Kevin VanDam

Reese Catches 21-13 To Take Full Command

April 18, 2010
(bassfan.com, April 18, 2010)

The leaderboard at the Smith Mountain Bassmaster Elite Series in Virginia now looks a lot like the circuit’s Angler of the Year (AOY) race – there’s Skeet Reese, and then there’s everybody else.

The No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings is threatening to put together one of the most dominant seasons ever. He caught a 21-13 bag today – best of the day by nearly 5 1/2 pounds – that gave him a 3-day total of 58-03. He has a 6-05 lead and has all but assured himself of a third straight Top-5 finish to begin the campaign.

Two-day leader Jason Williamson sacked a respectable 15-03 for a 51-14 2nd-place total, but he now finds himself trailing by nearly the weight of the biggest fish caught in the tournament. He likely needs a final-day stumble by Reese to have a shot at his second career victory.

Bobby Lane weighed his lightest bag of the event (13-02), but moved up two places to 3rd with 48-02. On the flip side, he was less than 2 pounds out of the lead when the day started, but now trails by more than 10.

Matt Reed caught 13-13 today and climbed two spots to 4th with 47-11. Dean Rojas rounded out the Top 5 as he gained five places with a 15-07 sack for a 47-00 total.

Here are the Top 12 who’ll fish the final day (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margin from leader):

1. Skeet Reese: 58-03
2. Jason Williamson: 51-14 (6-05)
3. Bobby Lane: 48-02 (10-01)
4. Matt Reed: 47-11 (10-08)
5. Dean Rojas: 47-00 (11-03)
6. Edwin Evers: 46-15 (11-04)
7. Terry Scroggins: 46-07 (11-12)
8. Greg Hackney: 46-01 (12-02)
9. Aaron Martens: 45-05 (12-14)
10. Gerald Swindle: 45-02 (13-01)
11. Marty Robinson: 44-15 (13-04)
12. Ish Monroe: 44-13 (13-06)

Sight-fishing was still a big factor today despite winds that blew to 30 mph and a depleted number of spawners, but it wasn’t how Reese compiled his massive sack. He mentioned on stage that he ended up culling all of the bed-fish he caught this morning, and they were replaced by bigger specimens enticed by a swimbait.

There were only two changes in the Top 12 today – Greg Hackney climbed from 18th to 8th with a 16-07 bag (second-best of the day) and Ish Monroe improved from 20th to 12th with 15-04. Two-circuit pros Monroe and 6th-place Edwin Evers will have an abbreviated practice for the Fort Loudoun-Tellico FLW Tour, which gets under way Wednesday.

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