By Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons and Rob Connors
Cloudy skies, increasing breeze, and highs in the mid to upper 80’s today in Leesburg, Florida where anglers are launching on the Harris Chain on day-three of competition with $50,000 on the line. With clouds projected almost all day, the question is, will the shallow bite hold up?
Leader Jake Boomer struggled on day two with only 12-pounds in his livewell. When the sun broke late in the day, he snuck out to his offshore area and was able to catch 3 quality fish to salvage his day and maintain the lead.
2nd place angler David Gaston, the unofficial Progressive AOY Leader, had the tournaments biggest bag yesterday with over 22-pounds of bass, including an 8-pound, 6-ounce giant. David told me the clouds and win should help his bite while he anticipates pressure and clouds could wreak havoc on the shallow bite.
The kicker? The shad spawn. Some anglers have keyed into a bite that lasts a few hours in which they are able to catch fish, with some being quality. I didn’t get to talk to 3rd place angler John Soukup, who was seen throwing a frog on bonus live coverage provided by Fat Cat Newton. Soukup appears to be dialed into the shallow game.
Bryant Smith, who began the day in the 4th place spot caught a quick 14-pound bag on his early morning pattern of throwing moving baits around the shallow cypress trees inside the Kissimmee grass. With a solid limit to begin the morning, Bryan settles into a flipping bite and culls throughout the day.
Will the shallow flipping bite hold up or will pressure finally catch up with anglers on the final day? Who can adjust and get a key bite offshore if the sun does pop out?
Does David Gaston capitalize on his big bites and long fishing day today to come get it done? The final day is shaping up to be a good one here on the Harris Chain of Lakes.
How to Watch
Tune in daily June 3rd through the 5th to thenationalprofessionalfishingleague.com to watch daily LIVE Coverage, the LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and daily on the water photo galleries of the anglers on the Harris Chain of Lakes.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose LIVE Broadcast with links to the real-time LIVE Leaderboard with estimated weights entered by the anglers.
See the Results from Wright Patman Lake here!
