SOMERSET, Ky. – As the day began to break over General Burnside Island State Park on Lake Cumberland, competitors in the FLW Series field of 200 boats were mostly thrilled that the sun appears to be taking the day off. After all, the majority of anglers have been waiting for significant cloud cover to spur the bite, and all they’ve had so far is abundant sunshine.
While lots of competitors have managed to catch them by adjusting to a sunshine pattern, even those that fortune has smiled upon this week have been praying for clouds. Today it looks like they’ll finally get it, as the rain came down last night after weigh-in with isolated thunderstorms called for today.
Luke Clausen is among the pros who caught them well on day one, but then stumbled a bit on day two, going from a day-one weight of 12-10 to 5-2. However, he remains within striking distance of the top 10 in 12th place. He expects the final day of full-field competition to yield a lot more bass thanks to the cloudy skies.
“We should see a lot more weight if the cloud cover stays all day,” Clausen said.
Lake Cumberland has not been kind to Florida pro Roger Crafton, who blanked on both sunny days. He says the lake remains tough, but he, too, is happy to see today’s lack of sun.
“I think it’ll be better today,” Crafton said. “The fishing, in general, has been pretty darn slow, but I’m looking forward to today.”
Following today’s weigh-in, the co-angler winner will be crowned based on heaviest three-day accumulated weight. Currently Lake Lanier winner Kevin Koone leads the pack by a 1-pound, 2-ounce margin over North Carolina’s John Wilson.
Today also marks the culling of the 200-boat field down to the top 10 pros, who will continue competition on Lake Cumberland tomorrow for a $100,000 top prize based on heaviest four-day weight.
Today’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Eastern time at General Burnside Island State Park in Burnside. For those who cannot be there in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, its real-time viewing application.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:40 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 60 degrees
Expected high temperature: 72 degrees
Wind: N at 6 mph
Maximum humidity: 70 percent
Day’s outlook: partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible