By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

You can’t win a Bassmaster Elite Series event with one fish, but a single bite transformed John Crews’ day and kept the veteran from Salem, Va., in the lead on Day 3 of the tournament at Florida's St. Johns River with a three-day total of 58 pounds, 3 ounces.

Crews opened the event with a Thursday limit of 28 pounds and held on to the lead on Friday with a limit of 17-03. He added a 13-pound limit Saturday – anchored by a crucial 6-pounder – and overcame a slow morning to head into the final day with a lead of just 3-01 over hard-charging John Cox of DeBary, Fla.

Breaking his pattern of starting in Rodman Reservoir, Crews spent his first hour fishing the main river, where he caught a small keeper on a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a Missile Baits D Bomb in the bruiser (black/blue) color. Transitioning to the reservoir, he spent two unproductive hours before making a key transition.

“I fished the areas where I caught my fish the first day and I never had a bite,” Crews said. “I told my cameraman ‘We need to make a change, I’m going to go shallow. I think I can catch some small fish, fill out a limit and see what happens.’

“I made a run and when I set the boat down, I looked over and saw a clump of pads. The first flip was that 6-pounder. I pitched in there and when I reeled up, my line was zipping on out to the main channel.”

Bassmaster LIVE captured the entire sequence — including Crews’ clear expression of relief and encouragement.

“That let me know I made the right decision,” Crews said. “I just settled down, caught a limit and culled one in the vicinity.

“I feel like that fish had just moved up. When they just move up, they’re sitting there with their mouths open.”

Crews caught his big fish and one more on a Texas-rigged Missile Baits Quiver Worm. He caught the rest of his Rodman fish on a Zoom Fluke.

Crews said he’s not comfortable that enough fish have moved up shallow in Rodman to stake his final day on that pattern. He said he believes he can catch a couple shallow if he needs to salvage his day, but he may end up expanding his game plan for Day 4.

With the final-round forecast showing cloudy, windy and possibly rainy weather, Crews said the change might stimulate the Rodman bite – just not necessarily the shallow game.

“If we get that weather, I think the fish may go to biting,” he said. “Rodman’s a lot clearer than the river and a little weather would probably go a long way.”

After placing 57th on Day 1 with 9-06, Cox added 13-13 on Day 2 and rose to 38th. On Saturday, he electrified the weigh-in crowd with the tournament’s heaviest catch – a massive limit of 31-15, anchored by an 8-05, which pushed him into second with 55-02.

“I’m thrilled; I’ve been waiting to catch a 30-pound bag here,” Cox said. “Every time we’ve had an event here, whether it was the Opens or the Elites, I always knew that was possible. I was like ‘One of these days, it’s going to line up.’ Today it did. I’m so glad I made it into Semifinal Saturday.”

Running an hour south of Palatka, Cox fished a backwater area off the main river and focused his effort on shallow cover. With daytime highs and overnight lows rising significantly since Day 1, Cox knew a shoreward movement was imminent.

“When I pulled up today, there was a buck (smaller male bass) on every bed and I was like ‘Oh gosh,’” Cox said. “I kept trolling by them and then I ran into a big one, then another big one.”

Cox caught his fish on a black prototype Berkley craw bait rigged on a 3/0 Berkley Fusion Flipping Hook. He found his fish in a variety of habitat settings and one of those fish took an hour to entice.

Elite rookie Masayuki Matsushita of Tokoname-Shi, Japan slipped a spot to third with a three-day total of 52-13. After placing 41st on Day 1 with 12-01, he rose 39 spots to second after catching Day 2’s heaviest bag — 23-05. On Saturday, Matsushita added 17-07.

Spending his day in Crescent Lake, Matsushita caught three of his keepers on a free rig. A Japanese innovation, his rig comprised a Texas-rigged Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm (redbug color) with a teardrop-shaped sinker hanging perpendicular to his line and a bobber stop keeping the weight within a limited range.

Matsushita caught the rest of his keepers on 1/4- and 3/8-ounce versions of the Deps Matsuraba swim jig that he designed. He used brown craw swim jigs and paired them with Deps twin-tail trailers in green pumpkin black fleck.

“I threw the swim jig in shallower water around wood and used a straight retrieve,” Matsushita said. “Maybe the fish were on spawning beds, I don’t know.”

Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with the 9-13 largemouth he caught on Day 1.

The Top 10 remaining pros will take off Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET from Palatka City Docks. The weigh-in will be held at Palatka Riverfront Park at 3:30 p.m., with the winning angler earning $100,000.

Day 3 Standings

1. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 15, 58-03 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 28-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-00

2. John Cox -- DeBary, FL -- 15, 55-02 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 09-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13 -- Day 3: 5, 31-15

3. Masayuki Matsushita -- Tokoname-Shi, JAPAN -- 15, 52-13 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 23-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-07

4. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 15, 46-13 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-00

5. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 15, 46-09 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01 -- Day 3: 5, 15-12

6. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 15, 45-14 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-02

7. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 11, 44-13 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 27-04 -- Day 2: 1, 06-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-14

8. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 15, 42-13 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 22-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08

9. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 13, 42-12 -- 92
Day 1: 3, 04-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-11 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

10. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 13, 42-02 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 3, 07-09 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

11. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 15, 41-14 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 09-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-04

12. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 14, 41-06 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 4, 14-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13

13. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 41-04 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 11-02

14. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 15, 40-12 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09

15. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 14, 39-13 -- 86 -- $11,000
Day 1: 4, 08-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05

16. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 15, 39-12 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03

17. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 14, 39-03 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 07-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-01

18. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 15, 38-14 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 08-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-13

19. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 14, 38-11 -- 82 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 4, 12-05

20. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 13, 38-09 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 3, 07-01

21. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 12, 38-01 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-14 -- Day 2: 2, 06-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07

22. Bryan New -- Saluda, SC -- 12, 37-00 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 2, 03-03 -- Day 3: 5, 15-02

23. Jay Yelas -- Turner, OR -- 15, 36-06 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15

24. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 12, 36-03 -- 77 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03 -- Day 3: 2, 07-14

25. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 15, 35-15 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01

26. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 13 -- 34-02 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 08-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 4, 09-03

27. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 13, 34-01 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 3, 09-03

28. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 14, 33-08 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 4, 10-00

29. Buddy Gross -- Chatanooga, TN -- 10, 33-07 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 1, 04-10 -- Day 3: 4, 11-11

30. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 13, 33-06 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 3, 05-12

31. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 14, 33-00 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 4, 09-07

32. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 12, 32-10 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 4, 07-00 -- Day 3: 3, 06-07

33. Jay Przekurat -- Stevens Point, WI -- 12, 32-07 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 13-01 -- Day 2: 4, 11-06 -- Day 3: 4, 08-00

34. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 11, 32-05 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 3, 05-08 -- Day 3: 3, 07-14

35. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee ON -- 12, 32-05 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12 -- Day 3: 2, 03-00

36. Jonathan Kelley -- Old Forge, PA -- 10, 32-00 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 3, 08-03 -- Day 3: 2, 05-09

37. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 12, 31-15 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00 -- Day 3: 2, 02-14

38. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 11, 31-09 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 08-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 3, 08-07

39. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 13, 31-08 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 07-10 -- Day 3: 3, 07-07

40. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 12, 30-07 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-09 -- Day 3: 2, 03-12

41. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 14, 30-01 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 08-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 08-06

42. Gary Clouse -- Winchester, TN -- 11, 29-13 -- 59 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07 -- Day 3: 1, 03-02

43. David Williams -- Newton, NC -- 12, 29-03 -- 58 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 4, 10-12 -- Day 3: 3, 06-12

44. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 12, 28-10 -- 57 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 2, 02-06 -- Day 3: 5, 07-04

45. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 12, 27-11 -- 56 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 10-00 -- Day 3: 2, 02-14

46. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 12, 24-08 -- 55 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-14 -- Day 2: 5, 10-01 -- Day 3: 2, 03-09

47. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 8, 22-14 -- 54 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 09-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 1, 01-03