Lead Nearly 6 Pounds
Velvick Keeps Distance Between Him And Challengers

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Byron Velvick caught the day's best bag at Clear Lake for the second time in 3 days.

Velvick caught a day-best 24-08 today and extended his lead to an ounce shy of 6 pounds in his quest for a wire-to-wire victory, which would be his first on the Elite Series. He boosted his 3-day total to 75-01 and tomorrow he'll try to fend off a pack of pursuers that includes both the oldest and youngest competitors on the circuit.

The two closest to him also surpassed the 24-pound mark today, and they again fished the same small ditch. Ohio's Bill Lowen weighed 24-02 and moved up to 2nd with a 69-09 total and 70-year-old North Carolinian Guy Eaker caught 24-00 and gained one place to 3rd with 68-04.

Alabamian Randy Howell surrendered two spots today with a 20-10 bag – his lightest of the tournament – that left him 4th with 67-04. Bradley Roy, a 19-year-old Kentuckian, held onto the No. 5 slot with a 22-09 stringer for a 64-02 total.

Here's a look at the 12 anglers who'll fish tomorrow, with red numbers in parentheses indicating deficit margin from leader:

1. Byron Velvick: 75-08
2. Bill Lowen: 69-09 (5-15)
3. Guy Eaker: 68-04 (7-04)
4. Randy Howell: 67-04 (8-04)
5. Bradley Roy: 64-02 (11-06)
6. Terry Butcher: 62-12 (12-12)
7. Jared Lintner: 62-08 (13-00)
8. Matt Herren: 61-15 (13-09)
9. Boyd Duckett: 61-11 (13-13)
10. Brian Snowden: 61-05 (14-03)
11. Skeet Reese: 60-02 (13-06)
12. Tommy Biffle: 58-15 (16-09)

Weather conditions weren't much different than they've been throughout the event – mostly sunny with little wind. Weights were a bit higher overall – 18 of the 47 anglers weighed 20 pounds or more – but no double-digit giants showed up. A 7-07 caught by Brian Snowden was the largest fish that came to the scale.

There were just three newcomers to the Top 12 today: Boyd Duckett (13th to 9th with 22-15), Brian Snowden (14th to 10th, 22-12) and Tommy Biffle (16th to 12th, 20-10). They supplanted Bobby Lane (7th to 22nd, 14-08), Grant Goldbeck (10th to 17th, 16-15) and Greg Hackney (12th to 16th, 17-12).

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito A slow morning had some observers thinking that Velvick might slip today, but such prognostications proved to be inaccurate.

Velvick Strong Again

Velvick had a slow morning and there was talk around the launch site that there might be a new leader by the end of the day. No chance.

"I had one before the last boat was out, but then it got slow," he said. "I caught another one at 9:00 and then I got my big one (a 7-pounder) about 11:30.

"I missed a couple of key fish early – I know there were two that cost me for sure. I basically camped in one place and I made my last cull about an hour before weigh-in."

He continued to rely primarily on a swimbait while tossing something else now and again. He's shooting for his second BASS win here – he topped an Invitational in 2000 with a 3-day weight record of 83-05.

"After the Delta (where he finished 82nd last week), I wanted to come here and have fun, and I can't do that by throwing a split-shot around. I decided I'd start where I caught the 83 pounds and work from there.

"I'm still waiting on one other area to make an adjustment, and I could bop in there for an hour or 2 tomorrow and it wouldn't kill me. I just want to put five fish in the boat and if I can do that, I should win it."

2nd: No Changes for Lowen

Lowen weighed his best bag of the tournament, and that occurred because of one late bite.

"I had a little guy, but I replaced it with a 5-pounder with about 10 minutes to go," he said. "I went to the same area and fished the same stuff, and I'm tickled with what I caught."

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Bill Lowen weighed his best bag of the tournament today and moved up to 2nd place.

"He's got the shallower stuff and I'm fishing a little deeper. We went in there today and let them have it, and we'll go back and do it again tomorrow."

3rd: Eaker's Lipless Still Getting Bit

Eaker continued to do most of his damage with a Lucky Craft LV 500 rattlebait.

"I did the same thing, but I caught them a little better," he said. "I've been throwing a red (bait), but I missed three in a row, so I picked up a gold one and caught two right away."

His other main weapon is a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. "I caught two of them on that today."

He caught 12 or 13 keepers today, all between 4 and 5 pounds. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, he's assured of his best finish since the inception of the Elite Series in 2006 and after his 24th-place finish at the Delta, he'll leave California with a pair of strong showings.

And his first tour-level win still isn't out of the question. He admitted he'll be a little nervous tomorrow morning.

"I've been doing this for 35 years and I still get tensed up, but it all goes away once I make that first cast."

4th: Another Quick Limit for Howell

As has been his norm for the tournament, Howell caught all but a small portion of his sack shortly after he shut off his big motor. A jerkbait is the enticer for those fish, which hang out in relatively deep water for awhile before moving shallower after the sun emerges.

"I had 20 pounds in 25 minutes and then it was a grind after that," he said. "I'm due to ge a big bite, though. I still haven't gotten one, but maybe it'll happen tomorrow."

The staging area he's fishing is a popular haunt for local anglers, and he was concerned that he might have too much company today. No live-bait anglers showed up, however, and the few club-level fishermen he encountered gave him ample room.

He believes there's a chance he could catch a giant bag tomorrow and move to the top if Velvick slips a little.

"I know they have to swim through there to get to that flat. But if I haven't caught much after the first 2 hours tomorrow, I have a couple places where I'll go and throw a swimbait."

5th: Less Becomes More for Roy

Roy had a bit of a tough time in his main area this morning, but ended up weighing his best sack of the tournament.

"There weren't as many fish in there as there had been and I struggled a little," he said. "I started running around and trying to fish places where the wind was right.

"Overall it was a slower day, but I ended up with a better weight."

He went through 10 or 11 keepers and his best weighed a little over 5 pounds. He'll try to catch an even bigger sack tomorrow in an effort to improve his placement.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito At age 70, Guy Eaker has a shot at his first tour-level win.

He said he feels a little bit of anxiety about competing in the final-day field in his second pro event, but not too much.

"I'm trying to stay calm because the calmer I am, the better I fish. I just hope I can get them to bite tomorrow."

41st: Remitz will Take It

A West Coast swing seems to be just what Alabama's Derek Remitz needs to get a season off to a good start. He launched his excellent rookie campaign here in 2007 – which included a win at Amistad – but struggled badly the last 2 years when the circuit didn't come to the region.

Now he'll head east with two paychecks, which is half the number he earned all of last year.

"I'm happy," he said. "I've got a whole new outlook and a brand new attitude."

He threw a jig the first day, but worked mainly with a jerkbait the last 2. He caught plenty of fish, but the bigger ones eluded him.

"The last day of practice I saw 6-, 7- and 8-pounders swimming around (in his primary area), but during the tournament I was just catching the bucks."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 47 anglers, 44 limits, 1 four, 1 three, 1 one.

> Morizo Shimizu was first out of the cut, finishing 11 ounces behind Tommy Biffle.

> In addition to Roy, three other Elite rookies will leave here with paychecks after the group of seven was shut out last week at the Delta. Matt Greenblatt finished 18th, Cliff Crochet 44th and Keith Poche 45th.

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the final day of the tournament.

> Sun., March 21 - P.M. Showers - 64°/38°
- Wind: From the SW at 7 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, Texas -- 15, 75-08
Day 1: 5, 29-00 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00 -- Day 3: 5, 24-08

2. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, Ohio -- 15, 69-09
Day 1: 5, 22-14 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09 -- Day 3: 5, 24-02

3. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, N.C. -- 15, 68-04
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 5, 22-06 -- Day 3: 5, 24-00

4. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 15, 67-04
Day 1: 5, 23-03 -- Day 2: 5, 23-07 -- Day 3: 5, 20-10

5. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, Ky. -- 15, 64-02
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 22-01 -- Day 3: 5, 22-09

6. Terry Butcher -- Talala, Okla. -- 15, 62-12
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 22-12

7. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 15, 62-08
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 5, 21-06

8. Matt Herren -- Trussville, Ala. -- 15, 61-15
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 21-12

9. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, Ala. -- 15, 61-11
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14 -- Day 3: 5, 22-15

10. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 15, 61-05
Day 1: 5, 17-06 -- Day 2: 5, 21-03 -- Day 3: 5, 22-12

11. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 15, 60-02
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12 -- Day 3: 5, 21-02

12. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Okla. -- 15, 58-15
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 20-10

The following anglers did not make the cut and won't be fishing tomorrow.

13. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 15, 58-04 -- 251 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05 -- Day 3: 5, 20-12

14. Dave Wolak -- Wake Forest, N.C. -- 15, 57-11 -- 248 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05 -- Day 3: 5, 23-14

15. Pat Golden -- High Point, N.C. -- 15, 57-07 -- 245 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 19-10

16. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La. -- 15, 56-10 -- 243 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 22-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-12

17. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, Md. -- 15, 56-06 -- 241 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-05 -- Day 3: 5, 16-15

18. Matt Greenblatt -- Palm Beach Gardens, Fl -- 15, 56-03 -- 239 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12 -- Day 3: 5, 19-10

19. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 15, 55-15 -- 237 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13 -- Day 3: 5, 20-13

20. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, Texas -- 15, 55-14 -- 235 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-15

21. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, Mo. -- 15, 55-12 -- 233 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 20-00

22. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fla. -- 15, 55-08 -- 231 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 5, 24-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

23. Edwin Evers -- Talala, Okla. -- 15, 55-08 -- 229 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 5, 19-09

24. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, Ala. -- 13, 55-00 -- 227 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-08

25. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, N.J. -- 15, 54-15 -- 225 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-09

26. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, Ark. -- 15, 54-07 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00 -- Day 3: 5, 20-05

27. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 15, 54-04 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 17-11

28. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, Ark. -- 15, 53-12 -- 219 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-11 -- Day 2: 5, 20-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-06

29. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, N.C. -- 13, 53-12 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15 -- Day 3: 5, 20-12

30. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Texas -- 15, 53-08 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-00

31. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, Ark. -- 15, 53-04 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 19-09

32. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, Ariz 15, 53-01 -- 211 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-11

33. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, Okla. -- 15, 52-12 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

34. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, S.C. -- 15, 52-12 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-12

35. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, Texas -- 15, 52-07 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13

36. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, Ala. -- 15, 52-02 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-06

37. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Texas -- 15, 52-01 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11 -- Day 3: 5, 18-03

38. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 15, 51-15 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 17-15

39. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Texas -- 15, 51-10 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03 -- Day 3: 5, 16-15

40. Cliff Pace -- Petal, Miss. -- 15, 51-10 -- 195 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 5, 17-03

41. Derek Remitz -- Grant, Ala. -- 15, 50-09 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-10 -- Day 3: 5, 15-15

42. Shaw Grigsby -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 15, 50-08 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10 -- Day 3: 5, 17-12

43. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, Fla. -- 15, 50-04 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15 -- Day 3: 5, 16-03

44. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, La. -- 14, 49-12 -- 187 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02 -- Day 3: 4, 13-12

45. Keith Poche -- Troy, Ala. -- 15, 48-10 -- 185 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

46. Jami Fralick -- Martin, S.D. -- 12, 43-10 -- 183 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 4, 15-05 -- Day 3: 3, 10-04

47. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, Ky. -- 11, 37-01 -- 181 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00 -- Day 3: 1, 3-14