The Door’s Still Open
Day 3 Midday Update
It’s a beautiful day for a showdown on Lake Amistad. The sun is shining. A light breeze is blowing. And this morning, no one in the top 10 really positioned himself as the outright favorite. A half-dozen pros are still in the hunt for this Rayovac FLW Series Texas Division event presented by Frabill.
At 9:30, leader Ray Hanselman had three small keepers. He was noticeably frustrated at the size of fish in his starting area. In search of better quality, he packed up for a 50-mile (yes, 50) run. He’s got a pretty unique deal going that no one else in the top 10 found.
Brian Ankrum in second place saw his Saturday morning go just as the first two: He only had one fish by 10 o’clock. Luckily for Ankrum, his first keeper was a 6-pounder. The big difference between today and the qualifying days is what happened after that. On the first two days Ankrum says he filled his limit between 10 and noon. When we left him at 11:30 he had just the one kicker in the livewell. His magic window wasn’t open, and he suspects he might have fished out his spots.
Still waiting for a better fish is third-place pro Denny Brauer, who had a smallmouth and two largemouth for maybe 7 pounds in his livewell this morning. Brauer never got the big bite on day two and slipped out of the lead, which he held on day one. He’ll definitely need a kicker today.
Russell Cecil is keeping himself in contention. He caught one around 3 1/2 pounds early and has added three keepers since then. It’s definitely slow, but he’s one bite away from making a big move.
Elsewhere, a few members of the top 10 are still hunting for their first bite. Stephen Johnston reported around 12 pounds in his livewell, which could add a few bucks to his final check.
Overall, the midday bite has been a bit slower than the morning period. The one pro who manages to fill out a solid limit and add a nice 5-pound-plus kicker to the mix is probably the one who’ll wear the crown at the Del Rio Walmart, site of today’s final weigh-in.
Log on to FLWOutdoors.com at 4 p.m. to watch the drama unfold live.