that his hook to land ratio will increase on Sunday. “These fish are strong and when you hook them, it’s on. You just have to baby them a little but that structure down there is a nightmare.” 

What isn’t a nightmare is the fact that Bennett will begin the final day with the knowledge that he left quality fish that were biting on Saturday. “I ended up catching eight keepers and seven were over two pounds. I left my fish around one o’clock. It was a phenomenal day and I was really blessed.” 

Canterbury in Second 
Through the first two tournament days on Smith, Rookie Scott Canterbury’s execution put him in the Top 10 cut. Saturday was no different as the Alabama pro capitalized on each of his five keeper bites to put a 12-7 limit of bass in the well and move into second place heading into the final day.

Like several of the other anglers, Canterbury said that the lack of sun made for a challenging day. “It was a lot tougher than it has been, but if the sun comes out I believe that it will get a lot better.” Canterbury told The BZ. 

After a weak practice, Canterbury is excited about the chance to make a run at a victory in just his second FLW Tour event. “I’m just going to scratch around tomorrow. My plan is to fish shallow and cover as much water as I can. I don’t really have a pattern; it’s just basic junk fishing.” 

Kreiger in Third 
Koby Kreiger was a model of consistency throughout the first two days of competition with back to back 11 pound limits. Saturday was no different, as the Florida pro brought yet another 11-1 limit to the scales to land in third. 

Fishless at noon, Kreiger targeted bedding largemouth to secure his afternoon weight. “I’m just trying to cover water like most of the other guys. When a fish shows itself, I just have to sit there and figure out how I can catch it.” said Kreiger. 

One encouraging note fore Kreiger is the fact that quality fish are moving into his areas giving him the possibility of a huge final day on Sunday. “I hadn’t seen many big fish until today, so if my game plan works, it could be unbelievable. They’re there; I just have to figure out how to get them to bite.” 

Clausen Fourth 
Luke Clausen’s 10-12 limit on Saturday was enough weight to land in fourth heading into Sunday. Clausen began Saturday looking to score a quick limit by fishing the release but was unable to find any keeper bites. After his admitted mistake, Clausen ran new water where he picked up the majority of his day three weight. “I’m planning on spending the whole day tomorrow just running my pattern and fishing new water again.” said Clausen. 

On his chances to make a jump to the top on Sunday, Clausen is cautiously optimistic. “It scares me that Bennett had over 14 pounds and I think my potential is around 13 pounds.” Clausen told The BZ. “He would really have to fall for me to have a chance or I would have to catch a six pounder. The opportunity is there, I just don’t know how great it is.” 

Robertson Fifth 
Darrel Robertson had the opportunity to add to his weight of 9-15 on Saturday, but lost fish proved costly to the Oklahoma pro. “I had the possibility of over twelve pounds today, but I had several good ones come off.” lamented Robertson. 

After sharing water the first days of competition, Robertson spent Saturday keying on bedding fish that were not visible. “I’ve been fishing water that has been a little more dead, and I think that most of the fish that I’m catching are bedding fish that I just can’t see.”

As for his plans on Sunday, Robertson is just going fishing. “Tomorrow I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do. It’s not really easy to catch good fish out here and I think I need to catch 13 or 14 pounds to win it. I had that yesterday so those fish are in there.” 

Pugh in Sixth
After making the Top 10 cut with a monster bag on Friday, Greg Pugh remained in the hunt with a 9-11 on Saturday. Changing up his game plan after seeing the cooler weather on Saturday, Pugh made an early decision to stop close to the launch ramp and collect a quick limit. 

The remainder of the day, Pugh searched for spotted bass after realizing he had left his crankbait box at the house when he left Saturday morning. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen so I’ll probably start out the same way again and try and catch five.” said Pugh. “If I can do that, I will do a lot of running and gunning. I’m thinking at least twelve to thirteen pounds to win this thing, maybe even more.” 

DAY 3 STANDINGS