Rayburn Day 3 Midday Update

Hanselman is on his game, but Tutt and Brauer still challenging his lead

A chilly morning greeted the top 10 pros and co-anglers for the final day of Rayovac FLW Series Texas Division competition on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Mercury, but a warm sunrise filtered by scattered clouds bespoke the gorgeous conditions forthcoming. Winds have dropped off to barely a breeze, main-lake running is easy, and the coves and creeks where most anglers are fishing are glassy smooth.

Fish surely pulled tighter to cover with the sunny conditions, but that probably makes little difference, as the majority of anglers have been flipping close to trees and into dense buck brush since day one. The heavy, tangled spots with vines seem to be the prime targets again today.

Treacherous and unforgiving, these largemouth fortresses have been a constant vexation for anglers seeking their inhabitants. Today, we saw several anglers holding their rod butts up in the air and sticking the tips into the water to either dislodge stuck baits or attempt to unwrap a fish that was doing its best to leverage the structure for a self-induced release.

We also heard a few line snaps, so not every attempt worked out favorably for the angler.

Day-two pro leader Ray Hanselman had a good morning, and FLW photographer Brian Lindberg reports that the leader put on quite a show while fishing so deep into the flooded cover that he couldn’t use his trolling motor. Pulling on limbs became the method for advancing the boat.

Sixth-place pro Jim Tutt also reported a strong morning performance with a limit of about 15 pounds by 10 a.m. Tutt’s doing something a little different — he’s flipping the heavy cover with a 6-inch weightless Yamamoto Senko.

Among the many possible outcomes, it will be interesting to see how Denny Brauer fares. The bass legend severely injured his left shoulder at the start of day one and still managed to place second with 22 pounds, 14 ounces. He caught only 15-10 on day two, but held on to the No. 2 spot.

By late morning, Brauer had one good fish and three small ones. But the day’s conditions were ripening for a productive afternoon. Today’s final weigh-ins should be very entertaining.

Tune in to FLW Live from the Sam Rayburn weigh-in at 4 p.m. CT at FLWFishing.com.