By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

Despite a lifetime of fishing Lake Fork and several years of guiding on the East Texas powerhouse, Lee Livesay found something he’d never seen before and that revelation delivered a Day-3 limit of 27 pounds, 5 ounces that kept him atop the standings at the Bassmaster Elite Series event with a three-day weight of 87-15.

Livesay heads into the final round with a 3 1/2-pound advantage over Brandon Palaniuk — and he credits much of his success to that new discovery.

“Most of the fish I’ve caught this week have come from a spot I’ve never even caught a bass on,” said Livesay, who won his first Bassmaster Open at Ross Barnett Reservoir on April 30. “I found them the first day of practice and thought they were little, but they grew. I got lucky yesterday and got an 8-pounder on another spot where it was just her.”

Livesay knows Fork intimately, but the spot he’s leveraging this week was so unassuming that it had never caught his eye. During practice, another tournament crowded the lake’s diminished waters – the lake level is down 5 1/2 feet for dam repairs – so Livesay searched for less obvious spots.

“I went looking at off-the-wall stuff I’d never looked at,” he said. “When I found them, I thought they were catfish. I came back the second day of practice and caught two under 4 pounds.

“I kind of wrote it off because usually a big one will bite before the little ones. But I went to it (during the tournament) and caught most of my bag there yesterday and all but my biggest one there today.”

Livesay described his spot as a small point reaching into the standing timber with a high spot. That 30-foot by 30-foot section has hard bottom where bass pull up to feed.

While the first two days saw Livesay catching fish early and securing all of his weight by late morning, Saturday kept him waiting until 9:15 a.m. for his first keeper. Another difference: Livesay couldn’t find the big afternoon bites the first two days, but he caught an 8-2 Saturday shortly after noon.

That kicker came off a deep point that was loaded with white bass – a common forage for Lake Fork giants.

Livesay caught all of his bass on a 6th Sense Divine Hybrid Jig with a Netbait Paca Craw.

Palaniuk caught 26-09 on Day 1 to place eighth before adding a second-round limit of 30-10 – his first limit of 30-plus in Bassmaster competition – to rise to second. His Day-3 bag of 27-13 gave the former Bassmaster Angler of the Year a total of 84-7.

While many anglers reported flurries of activity, Palaniuk caught one good fish each hour from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. He started with a 5-01 at 7:21, added a 3-09 at 8:44, then a 3-10 (9:01), a 6-06 (10:03), a 5-15 (11:46) and a 6-13 (12:06).

“Yesterday, I had a major flurry; today I just didn’t,” Palaniuk said. “The fish were moving around a lot, they wouldn’t stay in my places and really set up.

“I would have thought that with today’s lighter wind, they would have hunkered down, but with less wind, the bait’s probably moving differently, it’s not pushed up against there and the bass just moved with the bait.”

Returning to the same spots in the lake’s lower basin where he fished the previous two days, Palaniuk caught his bass over hard bottom with a variety of Rapala crankbaits and a big spoon.

Gerald Swindle is in third place with 80-14. After placing third on Day 1 with 29-07, he added 22-05 and slipped to fourth on Day 2. His Day-3 limit of 29-02 helped him move up a notch with 80-14.

The Top 10 anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CT Sunday from Sabine River Authority Headquarters – Lake Fork. The weigh-in will be held at the same location at 3:10 p.m., with the winner earning $100,000.



Day 3 Standings

1. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 15, 87-15 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 32-00 -- Day 2: 5, 28-10 -- Day 3: 5, 27-05

2. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 15, 84-07 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 26-09 -- Day 2: 5, 30-01 -- Day 3: 5, 27-13

3. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 80-14 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 29-07 -- Day 2: 5, 22-05 -- Day 3: 5, 29-02

4. Bryan New -- Saluda, SC -- 15, 75-05 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 23-07 -- Day 2: 5, 28-14 -- Day 3: 5, 23-00

5. Joshua Stracner -- Vandiver, AL -- 15, 74-12 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 27-00 -- Day 3: 5, 30-10

6. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 15, 72-15 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 26-11 -- Day 2: 5, 24-07 -- Day 3: 5, 21-13

7. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 15, 72-08 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 20-15 -- Day 2: 5, 25-05 -- Day 3: 5, 26-04

8. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 15, 71-03 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 26-04 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03 -- Day 3: 5, 24-12

9. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 71-01 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 24-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02 -- Day 3: 5, 26-03

10. Derek Hudnall -- Denham Springs, LA -- 15, 70-00 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 24-05 -- Day 2: 5, 23-02 -- Day 3: 5, 22-09

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

11. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 69-04 -- 90 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 24-08 -- Day 3: 5, 25-07

12. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 15, 67-14 -- 89 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 22-14 -- Day 2: 5, 23-13 -- Day 3: 5, 21-03

13. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 67-12 -- 88 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 28-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10 -- Day 3: 5, 22-11

14. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 15, 67-12 -- 87 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-11 -- Day 2: 5, 28-01 -- Day 3: 5, 23-00

15. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 15, 66-15 -- 86 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 22-04 -- Day 2: 5, 21-05 -- Day 3: 5, 23-06

16. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 15, 66-03 -- 85 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 24-00

17. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 15, 66-00 -- 84 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 23-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-06 -- Day 3: 5, 22-08

18. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 15, 65-14 -- 83 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 26-06 -- Day 3: 5, 20-01

19. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 15, 65-05 -- 82 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 27-08 -- Day 3: 5, 19-01

20. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 15, 65-04 -- 81 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 32-05 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-09

21. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 15, 64-02 -- 80 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 27-07 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07 -- Day 3: 5, 15-04

22. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 15, 63-13 -- 79 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 21-03

23. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 15, 63-06 -- 78 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 27-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 22-05

24. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, ON -- 15, 63-03 -- 77 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-10 -- Day 3: 5, 26-03

25. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 15, 62-09 -- 76 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 24-05 -- Day 2: 5, 17-06 -- Day 3: 5, 20-14

26. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 15, 60-15 -- 75 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 19-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15 -- Day 3: 5, 25-14

27. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 60-15 -- 74 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 24-11 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 5, 20-15

28. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 15, 60-11 -- 73 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 24-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 19-13

29. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 15, 60-02 -- 72 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12 -- Day 3: 5, 18-14

30. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 15, 59-15 -- 71 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 23-06 -- Day 2: 5, 19-08 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

31. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 15, 57-10 -- 70 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 24-15 -- Day 3: 5, 17-14

32. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 15, 57-09 -- 69 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 5, 23-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08

33. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 15, 57-08 -- 68 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 23-05 -- Day 2: 5, 21-04 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

34. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 15, 57-08 -- 67 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09 -- Day 3: 5, 19-12

35. Daisuke Aoki -- Minamitsurugun, JAPAN -- 15, 57-08 -- 66 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10

36. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA -- 15, 57-03 -- 65 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 19-04

37. Josh Douglas -- Isle, MN -- 14, 56-12 -- 64 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 25-05 -- Day 2: 4, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 21-05

38. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 15, 56-08 -- 63 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 20-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15 -- Day 3: 5, 17-15

39. Darold Gleason -- Many, LA -- 15, 56-03 -- 62 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 19-08 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07

40. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 14, 54-09 -- 61 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02 -- Day 3: 5, 18-08

41. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 15, 54-07 -- 60 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 20-07 -- Day 3: 5, 17-06

42. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 15, 53-14 -- 59 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15 -- Day 3: 5, 19-00

43. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 15, 51-06 -- 58 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 21-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 16-10

44. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 15, 51-00 -- 57 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-04 -- Day 3: 5, 14-15

45. Jay Yelas -- Turner, OR -- 10, 46-03 -- 56 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 22-15 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00

46. Bob Downey -- Detroit Lakes, MN -- 13, 45-07 -- 55 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 23-13 -- Day 3: 3, 05-08

47. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 9, 37-00 -- 54 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 11-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09 -- Day 3: 1, 02-11