DAYTON, Tenn. (May 4, 2019) – FLW Tour rookie Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, caught four big largemouth late in the day Saturday to anchor his 25-pound, 15-ounce limit and jump to the top of the leaderboard after Day Three of the FLW Tournament at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Nelson’s five-bass limit was one of just four brought to the scale Saturday that weighed in excess of 20 pounds, telling when you consider that the lake had pumped out 19, 20+ pound limits in the first two days of competition.
Nelson (15 bass, 65-0) will now bring a 14-ounce lead over second-place angler Matt Greenblatt of Port St. Lucie, Florida, (15 bass, 64-2) – who led the tournament after Day Two – into Championship Sunday. Also in striking distance in third place, is Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, (15 bass, 62-9), local favorite Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Georgia, (15 bass, 62-2) and Polaris pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, (15 bass, 60-4).
“I feel honored to be here,” said Nelson, who, although a Tour rookie, has three career tournament wins in Costa FLW Series competition. “I had no idea that I had 25 pounds. I had a real slow day and just stuck with it and stuck with it and it started snowballing real quick at the end of the day.
“I’d been running around like Buddy (Gross), burning gas,” Nelson continued. “I was way down the lake and (FLW cameraman) Jody (White) showed up around 1:30 or 2. I caught a big one and was going to leave, then I caught another big one. So I’m getting ready to leave, then I catch another big one. Then I left and came back up the lake and I caught another big one up here. It was truly a blessing.”
Nelson’s four late-in-the-day largemouth came from similar water, but his last kicker came on a different bait. Nelson declined to mention any specifics, but did say that he was catching fish on “a couple of different baits.”
“I’m excited, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself,” Nelson said. “Yesterday I dropped the ball and only had 14 pounds. I just don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I may go out and catch 12 pounds, or I could catch 35. I’m just going to keep an open mind and work hard all day. I’ll be looking for a big bag tomorrow.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Sunday on Lake Chickamauga are:
1st: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 65-0
2nd: Matt Greenblatt, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 15 bass, 64-2
3rd: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 62-9
4th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., 15 bass, 62-2
5th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 60-4
6th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 58-2
7th: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 15 bass, 57-0
8th: Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 15 bass, 55-5
9th: Jared McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., 15 bass, 55-3
10th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., 15 bass, 54-2
Finishing in 11th through 30th are:
11th: Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., 15 bass, 52-8, $12,000
12th: James Niggemeyer, Van, Texas, 15 bass, 52-0, $12,000
13th: Charlie Ingram, Centerville, Tenn., 15 bass, 50-15, $12,000
14th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 15 bass, 50-10, $12,000
15th: Chris Whitson, Louisville, Tenn., 15 bass, 50-5, $12,000
16th: Luke Dunkin, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 49-8, $11,500
17th: Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 49-4, $11,500
18th: Glenn Chappelear, Acworth, Ga., 15 bass, 49-2, $11,500
19th: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., 12 bass, 48-7, $11,500
20th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 15 bass, 47-12, $11,500
21st: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 15 bass, 47-8, $10,500
22nd: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, 15 bass, 47-5, $10,500
23rd: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 15 bass, 47-5, $10,500
24th: Sam George, Athens, Ala., 15 bass, 47-1, $10,500
25th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 15 bass, 46-1, $10,500
26th: David Gaston, Sylacauga, Ala., 15 bass, 44-0, $10,500
27th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 15 bass, 42-15, $10,500
28th: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 14 bass, 42-11, $10,500
29th: Terry Bolton, Benton, Ky., 13 bass, 39-11, $10,500
30th: Clark Reehm, Elm Grove, La., 13 bass, 36-3, $10,500
Overall there were 145 bass weighing 462 pounds, 2 ounces, caught by pros Saturday. Of the final 30 pros, 27 of them were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.