Photos by Mark Jeffreys & Matt Pangrac

The 47 anglers who remained after Friday’s cut were greeted Saturday morning with the best swimbait weather of the tournament – scattered clouds and light winds – and many in the field made the most of the favorable “Moving Day” weather. 

Indeed, Saturday is moving day in the Elites given that if you’re not in the Top 12 at the end of the day, you’re moving on to the next stop. But given the conditions on Saturday, and the big-fish possibilities that Clear Lake possesses, a Sunday berth was only a cast or two away for most anyone who launched.

Byron Velvick drew a line in the sand Thursday when he fished his way within reach of the top spot, and solidified his position Saturday with a 24 pound, 8 ounce stringer. His three-day combined weight of 75-8 increased his cushion to just over six pounds with only one day to go.

Bill Lowen has spent the week trying to chip away at Velvick’s lead, and will be the second boat out of the Library Park launch Sunday morning. Weighing 24-12 on the tournament’s third day, Lowen’s three-day weight stands at 69 pounds, 9 ounces.

Lowen’s area partner, Guy Eaker, ended the day in third place with 68-4 on the week, after weighing 24 pounds Saturday, and Randy Howell wound up in fourth place, weighing 20-10 on the day to end up with 67-4 in combined weight.

Elite Series rookie Randy Howell sat in fifth place at the end of Day Three with 64-2 overall after weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday. After starting the day in 9th place, Terry Butcher rounded out the Super Six by bringing in a five-bass limit weighing 22-12, pushing his combined weight to 64-12.

Sunday’s weather forecast for the area calls for partly sunny conditions, with light winds out of the west and highs near 69 degrees. With clouds and a little breeze we’ve seen what kind of damage these guys can do, and with Sunday being for all the marbles it just might be the biggest day weight-wise of the entire event.

Velvick Still in Control
At the start of the day, Byron Velvick’s lead stood at just over four pounds. By the end of the day, he’d increased it to almost six, which was no surprise to anyone except him. 

“I’ve been off by about a pound on everything I’ve looked at this week,” he confessed. “I really didn’t think I had that much weight…they just didn’t look that big to me.”

Despite the morning cloud cover and light breeze, Velvick conceded that today was by far the biggest grind of the week. “It was a slow day today for sure,” he said. “I lost some key fish early, and I really had to settle down. I was wound up pretty tight.”

Byron said that getting bites hasn’t been a problem for him all week, but connecting with the right ones has. “It’s been a challenge all week,” he said. “It’s everything I can do to put a hook in them.”

Slow starts have been a theme this week for Velvick, who reported to have only three fish each day by 10:00. “I start playing that ‘hour’ game every morning around 11:00, where I say if I don’t have a limit by then, I go to the bank,” he said.

“I don’t want to have to do that, but everyday this week I’ve played that game. Each day by around 1:00, I’ve been able to have a limit. It’s just a war of attrition to stay with (the tough bite) and go for the easy swimmers.”

The swimbait has accounted for about 80% of his bites in several primary areas. The bait selection won’t like change much Sunday, but he’s got a spot in reserve that might see some action on the final day.

“No one has really fished it, and it’s right by where I’m at,” he said. “I won’t say that I’ve been saving it, but things should set up right tomorrow for this spot to be right.”

Lowen on the Spot
After three days of pounding, Bill Lowen is concerned that the water he’s shared all week with Guy Eaker might be showing signs of fatigue. “I really don’t know how much more it can take,” he said.

“The last three or four days we’ve hooked over 200 pounds of bass, so you have to wonder how many more fish can come through there. I was able to figure out something a little different this afternoon so I may be able to catch them a little different tomorrow,” he said.

As the last transitional stop before the spawning flats upriver, Lowen explained that the funnel he and Eaker are sharing has key micro-spots that they’ve independently claimed. “I’ve got a little spot that I’ve been able to catch a five-pounder off of each day this week,” he said.

“I’ve got some other stuff out on the lake, but I’m going to live or die where I’ve been all week. Hopefully, it’ll all work out.”

Lowen revealed that despite the beating the area has taken, the fish are still there…and they’re still susceptible to a new twist or two.

Eaker Showed ‘Em Something New
Lowen and Guy Eaker might not be the conventional “odd couple,” but they’ve surely paired down the water they’ve shared all week to it’s utmost potential. Eaker commented that, like Lowen, there seems to be no end to the fish that are streaming into their area.

“I had a limit by 8:30, and was culling four-pound fish by 9:00,” he said. “I hate to keep sticking those fish, but we’ve sort’ve had to stay in there out of defense because we’ve had company off and on all week.”

Eaker commented that were it not for the occasional visitor to their water, he’s convinced that he and Lowen would be vying for the lead. “I think if we could’ve managed our fish a little better, either he or I would be leading right now,” he said.

“There’s still plenty of fish there, but I’m starting to get a lot of fish that will just bump the bait and not take it.”

To combat the problem, Eaker picked up a 10-inch Berkley worm midway through Saturday. “I slid out there with that worm and managed to catch a four-pounder,” he said. 

“That showed me that they’ll eat that big worm just as well, so I think I might do a little more of that tomorrow.”

Howell Not Giving Up
Unlike Velvick, Randy Howell has been reliant upon the early bite for the bulk of his damage so far this week. “I had 18 pounds in the first 20 minutes this morning,” he said. 

“I culled up later in the day, thankfully, but most of what I caught came early.”

Camping out in one spot, Howell pointed out that the decision to stay put hasn’t been an easy one. “It’s so hard for me to not fire up the big motor when they quit biting,” he said. 

“I’m fishing a community spot, so if I move off it to go roam around in the shallows everyone gets out there and starts fishing.”

Howell pointed out that while he did have some help on his best water at times in the day, without sun there isn’t a bite present. “The ridge that I’ve been fishing offshore has to have sun to get the fish up,” he said. 

“If it’s cloudy in the morning I’m going to have to catch everything I can. I’ve got some other water I can run once the sun gets out, so I still feel like I have a shot at it.”

Roy Fishing Like Home
As the youngest Elite Series competitor ever, Bradley Roy is out to show that the next generation of professional anglers can cut the mustard. He’s been fortunate this week in that he’s had his water pretty much to himself, allowing him to really pick it apart.

“For the first few hours of each morning I’ve really tried to squeeze as much out of that area as possible,” he explained. “Once the sun gets up, I’ve moved around a little more trying to pick up a big bite or two.”

The afternoon bite gets a little slower for Roy, but he’s been able to connect with a decent kicker or twice this week. “I didn’t upgrade any Thursday, but that strategy helped me Friday and today,” he said.

“I’m throwing moving baits, which is a little something that I’ve been able to figure out as the tournament’s wore on. I’m just hoping that tomorrow afternoon is really good for me.”

While Clear Lake is 1,500 miles from his Kentucky home, Roy noted that it fishes a lot like some of the waters he grew up on. “That’s really helped me a lot this week,” he said. “Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I’ve had a blast this week.”

Butcher Alternates His Way into Sixth
Coming into the Super Six from ninth place, Oklahoma pro Terry Butcher’s bag was the result of sheer determination, and alternating techniques. “I caught a quick limit flipping, but it only weighed about 15 pounds,” he said.

“About 9:00 I picked up the swimbait some and ended up alternating between flipping and throwing the swimbait.”

While the swimbait only accounted for one of his five keepers Saturday, Butcher explained that it’s still a critical weapon in his arsenal. “I’m pretty much fishing one little stretch most of the day and I can make a pass flipping and then move out a little with the big swimbait,” he revealed.

“I’ve been leaving about 1:00 everyday to try and upgrade with the swimbait, which has worked out really well for me, but today my big bites came on a Boogie Bait instead of the swimbait.”

A noted flipper from Oklahoma would seemingly be at odds with the gin clear waters of Clear Lake, but Butcher pointed out that he’s intentionally sought out dingier water. “I’m not out in that stuff that you can seen nine feet down,” he said. 

“It’s been working pretty good for me, so I’m going to keep alternating pretty much like I’ve done all week.”

Lintner Needs to Connect
Jared Lintner knows Clear Lake like the back of his hand, so he knows that being in sixth place isn’t really all that bad. While Clear Lake has the potential for quick healing, the California pro knows that everything is going to have to go his way.

“There’s only a couple of other lakes in the country where you could realistically still have a shot being this far back,” he said. 

“I’m around the kind of fish that I could still win, but I have to get them to bite. That’s been the problem all week, but it’s also the deal with throwing that big bait…you’re going to miss some fish.”

Linter’s program all week has been to throw the swimbait early, and switch up to a “numbers” bait to fill out a limit and settle down. 

“I’m not going to change anything, so what I catch in the morning on the swimbait is just what I catch,” he said. 

“I know throwing that thing you can catch the kind of fish you need to win. I’ve been fortunate to catch a couple good ones late in the day, so I’m hopeful that tomorrow will be the day where I can catch that double-digit fish. 

“It would be nice to have double-digit bookends – one in the morning and one in that afternoon.”

DAY THREE STANDINGS