MANNING, S.C. – Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn., calmly tied up a wacky-rigged worm on a spinning rod this morning as if it was just another casual day of fishing.
In his mind, he chose to ignore the virtual bass-fishing blitzkrieg that was forming in the boats lined up behind him.
Defoe has led the Stren Series event on Santee Cooper for three days in a row. He now has a 5-pound, 9-ounce lead going into the fourth and final day.
Yet a quick glance at the standings sheet reveals a disturbing trend for Defoe: he caught his lightest weight of the event yesterday while the four pros in the boats behind him – Greg Pugh, Brett Mitchell, Ken Ellis and Timothy Little – weighed some of the biggest bags of the tournament.
This scenario represents the zenith of professional bass fishing: A young man who badly 
needs his first FLW Outdoors win trying to fend off some of the most decorated veterans of the sport who are coming after him with a vengeance.
But Defoe is not one who is easily rattled. In his short career with FLW Outdoors he has demonstrated the calm, collected poise it takes to win against the best and it’s just a matter of time before it happens.
This morning, as he looked at the tornado forming behind him, he seemed unconcerned.
“I’ve seen the sheet; I know what it says; they’re closing in,” Defoe said. “But I can’t think about that. All I can do is stay focused on the fishing. I’m going to go back to my trees this morning and give them an hour or two. If no new big ones have pulled up, I’m going to dedicate more of my day to sight-fishing.”
The day three weigh-in will start Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart in Manning.
Saturday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:47 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 53 degrees
Expected high temperature: 76 degrees
Water temperature: 69 degrees
Wind: S 10 to 15 mph
Day’s outlook: Balmy, 30% chance of thunderstorms