LIVE BLOG: Down to the Wire in Period 3

RALEIGH, N.C. – The air temperature hovered just above freezing this morning when the 40 anglers in Group A headed out onto Falls Lake for Elimination Round 1 at the MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh presented by Evinrude. Even more importantly, the water temperature on this impoundment of the Neuse River stood at 55 degrees – roughly 4 degrees cooler than Jordan Lake, the site of the Shotgun Rounds.

But don’t let that number deceive you: 55-degree water is perfectly comfortable to northern-strain largemouth, a fact that MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone says will prove itself throughout a day forecast for sunshine and a high of 64.

“(Fifty-five degrees) is warm enough,” Stone says. “The key with northern-strain largemouth is the length of days and trees blooming. All the water temperature does is accelerate or slightly slow the (pre-spawn) movement that’s going to happen, no matter what. As long as the water isn’t ‘hard’, fish are coming to the banks.”

2:30 p.m. ET – Bass Pro Tour Postgame Show host Stephen Scott said it best when he said, “The competition today is tighter than a rusty nut on an old farm tractor. Brent Ehrler holding steading in 20th place with Luke Clausen, Gary Klein and Kevin VanDam lurking just below him. Only one hour remains in the stressful Elimination Round.

2:00 p.m. ET – An hour and a half remains in the Elimination Round and the movement near the Elimination Line is starting to make me dizzy. Brent Ehrler stands in 20th place but big names like Kevin VanDam and Gary Klein remain in the hunt. Keep an eye out for Alton Jones, Jr. The Texas pro just landed a 4-3 to put him in 25th place and only 3-5 back of making the cut.

1:24 p.m. – We are into the third and final period of the Elimination Round for Group A and the log jam continues near the Elimination Line. Gary Klein just made his move into the Top 20 to 19th place. Josh Bertrand is in that No. 20 spot and, don’t look now, but Kevin VanDam has made his way into 21st place. The legend is just 8 ounces away from the Top 20.

12:28 p.m. ET – As Period 2 begins to wind down we are starting to see who we will need to keep our eyes on during Period 3. Gerald Swindle made a move into the Top 20 and is currently sitting in 19th place. Luke Clausen holds the final spot at 27-3. Boyd Duckett, Adrian Avena, John Murray, James Watson, Gary Klein, and Andy Montgomery are all within 2 pounds of Clausen. We have seen our fair share of large bass today on Falls Lake, and if one of these anglers are able to land a lunker, that could very well secure their spot in the Knockout Round.

12:08 p.m. ET – Less than 45 minutes remain in Period 2 of Elimination Round 1. No one has really separated themselves from the pack near the Elimination Line as Adrian Avena holds the final spot with a total weight of 26-15. Still, seven pros are within 3 pounds of jumping Avena while four others in within 5 pounds. As the sun continues to shine on Falls Lake and the water temperature rises, we’ll see who rises above the rest and makes the cut for Saturday’s Knockout Round.

11:42 a.m. ET – The back-and-forth continues near the Elimination Line as now John Murray holds the final spot in the Top 20. Seven anglers are within 3 pounds of catching Murray and four of those seven are one scoreable bass away from overtaking Murray. Leader Kelly Jordon is less than 7 pounds away from breaking the 100-pound mark over his first two days of Stage Three. He is comfortably in the lead and has already started planning out his Knockout Round strategy.

10:49 a.m. ET – Josh Bertrand (4-3) and Andy Morgan (5) have started to makes moves to secure their spot in the Top 20. The quality of fish is there on Falls Lake but the numbers are not quite there yet. The pros have reeled in 84 total bass in this Elimination Round compared to 173 at this point on Tuesday in their Shotgun Round.

10:18 a.m. ET – It’s becoming a little crowded near the Elimination Line with eight anglers within 2 pounds of the coveted No. 20 spot. Alton Jones is the last man in at the moment, but with the bass that we’ve seen come out of the waters of Falls Lake already, anyone has an opportunity to make a key move.

10:10 a.m. ET – No sooner had we hit “POST” on the last blog entry then things changed: Evers put an 8-7 on SCORETRACKER and Jordon joined the party with a 6-1. One thing we’re totally right about, though: action on Falls is about to get a little wild.

9:56 a.m. ET – As the second period of Elimination Round 2 begins, don’t be surprised to see some dramatic changes to SCORETRACKER. As mentioned previously, Andy Montgomery put the first 7-pounder of the day on the scales late in Period 1, and as the North Carolina sunshine continues to heat up the shallow waters of Falls Lake, get ready for a noticeable increase in fish activity.

So far, it’s pretty safe to assume that Shotgun Round 1 superstars Kelly Jordon, Mark Daniels, Jr., Edwin Evers and Andy Morgan are taking advantage of their weight cushions to do some more thorough scouting of falls: None of them have put a fish on SCORETRACKER. Yet!

9:30 a.m. ET – Jared Lintner owned the big bass of the day at 6-8 for about five minutes. Then, Andy Montgomery took over thanks to his 7-4 that helped move him into the Top 20. Lintner was able to use a crankbait to make his move while Montgomery switched over to a soft plastic to reel his bass in.

Something surprising is that leader Kelly Jordon has not caught a fish this morning after his record-breaking Shotgun Round (26 bass for 82-4). Falls Lake has not proven to be as fruitful for him as Jordan Lake.

9:10 a.m. ET – We’re seeing a lot of fish caught on moving baits this morning: spinnerbait, vibrating jig, crankbait and a few on a jerkbait. The morning bite on Falls is definitely slower than what we saw on Jordan Lake the previous two days: as of this writing, the 40-angler field has put 38 fish on SCORETRACKER in the first 100 minutes of competition versus 64 scorable fish by the same time yesterday.

8:50 a.m. ET – As is the norm during Elimination Rounds on the Bass Pro Tour, the drama will be near the Elimination Line. Alton Jones currently holds the coveted No. 20 spot but there are a handful of anglers who are within striking distance. In fact, the difference between 17th and 27th place is a mere 3 pounds, 8 ounces. One fish could be the difference today and this round will definitely be going down to the wire.

8:36 a.m. ET – Cliff Crochet has gotten off to a solid start in this Elimination Round. The Louisiana pro was able to put a 3-10 on SCORETRACKER and then a 4-6 just 13 minutes later. That little surge has pushed him above the Elimination Line to 18th place, but he is still only ounces above the cut.

8:22 a.m. ET – Greg Vinson is back at it again. The Alabama pro started the morning with a 2-pound, 8-ouncer, and then put a 6-7 on SCORETRACKER just 14 minutes later. Vinson caught two fish over 6 pounds in the first Shotgun Round, so he’s clearly someone to watch today.