Cumberland Day 3 Coverage
It's Championship Saturday on Cumberland
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1:59 p.m. – Shutting it down
While Andrew Upshaw is working on shutting things down on the water, we'll be shutting down the live blog for the day in anticipation of 4 p.m. weigh-in. Anglers are due to check in at 3:30.
Right now, Upshaw is in full control of the leaderboard and has a couple small fish he can still cull out. With Rob Burns and Matt Pangrac behind him and each having some room to add to their stringers, they still have a chance to make some waves before check-in. Burns (12 1/2 pounds) and Pangrac (12 3/4) are having great days, but we've seen some 16-plus-pound bags this week. It's certainly possible for them to challenge Upshaw if he doesn't cull at all.
It's really a three-angler race at this point. Everyone beyond Upshaw, Burns and Pangrac just seem too far back to be able to catch up in the hour and a half left to fish. Anything can happen, though, and there are some fish in Cumberland big enough to boost a bag that isn't filled out yet.
Be sure to tune in to FLW Live at flwfishing.com for the live weigh-in show at 4 p.m. ET. Thanks for following along this week.
1:10 p.m. – Afternoon updates
We finally caught up to David Valdivia, who doesn't have a keeper yet. He says he's struggling to get bit on a jig, but he's definitely around fish. He's cranking now in search of his first good bite. In the back of his boat, co-angler Chad Allison has two good ones (one being a 4-pounder) he caught on an umbrella rig.
Laramy Strickland, on a lake as huge as Cumberland, had to hop around Valdivia to keep fishing the bank. He still has just two fish, but they're pretty good ones. A few more to fill out his limit will put Strickland in pretty good shape by weigh-in.
Brent Algeo has a couple for 3 or so pounds. He just lost a good one in the 4-pound range, though, which has to hurt this late in the game. He still has some time, though.
The top of the leaderboard hasn't changed. Andrew Upshaw is just looking to cull out a couple small ones. His big ones might be enough even if he doesn't cull, though.
12:40 p.m. – Burns applying pressure
Rob Burns just had an epic fight with a 3 1/2-pound smallmouth that ended with a quality net job and another big fish in the box. He's applying a little pressure on Upshaw, who still has a couple fish he might need to cull out. Burns is unofficially less than 6 pounds back with only four in his livewell.
Matt Pangrac has been on some fish in the last half hour or so. He has a couple that will go about 8 pounds total and currently sits in third.
The bite is decidedly much better today. The cold front may have had fish biting timidly yesterday, but they're munching today.
12:23 p.m. – Upshaw closing the door
There's still plenty of time to fish, but it's going to be hard for anyone to catch up to Andrew Upshaw if he keeps trucking along like he is right now, He's added a 4-pounder to his livewell (his biggest fish of the tournament) and now has four for over 11 pounds and unoficially an almost 6-pound lead. It's starting to look like it might take a mega-bag to catch him.
We caught up with Travis Manson, who has a 2 1/2-pounder and nothing else in the box. We still have a few more anglers to check in with (including David Valdivia and Laramy Strickland) and will continue to update the live leaderboard as reports come in.
11:55 a.m. – Pangrac with a tank
If you're watching FLW Live, you just saw Matt Pangrac haul in a smallmouth close to 5 pounds. It's the biggest fish he's caught all week and he's jacked up about it. That's Pangrac's first keeper of the day and it's a good one.
Steve Floyd only has one in the box. It's a small spot. Rusty Salewske hooed into a quality 3-pounder that he's added to his empty livewell. Meanwhile, Brent Algeo has two for about 3 pounds.
Rob Burns is quietly having a terrific morning. He has three that will go between 7 and 8 pounds that unofficially moves him into second place behind Upshaw.
The bite may not be on fire right now, but it's definitely better than it was at this time yesterday.
11:30 a.m. – Still hunting
Not many fish catches to report at the moment, but everyone is on the hunt. Brent Algeo has caught eight fish, but only one of them kept, and it was a small spot. He's winding a spinnerbait and ChatterBait around wood in Fishing Creek.
Steve Floyd is struggling, but that's due in part to the timing of his best bites this week. He's been doing well in the first and last hours of the day and he missed his first window due to the fog delay.
10:54 a.m. – Upshaw rolling
Andrew Upshaw didn't waste any time this morning. He just landed three keeper smallmouth (all between 2 and 3 pounds) on a 20-yard stretch on a bluff bank. It's safe to say his bite is as good, or better, today than it has been the last couple days. A couple more like that and he'll be well on his way to locking this down early.
Elsewhere, Luke Plunkett caught a 2-pounder on a spinnerbait and is unofficially in third place. We're still waiting on some other updates from the rest of the field, but it seems like the bite has really picked up since yesterday.
10:42 a.m. – Long runs done
Cumberland is a huge lake and there's a lot of water to run. Fortunately, our top 10 pros have mostly all gotten to their starting spots and are getting after it.
Luke Plunkett is starting on a steep bluff wall and vertical banks throwing a spinnerbait. He's caught a short fish already but no keepers for him yet.
Leader Andrew Upshaw found a bluff bank of his own he likes. He's working a jig along that bank and has had a couple small bites, but he too has nothing in the box so far.
Rob Burns, on the other hand, has a nice one to start his day. He hooked into a beautiful smallmouth that will probably go north of 3 pounds and move him into the lead for now.
9:52 a.m. – Takeoff time on Championship Saturday
After a fog delay of nearly two hours, it’s finally takeoff time at Cumberland.
FLW pro Andrew Upshaw is one good day away from his second win this season. He came out on top back at Cherokee Lake when the FLW Tour visited there in April, and, not surprisingly, that was another southern fishery with a good mix of species that Upshaw dominated by hammering on smallmouths with finesse tactics.
Behind Upshaw is nine more hammers looking to knock him off his perch. He’s 6 pounds up on 10th place challenger David Valdivia, but as tough as Cumberland has been fishing this week, that doesn’t mean much. Upshaw has to catch a limit today and keep his consistency going.
Be sure to follow along here on the live blog and with FLW Live at flwfishing.com.
9:27 a.m. – About 30 minutes until go time
We're nearing a point where the fog will be cleared out enough to get the day started. It should be about 30 more minutes before anglers can saddle up and get to catching. Be sure to tune in to FLW Live for today's live broadcast and follow along with all the action.
8:10 a.m. – Fog delay to start final day
With dense fog blanketing much of Lake Cumberland, takeoff has been delayed until tournament director Mark McWha determines the conditions are safe for the final 10 boats to safely navigate its winding waters. Forecasts show fog hanging around throughout most of the morning, and there's no official timeline for takeoff. For now, the top 10 will have to wait it out.
We'll provide updates as we have them.
Conditions
Temperature at takeoff: 36 degrees
Forecast high: 53 degrees
Sky: Fog early giving way to abundant sunshine
Precipitation: 0 percent chance
Wind: W 9 mph
Tournament Details
Presented by Costa
Hosted by Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission
Takeoff: 8 a.m. ET at General Burnside Island State Park, 8801 S Highway 27, Burnside, Ky.
Weigh-in: 4 p.m. ET at General Burnside Island State Park
FLW Live: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET (weigh-in show)