Lake Cumberland Day 3 Coverage
The smallmouth boys are smashing
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2:00 Wrapping the blog up
Bryan Thrift has been putting on a clinic – if he brings 20 pounds to weigh-in it wouldn’t be a shock. Elsewhere, there have been a ton of fish caught recently – if you like 3-pounders then you’re going to like weigh-in. We’ll try to get the spreadsheet updated shortly, but you’re going to want to check out weigh-in either way. It starts at 4 p.m. ET and the battle for the cut is going to be fierce.
1:40 Thrift culls again, others are making moves
Bryan Thrift has culled again, this time for about a half pound, and he’s getting close to 18 pounds on the day. Meanwhile, Clent Davis and Chris Johnston are doing work – Davis has around 14 pounds now and Johnston looks like he’ll make the top 10 from 17th with over 16 pounds in the ‘well.
1:33 Thrift culls big
A bunch of folks have been putting the finishing touches on solid limits in the last 20 minutes or so (we’ll get the sheet caught up soon), but Bryan Thrift just made a big move. After leaving his primary area, Thrift popped a 4-11 smallie to cull over 17 pounds. He’s a man on a mission, and it looks like he may well have the lead going into day four.
1:15 Milner adds
Kerry Milner culled out his last small one and has over 14 pounds now. The fishing has really lived up to expectations today, and Milner will probably hang on to the fifth spot going into Sunday at the rate he’s going.
1:08 Martin limits, Davis culls
Scott Martin has wrapped up a decent limit with a 4-pounder. He’s not going to have enough to make the cut (unless he really smashes soon), but a top 30 is nothing to sneeze at.
Clent Davis just culled again and has been picking up this afternoon for sure. Now the Alabama pro is unofficially in sixth place.
1:00 Colson and Johnston
Ramie Colson and Chris Johnston have both caught good largemouths in the last 10 minutes. Colson has culled up to 13 pounds now and Johnston is up close to 15 pounds.
12:52 Birge culls
Zack Birge just swapped out a smallmouth for a largemouth and gained about half a pound. He’s at 16 pounds as well and is ounces away from an FLW Live appearance on Sunday.
12:50 McCall again, Team Canada
Chris McCall just culled again. He’s been cooking pretty good for the last hour or so and has four big smallies and a largemouth he wants to cull. We think he’s at about 16 pounds now.
Not too far away, Chris Johnston is getting down to business and has culled up to 13 pounds or so.
12:45 Bohannan update
We don’t have any more fish to report on Greg Bohannan, but we have found him. He’s throwing a blade in the backs of pockets and he says he’s pretty dialed. So, y’all could be in for a fun day on FLW Live tomorrow.
12:35 Davis and McCall are upgrading
Clent Davis just made his first cull of the day to get around 11 pounds. At this point, he’s scrapping to stay in the top 10, as opposed to knocking on the door for a lead.
Down the lake near the dam, Chris McCall has been doing some culling. He says he’s got about 14 pounds in the boat.
12:20 Morgan culls
Andy Morgan just made another small cull on a spinnerbait. He seems to be gaining a little momentum now and he’s probably approaching the low teens with his weight.
Terry Bolton has just culled as well to get over 10 pounds. Darrel Robertson has also culled and he’s about 11 pounds in the livewell now. Additionally, Chad Grigsby has wrapped up his limit and is into double digits.
12:15 Boyd is making moves, Davis limits
Allen Boyd is doing WORK today. After catching his kicker he’s culled up again – we’ve got him at an estimated 18 pounds now.
Out fishing for smallmouths, Clent Davis has filled out his limit. He’s basically got two good ones and three dinks.
11:50 Watson and Morgan upgrade
James Watson just popped a 3-pounder to upgrade into double digits. Fishing in the rain, Andy Morgan has upgraded a little as well, but it was only by a few ounces.
11:35 Bohannan update
Greg Bohannan has been out of service somewhere, but he says he’s got 17 pounds. That’s the big bag of the day, and puts him in second unofficially. We may be able to get a little more info today, but it’s likely that he’ll just be a guy we dial in on for the final day and a full session of FLW Live.
11:33 Boyd with a big
Allen Boyd just culled up in a big way with almost a 5-pound largemouth. He’s got nearly 15 pounds in the livewell now and has been cooking today. He’s mostly been throwing a spinnerbait and a swim jig.
11:24 Morgan and Milner cull
Andy Morgan just culled up a bit with a decent largemouth. He’s fishing in rain gear now.
Kerry Milner also made a nice cull a minute ago. He swapped out a smallmouth for a 3-pound largemouth and has over 13 pounds now.
11:10 It’s about to get nasty, Buck update
The storms are almost here. There’s probably going to be some heavy rain involved soon, and that may do a number on our coverage team. The anglers will probably elect to fish through it, and the fishing will probably be pretty good during it. We’ll see how it plays out.
We’ve also managed to get an update on Grae Buck finally, and he’s having a decent day. He’s got about 13 pounds in the livewell and is on the bubble for the top 10 as things stand.
11:00 The better limits
We’ve got a lot of limits on the board now. Anglers with 10+ in the boat include Bryan Thrift, Zack Birge, Darrel Robertson, Allen Boyd, Kerry Milner, Ramie Colson, Carl Jocumsen, Chris McCall, Mark Rose (we think), James Niggemeyer, Shawn Murphy, Bob Morin, Billy Hines, Chris Johnston and Billy McCaghren.
So, you could say the fishing is pretty good.
10:50 Another for Thrift
Bryan Thrift just culled up again. He’s slinging a Keitech and has been walloping the smallmouths this morning. We’ve got him at over 15 pounds now and he’s having by far the best day of anyone so far.
10:40 Morgan scuffling, Davis with two
Andy Morgan had been without a keeper for a while, but he just culled up by a couple ounces. Right now, it sort of feels like this could be another tournament where Morgan takes home a big check and come just shy of a win. Of course, a couple good bites will change the whole complexion of the day.
Clent Davis rolled into the weekend with a lot of momentum, but he’s struggled today. The young Alabama pro has just two now, and so far his smallmouth pattern is fizzling.
10:15 Lots of culling
Chris McCall has culled up over 10 pounds now. He caught one a jerkbait a bit ago and elected to net it instead of boat flip it like last year.
Bryan Thrift caught a 3-pounder a minute ago and has been culling for a while now. He’s right around 15 pounds now.
Zack Birge just culled again too, and he’s got 15 pounds of smallies as well. Other than Clent Davis, the guys that are targeting smallies down the lake are really smashing them today.
Also, Carl Jocumsen just culled out a 1-pounder with a 3-pound smallmouth. He's got more than 11 pounds and seems on pace to make his first top 10 cut.
10:04 Hines is on some quality
Billy Hines is kinda rolling today. He’s not catching killer numbers, but he’s got three quality smallmouths in the ‘well now and one keeper. He’s throwing a spinnerbait just like everyone else, but he’s catching just smallmouths.
9:50 Birge and Thrift
Zack Birge is throwing two different swimbaits and has amassed 15 pounds already. That’s shot him up from 27th to sixth and could be enough for him to make the cut and fish tomorrow.
Bryan Thrift got off to a pretty slow start, but he picked up the pace a bit ago. Thrift went from two keepers to a limit in about 10 minutes and he’s now technically in the lead. Oddly enough, Andy Morgan has kinda stalled out, so the door is certainly open.
9:28 Robertson limits
Darrel Robertson just filled out his limit. He’s got a little under 10 pounds, so he’ll need a few kickers to keep pace with the rest of the crew.
9:22 Murphy and Boyd, some slight culling
Shawn Murphy is making a run up the leaderboard early. He’s fishing near Andy Morgan, and he’s culled a couple time now and is to about 13 pounds. Allen Boyd is also rocking, and he’s got around 12 pounds as well and has culled some.
Chris McCall has also culled up a bit, but he’s still got less than 10 pounds in the ‘well.
9:04 Milner and Birge are cooking
Kerry Milner just culled up past 11 pounds now. He’s having a pretty got morning for sure.
Zack Birge is cracking them too, and he says he’s got about 13 pounds in the box.
8:50 Watson and Colson
James Watson and Ramie Colson each have partial limits (well, now Colson has a limit), but they also each have a 4-pounder in the box. Catching keepers is fine, but the real key is catching big ones, which they’ve done with some success thus far.
8:45 Milner, McCall limit
Basically everyone has a few fish at this point, and we’ve almost got the leaderboard entirely updated. Kerry Milner just caught a 4-pounder to finish his limit and get up into double digits. He’s on a roll early. Chris McCall has also wrapped up a limit, but it’s only about half of the 14-pound threshold he’s set for his wife to start driving to Cumberland.
8:20 Morgan limits
Andy Morgan has just filled his limit. We don’t really have a great estimate now, but he’s got at least one dandy largemouth that will probably make the ride to weigh-in. As expected, he’s catching them all on a spinnerbait.
8:13 Niggemeyer limits
James Niggemeyer started the day in 30th and he’s rocketing up the leaderboard now. The Texas pro already has a limit and one of them is a pretty good one. He’s catching all largemouths and spots and has a pretty good blade bite going early.
8:05 Robertson gets going, Milner too
Darrel Robertson just got on the board with a 2-pounder on a spinnerbait. Kerry Milner has one in the box as well, but it’s just a keeper.
8:00 We’ve got a pile of fish
Andy Morgan has four in the boat now – he’s caught them in about 10 minutes. The biggest is about 3 pounds.
Jeff Sprague started his day with a 4-pound smallie.
Bryan Thrift is on the board with a 3-pound brown one.
Allen Boyd got started with a 3+ of the green variety.
Clent Davis has just one so far – it’s a smallish smallmouth.
7:45 Jocumsen limits
Carl Jocumsen actually has five already. None of them are particularly big, but the cell service on Cumberland is sketchy so we’ve been getting the updates a little late. Also, Justin Atkins has a second keeper in the boat now.
7:40 Another for Jocumsen
We’ll be overwhelmed with updates soon, but in the meantime, we’re happy to report that Carl Jocumsen has his second. They’re both little spotted bass.
7:30 Jocumsen and Atkins get on the board
Most of the field is still running down the lake, but Carl Jocumsen and Justin Atkins have started fishing already. Both of them have a small keeper to start things off.
7:11 Dudley strikes first
The first keeper of the day belongs to David Dudley. Starting right near takeoff, the veteran pro has gotten the day going with a 2-pound largemouth.
7:00 Weather rolling in could fire up the bite
Day two of the FLW Tour presented by General Tire on Lake Cumberland was pretty wild. It featured some stout smallmouths and largemouths and a pile of exciting moves up and down the leaderboard. The steady factors were the top four pros – Andy Morgan, Darrel Robertson, Clent Davis and Bryan Thrift have stayed very consistent thus far. In the lead, Morgan lost enough fish to put a gap between himself and the field, but through it he managed to boat 15-12 to stay on top. If he can serve up 15+ today and tomorrow, there’s a chance he’ll bring home his second FLW Tour win.
Before we get to the fishing, it’s worth mentioning again that Bryan Thrift is on a roll and in striking position. He set the consecutive limits record at 51 on Friday, and it always feels like he’s a threat to win when he gets into the top 10.
The water has been dropping a little each day, but the big condition change today is the weather. Days one and two were warm, windy and clear as a bell. Today is still going to be warm, but some rain and storms are forecasted to move into the area later in the morning. With temperatures forecast to get a lot colder tomorrow, today seems like the day to strike. It's already breezy and fishy feeling at takeoff, and once the top 30 pros get fishing it could get really good.
Conditions
Temperature at takeoff: 69 degrees
Forecast high: 77 degrees
Sky: clear, clouding up as the day goes on
Precipitation: 80 percent chance of rain, storms expected mid-morning
Wind: southwest at 17 mph
Water level: 724.68 feet (tracker)
Tournament Details
Folgers Morning Takeoff: 7:00 a.m. ET at General Burnside Island State Park, 8801 S. Highway 27, Burnside, Ky.
Weigh-in: Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. ET at General Burnside Island State Park and 4 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday at General Burnside Island State Park
FLW Expo: 12 to 4 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday at General Burnside Island State Park FLW Live: Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET