Beaver Lake Day 3 Coverage
Final flurry of big fish coming in on Beaver Lake
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2:29 p.m.: The big girls are biting in the waning minutes
With just 30 minutes left to fish, several pros have managed to increase their catch with late kickers. Andy Morgan added a solid 2-pounder to his livewell, though he's still one short of a limit. Bryan Thrift had a good one come off on the way to the boat. That one could hurt him in the standings. Stetson Blaylock hauled in a 3-pounder that could push him into the top 10. And Tracy Adams also culled up with a 2-pound smallmouth.
Right now, the weights are too close for us to estimate a day-three leader, but it's a sure bet that John Cox, Cody Meyer and Bryan Thrift are in. Check out FLW Live at 4 p.m. CT to see how it all goes down.
1:42 p.m.: Look out Andy Morgan, here comes John Cox
He fishes from an aluminum semi-V, doesn't use a depth finder and loves to slog around in ankle-deep water. It's an odd system in modern-day bass fishing, but John Cox has been making it work with incredible consistency all season. He's on fire again on Beaver Lake today. Cox just landed a 4-pound hawg to fill his limit, and it sounds like he has a few more good ones located on beds that he might be able to catch today or tomorrow. Andy Morgan, on the other hand, is stuck on three fish. He's left the door open for several others in the field.
Cox is fishing in completely "un-Beaver Lake" ways in a very unique spot. More details on that tomorrow.
12:40 p.m.: Cody Meyer back on track, John Cox gaining ground, Wesley Strader improving and the day-three leaders still struggling
It's been slow going for several of the heavy hitters today, including Scott Canterbury, Andy Morgan and Darrel Robertson. They have fish, but they're small. John Cox, while he only has four fish, seems to be on the right quality and has several more good ones on beds. He has good fish biting, but he's missed a couple. Vic Vatalaro is still steady too. He's been tossing topwater all day and has had pretty steady luck.
The two to watch out for right now are Cody Meyer and Wesley Strader. Meyer moved back to his starting area about 45 minutes ago and made a pretty good cull. Strader just plucked a nice one off a bed to cull up to about 11 pounds.
There's still plenty of time left to fish, and if either Meyer or Strader can catch one more good fish, he'll be in the hunt tomorrow.
11:11 a.m.: John Cox locates a few hawgs on beds while other pros start to scramble
John Cox has located a very interesting area with some big fish on beds. We won't reveal exactly where he's fishing today, but if he can get the fish he sees to bite, he'll be around tomorrow and we'll tell you then.
Other pros are scrambling. Andy Morgan has been on the move for awhile with only one keeper. It's tough going for him. Peter T abandoned his area and moved on, as did Darrel Robertson, who was holding out for a better bite once the sun got high in the sky. Stetson Blaylock also left his lower-lake area and ran upriver, where he thinks this tournament will be won.
Vic Vatalaro continues to catch fish on topwater and is gradually inching up the leaderboard.
Other than that, a lot of pros are still working on their limits. Scott Martin has four, but he's catching one about every hour, and from what we see in the pictures his marshal is sending, Martin's fish are getting bigger.
The wind continues to blow, but the sun is up. Protected pockets should offer good views of the fish, but they'll have to start cooperating for the bed bite to turn on this afternoon.
10:11 a.m.: Add Wesley to the list of pros with a limit
Quick update: There are now five pros with limits. Angler of the Year leader Wesley Strader has five for 8 pounds.
10:03 a.m.: Livewells are starting to fill for some, while others wait for the afternoon bite
Darrel Robertson says his best bite has been in the afternoon, so he's not concerned that the fishing has been slow this morning. If that's the case for other top pros, such as Andy Morgan, who has only one keeper right now, then it's tough to say who's in the driver's seat on day three. Robertson hasn't landed a keeper, nor has Clark Wendlandt. The other 18 pros have at least one in the box, and by the last count, four have limits.
Morgan caught his first keeper flipping shallow wood cover up the White River. About half the field is scattered up there with him – or they're heading there right now. Most of the other half of the pros are down in the lower end, with just a few in the mid-lake area.
We're going to see another mix of all three species at today's weigh-in, but right now it looks like spots and largemouths are the most common species being caught.
9:43 a.m.: Vatalaro and Thrift heating up, but the action slow for the rest of the top 20
If you want to catch a lot of fish, Beaver Lake is the place to be right now. Pros are catching plenty of short fish. Catching keepers, however, is a little tough right now.
Bryan Thrift has a limit and is getting plenty of bites. He's also into some crappie apparently. He caught two really nice slabs.
Vic Vatalaro is also on an interesting bite. He's tossing a topwater. We're sending a reporter there now becuase Vic's marshal reports that he has caught three 2-pounders and a 1 3/4.
8:24 a.m.: Morgan still with zero as the rest of the field settles in
No news to report for tournament leader Andy Morgan. He hasn't caught a keeper yet. Cody Meyer's bite tapered off too after a blazing start that has him sitting with 10 1/2 pounds. Darrel Robertson has zero as well.
It's been a challenging morning for many pros. The sun is up in a bright, clear sky, and a pretty chilly wind has started blowing across Beaver Lake. Perhaps the fish are in a bit of a morning funk right now.
Here's a rundown of what we know right now:
Meyer and Larry Nixon have limits. Scott Martin, Matt Arey, Brandon Cobb, Bryan Thrift and Scott Canterbury have three. Wesley Strader and Peter T have two. The rest of the field has one or none.
7:40 a.m.: Cody Meyer is tearing it up right off the bat
He didn't run far, but that didn't matter. Rayovac pro Cody Meyer is off to a hot start with a limit of about 10 1/2 pounds already in the boat. He's already culled twice.
Clark Wendlandt continues with his run-and-gun program and has fished almost 10 spots already. It's a total swing-for-the-fences attempt at catching a big largemouth, but he's not yet connected.
Scott Canterbury, Scott Martin and Larry Nixon each has three. Nixon's fish, while small, came on three consecutive casts. A half-dozen other pros are sitting on one right now.
Despite favorable sight-fishing conditions, John Cox is the only pro who's reported catching a bedding bass. It was a pretty good largemouth though.
7:00 a.m.: Pros mixing it up on day three
Topwater, swimbaits, finesse worms – pros are mixing up their presentations this morning. The sun is out, and the air temperature is already at 60 degrees with just a slight chop on the water. The sight-fishermen got their wish today, because conditions should be good for looking at them on beds.
Cody Meyer is off to a fast start. He has a limit already, with a pair of 2-pounders. He didn't go far from takeoff. Clark Wendlandt opted for a run-and-gun approach. He's making no more than a dozen casts at each spot before pulling up the trolling motor and moving on. It hasn't produced for him yet, but he'll run into them before long. Brandon Cobb also is fishing fast. He's covering water for a mix of spawners and postspawn fish.
The field is spread out from the dam to the upper White River, so there should be a good variety of techniques to report on today. Notably, the bed bite should get better as the day goes on if the warm weather pushes new fish to the banks. Today's forecast high is 80 degrees, with nary a chance of rain.
It's going to be a good one.