By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
PALATKA, Fla. — Even the ideal habitat cannot fully hide from a major Florida cold front. Just ask Bill Lowen, who fought through a slower Day 3 to retain his lead in the Bassmaster Elite Series season opener at the St. Johns River.
After placing third on Day 1 with 21-5, the Brookville, Ind., pro moved into the lead with a second-round limit of 24-4. Adding 18-1 on Saturday, Lowen heads into the final round with 63-10 and a 5-4 lead over John Garrett.
“That water where I’m fishing is about 4 degrees colder than it was yesterday,” Lowen said in reference to the sharp cold front that arrived on Thursday. “I had one little zone that was a couple degrees warmer, and that’s where I caught all my fish.
“My primary area where I caught ‘em the last two days, I never caught a fish there today. When the tide got right (around 11 a.m.), I made sure I was there, and I caught my two biggest fish. The tide is so important here and if you miss that window, you’ll miss those big bites.”
Sticking to the game plan that delivered his prior success, Lowen spent most of his day in a creek north of takeoff. He targeted shallow, submerged wood but he noted that the creek’s 27-foot depths proved strategic in giving the bass greater stability than shallower areas throughout the St. Johns system.
“That was kinda my game plan – to find those creeks with deeper water in them for the cold front,” Lowen said. “That would give those fish somewhere to fall back to instead of being in a big, shallow bay. That was my whole game plan and, so far, it’s working. Hopefully, it will work one more day.”
Lowen caught most of his weight on a swim jig. He caught a few smaller fish on a flipping jig, but a slow, winding presentation carried his day.
Lowen’s committed to his shallow-water program, but he said he might relocate for part of Sunday.
“I’m going to go run that primary deal that I’ve been fishing and then I have two areas about 8 miles up from there that I haven’t been to yet,” Lowen said. “Maybe I’ll use them tomorrow.
“I might start on one of them tomorrow just to see. I’d hate to not go and say, ‘What if?’ I might check those two other areas tomorrow and get back to my primary area when the tide gets right.”
While Lowen’s making no final-round predictions, he said he’s looking forward to another day of familiar fishing.
“I’m fishing the way I like to fish; I’m fishing in my comfort zone. I feel like you fish to the best of your ability when you do that. I’m fishing that way and for the first time in my career, I’m really not nervous at all.
“God willing, it will happen. If not and I don’t catch a bass tomorrow, the last three days have been amazing.”
Hailing from Union City, Tenn., Garrett wowed the crowd with a Day-3 megasack that registered 31-6 and eclipsed his combined first two days’ weights of 14-12 and 12-4. Tallying a three-day total of 58-6, Garrett rocketed up the standings from 38th to second.
“It was a total surprise,” said Garrett, who anchored his bag with an 8-6. “I went out with zero expectations. I was like, ‘I hope I don’t fall to 50th today,’ because that was how little I was on.
“I just started running new water and I ran across that spot.”
Garrett said he traveled south of takeoff and found his fish on a main-river shellbar in 10-13 feet of water. He wasn’t sure if the fish were prespawners or postspawners, but they were aggressive.
“I caught a lot of bass today,” Garrett said. “I caught six fish on that spot and left them alone. Today was special.
“We had a lot of hard north wind the past two days, and we had a lot of water moving out. I’m not sure how hard that water will be moving tomorrow, or if those fish will be there, but I’m excited to get back and see if they’re there.”
During an hour-long tear, Garrett lit up the BassTrakk standings with an amazing run that erased all but an ounce of Lowen’s advantage. Lowen’s late-morning efforts would rebuild his lead, but Garrett’s heroics yielded the event’s heaviest bag and his personal best.
Garrett’s third-round limit is the seventh-largest single-day bag caught during a Bassmaster event on the St. Johns River.
Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., is in third place with 54-5. A Day-1 limit of 24-15 put him atop the standings and buoyed him to second when Day 2 yielded only 12-12. Przekurat fared a little better on Day 3 with 16-10, but slipped another spot.
“I’m just happy that I was able get that big bag the first day and I was able to ride it into a Top 10,” Przekurat said. “That was my goal for today – just ride it out. I wasn’t sure after I had that struggle yesterday with (a smaller bag).
“I bounced back a little bit today and put a nice 5-pounder in the boat. I think I just hit a little stretch of fish that were active, compared to the ones I was fishing.”
Przekurat spent most of his time in canals near the lower end of Lake George. Fishing around docks and kickouts, he caught his fish on a shallow-running jerkbait.
John Cox of Debary, Fla., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 8-13.
Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET at the Palatka City Boat Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at Palatka Riverfront Park at 3 p.m.
Day 3 Standings
1. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 15, 63-10 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 21-05 -- Day 2: 5, 24-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-01
2. John Garrett -- Union City, TN -- 15, 58-06 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 31-06
3. Jay Przekurat -- Plover, WI -- 15, 54-05 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 24-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 16-10
4. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 15, 53-05 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03 -- Day 3: 5, 17-14
5. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 15, 52-06 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 17-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 18-03
6. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 15, 49-14 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12
7. Cory Johnston – Otonabee, ON -- 15, 49-09 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 5, 22-07
8. Patrick Walters -- Eutawville, SC -- 15, 49-06 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-15
9. Jake Whitaker -- Hendersonville, NC -- 15, 49-01 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 20-09
10. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 48-10 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05 -- Day 3: 5, 17-05
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on Day 4
11. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 13, 48-04 -- 94 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 3, 08-03 -- Day 3: 5, 20-05
12. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 15, 48-02 -- 93 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-04
13. Seth Feider -- Elko New Market, MN -- 14, 46-12 -- 92 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08 -- Day 3: 4, 09-05
14. Robert Gee -- Knoxville, TN -- 15, 46-09 -- 91 -- $7,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-05
15. Chris Johnston – Otonabee, ON – 15, 46-08 -- 90 -- $8,000
Day 1: 5, 10-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12 -- Day 3: 5, 16-15
16. Evan Kung – Pickering, ON – 15, 46-01 -- 89 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 19-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11
17. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 12, 45-15 -- 88 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 22-13 -- Day 2: 2, 05-09 -- Day 3: 5, 17-09
18. Logan Parks -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 45-07 -- 87 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-09
19. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 15, 44-15 -- 86 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02 -- Day 3: 5, 09-11
20. Kyle Norsetter -- Cottage Grove, WI -- 15, 44-10 -- 85 -- $6,500
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-11 -- Day 3: 5, 14-07
21. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, AL -- 15, 44-06 -- 84 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 09-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03 -- Day 3: 5, 18-07
22. Carl Jocumsen – Queensland, AUS – 15, 43-11 -- 83 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 08-14 -- Day 3: 5, 18-09
23. Joey Cifuentes III -- Clinton, AR -- 15, 43-07 -- 82 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-15 -- Day 3: 5, 09-00
24. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 15, 43-06 -- 81 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 14-11
25. Tucker Smith -- Birmingham, AL -- 15, 43-03 -- 80 -- $6,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 12-09
26. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 12, 41-15 -- 79 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 2, 09-13
27. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 13, 41-08 -- 78 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09 -- Day 3: 3, 07-15
28. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 15, 41-07 -- 77 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03
29. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 14, 41-04 -- 76 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-10 -- Day 3: 4, 08-03
30. Bryant Smith -- Roseville, CA -- 15, 41-01 -- 75 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08
31. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 15, 40-12 -- 74 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05 -- Day 3: 5, 14-11
32. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 15, 40-03 -- 73 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15
33. Emil Wagner -- Marietta, GA -- 15, 40-03 -- 72 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 09-10
34. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 15, 39-11 -- 71 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12 -- Day 3: 5, 09-02
35. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 15, 37-12 -- 70 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 09-07 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08 -- Day 3: 5, 10-13
36. Jason Christie -- Dry Creek, OK -- 14, 37-12 -- 69 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05 -- Day 3: 4, 05-14
37. Taku Ito – Dalton, GA -- 15, 37-11 -- 68 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11
38. Logan Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 37-09 -- 67 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15 -- Day 3: 5, 07-09
39. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 13, 37-07 -- 66 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 3, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 09-00
40. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 15, 37-02 -- 65 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 10-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-09
41. Bryan New -- Leesville, SC -- 12, 37-00 -- 64 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 20-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 2, 03-11
42. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 15, 37-00 -- 63 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 15-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08 -- Day 3: 5, 08-13
43. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 14, 36-15 -- 62 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 07-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-01 -- Day 3: 4, 10-02
44. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 14, 36-06 -- 61 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 08-03 -- Day 3: 4, 07-01
45. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 12, 36-03 -- 60 -- $5,500
Day 1: 4, 10-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13 -- Day 3: 3, 07-13
46. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 14, 35-05 -- 59 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07 -- Day 3: 4, 08-06
47. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 15, 35-04 -- 58 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 09-00 -- Day 3: 5, 07-03
48. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA -- 15, 33-04 -- 57 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 06-07
49. Alex Wetherell -- Middletown, CT -- 13, 32-07 -- 56 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 08-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08 -- Day 3: 3, 06-01
50. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 11, 27-09 -- 55 -- $5,500
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 1, 01-03
