Browne brings it

Berkley pro ‘living right’ on favorite lake

EUFAULA, Ala. – The sun beamed on day three of the Walmart FLW Series event on Lake Eufaula, and so did Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla.

Ask Browne about his thoughts on Eufaula, and he will tell you that he loves the lake.

“Anytime I can catch fish in water less than 2 feet deep, I’m in my element, and this is one of the best lakes in the country for that type of fishing,” Browne said after weighing in another nearly 24-pound bag of bass today for the BP Eastern Division lead at 64 pounds, 1 ounce.

“When I come here and the fish are shallow, I can eliminate 90 percent of the lake right off the bat and fish the way I love to fish with the confidence I’m going to catch them.”

And clearly things are going Browne’s way. Yesterday, his biggest bass busted his spinnerbait during battle, and luckily his co-angler had just slid the net under the kicker fish as the lure came apart. And today, Browne did not have his reel seat tightened down all the way when he set the hook on a bass, and his reel popped off the rod. He grabbed the reel and ran to the back of the boat, dragging the fish over vegetation while his co-angler netted it. That, too, was Browne’s biggest fish of the day.

“I’m definitely living right,” the Berkley pro said. “I just hope it continues another day.”

Brown caught 24-9 on a spinnerbait yesterday. Today he caught an 11-pound limit on a spinnerbait before switching over to a Berkley Chigger craw and flipping up three more monsters to finish the day with 23-14.

“Based on fishing here in the past, I just kind of have a feel for what I’m looking for,” he explained. “I’m fishing short little no-name pockets off the lake that have matted grass in them. I don’t know how to describe them except to say a pocket will just have the right look to it in terms shape, grass thickness and depth.”

Hibdon second

BP pro Guido Hibdon of Sunrise Beach, Mo., trails Brown by about 4 1/2 pounds. And if there is one guy you don’t want lurking behind you on Lake Eufaula, it’s a proven veteran like Hibdon, especially when he gets “dialed in.”

Today Hibdon got “dialed in” to the tune of 23 pounds, 4 ounces to claim second place with a three-day total of 59 pounds, 8 ounces.

And Browne has a little bit of Hibdon double-trouble to deal with tomorrow since Dion, Guido’s son, sacked 22 pounds, 5 ounces on the very pattern that Guido told him about. In fact, Dion slid into the top-10 cut in 10th place and now stands in a position to help Guido. There are no rules that prohibit pros from sharing information with other pros who are in competition – what’s that saying about blood being thicker than water?

Though Hibdon is keeping quiet about his pattern details, he did say that the fish are definitely postspawn bass and that each day they have changed.

“The first day, they were real shallow, and I started out too deep,” Hibdon said. “But once I figured how they were set up, I mauled them. Today was just the opposite. I started up shallow, and my boat was sitting right on top of the son-of-a-guns. I went two or three hours without a bite, and once I figured out they had moved out just a tad, I mauled them again. I’m talking, I caught 23 pounds in no time. I’m fishing the same water each day with two lures, but it just takes me a while to dial them in. But once I figure out how they are set up on those places, it’s game over.”

Mann third

Another wily veteran of the bass wars, Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga., refuses to relent and keeps bringing in strong limits of Lake Eufaula bass. Today he sacked another 19 pounds for a three-day total of 59 pounds, 8 ounces for third place.

Mann is slow-rolling two spinnerbaits along a hydrilla grass line in 3 to 6 feet of water south of the causeway.

“I actually found this spot and these fish in prepractice, before the mud got here,” Mann said. “It’s about 500 yards of some really pretty green hydrilla, and the fish were loaded in there when I first found it. Where this grass line is located in terms of spawning areas around it makes it a prefect transition area for both pre- and postspawn bass. Even with all this muddy water, they are still there; I just have to fish slow to get them to bite.”

Defoe fourth

Land O’Lakes pro Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn., defended his top-five position with an 18-pound catch today for a three-day total of 57 pounds, 5 ounces.

Defoe is fishing some of the same areas each day, but says he has had to change lures every day to retune his bite.

“The first day was all topwater,” Defoe said. “Then yesterday was a little topwater, but mostly flipping a Berkley Crazy Chigger Craw. Then today I had to completely change baits again. With all the weather going on this week, this tournament has really changed from day to day. But I like tournaments like this. It sounds like everyone is having to readjust each day to contact their fish again, which makes it fun.”

Tharp fifth

Randall Tharp of Gardendale, Ala., moved up into the top five today with a 19-pound, 15-ounce catch for a three-day total of 55 pounds, 1 ounce.

Tharp is fishing a ChatterBait and swimming a jig in various creeks and pockets south of the causeway.

“I’m looking for a certain kind of grass,” Tharp said. “It looks a little different than most of the stuff you see growing here, and there’s not a whole lot of it. I’ve probably got about 20 places little places all down on the lower end of the lake that have it – but it definitely seems to be holding better-quality fish.”

Big bass

Woo Daves of Spring Grove, Va., caught the Folgers Big Bass in the Pro Division on day three, weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the FLW Series on Lake Eufaula after day three:

6th: J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., three-day total of 53-9

7th: Matthew Wilbanks of Gainesville, Ga., three-day total of 49-8

8th: Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., three-day total of 49-2

9th: Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., three-day total of 48-14

10th: Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., three-day total of 46-4

The fourth and final day of the FLW Series begins Saturday at 7 a.m. at the White Oak Recreation area of Highway 95.