Rose’s lead wilts
Suave pro’s lead shrinks to just 13 ounces; Bolton, Moynagh apply pressure
FLORENCE, Ala. – Suave Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., who enjoyed a nice 6-pound lead going into day three of the FLW Series BP Eastern, watched that margin diminish this afternoon as Kentucky’s Terry Bolton pulled up to within 13 ounces of him.
Rose brought in five bass, but it was his smallest limit of the week, 12 pounds, 1 ounce to give him a three-day total of 46 pounds, 15 ounces.
Meanwhile Bolton had his best day of the week, five bass for 17 pounds, 6 ounces, and BP pro Jim Moynagh shocked the weigh-in crowd with the tournament’s biggest limit weighing 19 pounds, 2 ounces.
Now both anglers are on Rose’s bumper going into the final day.
“I had a much tougher day,” Rose said. “The fish were acting real funny. Over the last couple days, I’d have fish pick up my jig and if I missed them, I could just push the button (on the reel) drop the jig right back down there and they would bite it again. That did not happen at all today. If I missed one, there were no second chances.”
Rose only caught five keepers and did not get his limit until 2:45.
“It’s easy to fish slow when you have five in the box,” Rose said. “The last couple of days I’ve caught a limit early and then I was able to just creep that jig along, feeling every little mussel down there. Today I really had to keep myself grounded and fish slow even though I only had a couple of keepers in the well.”
Rose remains optimistic about his chances for a win
“There are still a lot of fish there,” he said. “Like I said, they were biting funny today. I had a lot bites where they bumped the jig and then dropped it. Hopefully they’ll go back to eating it tomorrow.”
Bolton bolts to second
Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., had a banner day with his 17-pound, 6 ounce 
catch and has put himself in contention to win his first FLW Series event with a three-day total of 46 pounds, 2 ounces.
“I have no clue why they bit better for me today,” said Bolton who caught 10 keepers. “I did position myself a little bit differently on my water today and that may have helped. When I did that I caught three of my biggest fish. Whether that was due to my adjustment or they just moved in and started biting, I have no idea.”
Bolton is using a pair of heavy jigs. One is a ¾-ounce War Eagle and the other is a 1/2-ounce Omega jig, both are trimmed with a Zoom twin-tail trailer.
“My best place I found during practice,” he added. “It’s the one that has produced most of my fish. It’s natural rock in about 20 to 26 feet of water – just a perfect deep Tennessee River kind of place. I have a couple of spots where I’ve caught one or two, but this one spot has been red hot.”
Moynagh cracks 19-2 for third
BP pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Mn., sacked up the biggest stringer of the tournament, 19 pounds, 2 ounces, to move into third with a three-day total of 44 pounds, 12 ounces, now 2 pounds, 3 ounces off the lead.
Moynagh’s tremendous limit consisted of four huge smallmouths and a largemouth. He, too, is dragging a jig on deep offshore structure. He is using his namesake ¾-ounce football head jig made by All-Terrain tackle with a twin-tail trailer.
“The day actually started off pretty slow,” Moynagh said. “I fished a lot of places without a bite. Then late this afternoon, I had a couple of flurries where I caught several fish in a row and I ended up with seven keepers total.
Pugh fourth
Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., brought in five bass for 13 pounds, 
12 ounces today to maintain his fourth place position with a three-day total of 41 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I continued to fish a 5/8-ounce Gambler jig out deep today,” Pugh said. “I’m actually starting on some shallower places in about 10 feet to jump start my limit. The fish there are plentiful, but they’re small. I got a limit by about 11 o’ clock and then I moved out into the 20 foot zone and culled a couple of times. The bigger fish definitely come from the deeper spots.”
Ferguson fifth
Art Ferguson of St. Clair Shores, Mich., moved up to fifth place today with 14-pound, 7 ounces for a three-day total of 40 pounds, 11 ounces.
Big bass
Wal-Mart pro Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., caught the big bass in the Pro Division on day three, a giant smallmouth weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top-10 pros in the FLW Series BP Eastern event on Lake Pickwick who will be fishing the final day:
6th: Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., three-day total of 39-8
7th: Tom Mann, Jr., of Buford, Ga., three-day total of 38-13
8th: Brad Wilemon of Booneville, Miss., three-day total of 36-14
9th: Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., three-day total of 36-2
10th: Jim Dillard of Bauxite, Ark., three-day total of 35-10
The top-10 cut has been made. The finalists will take to the water on day four of the FLW BP Series event on Lake Pickwick Saturday morning at 7 at McFarland Park located on James M. Spain Drive in Florence.