GAINESVILLE, Ga. (March 10, 2018) – Oklahoma pro Bradley Hallman has one previous career win on the FLW Tour – a 2016 event on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, where he led the tournament for four straight days and won by a near 15-pound margin. Hallman is looking to match that feat this week on Lake Lanier, as he weighed another limit of spotted bass totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to maintain his lead for the third straight day at the FLW Tournament at Lake Lanier. The field is now cut to the final 10 pros for Championship Sunday in the four-day event that featured a field of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals competing for a top prize of up to $125,000.
Hallman’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 55-3 will give him a solid 5-pound, 9-ounce advantage over second-place pro and fellow Oklahoman Zack Birge, who has a three-day total of 15 bass for 49-10. Also trying to catch Hallman on Sunday will be Canadian pro Jeff Gustafson of Keewatin, Ontario (48-10), who sits in third after making his second straight top-10 cut on the FLW Tour after finishing second at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida two weeks ago, and local pro Jason Johnson of Dawsonville (48-9), who will start Sunday in 4th place after weighing Saturday’s largest limit of 17-10.
“Today was a day where nothing really bad happened, but I’m happy that I salvaged what I did,” said Hallman, who is fishing in his 20th career FLW Tour event. “Every day I’ve been doing something different and today I caught some off of docks. I only had 10 bites and I put six of them in the boat. The four that I lost were ones that I really could have used.”
Hallman said that he caught his fish Saturday throwing a spinnerbait, a swimbait and a shaky-head rig.
“I caught 18 pounds fishing marinas yesterday,” he said. “I only caught one today. It was hard to get them to bite without the sun – you need the sun to shine to put them in position. When it’s cloudy like it was today, they just roam.
“One way or another, I’m going back to the marinas tomorrow,” Hallman went on to say. “I know how difficult it is to win these Tour events and I need to have a really good day tomorrow. The key will be staying open minded, like I did today. I’ve really enjoyed myself this week – this place is phenomenal.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Lake Lanier are:
1st: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., 15 bass, 55-3
2nd: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 15 bass, 49-10
3rd: Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 48-10
4th: Jason Johnson, Dawsonville, Ga., 15 bass, 48-9
5th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 15 bass, 47-10
6th: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., 15 bass, 47-5
7th: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 15 bass, 46-14
8th: Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 15 bass, 46-13
9th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., 15 bass, 46-6
10th: Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 46-4
Finishing in 11h through 30th are:
11th: Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-7, $12,000
12th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 45-6, $12,000
13th: Carl Jocumsen, Queensland, Australia, 15 bass, 45-4, $12,000
14th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 45-3, $12,000
15th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 44-12, $12,000
16th: David Nichol, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass, 44-10, $12,000
17th: Allen Boyd, Salem, Ind., 15 bass, 43-5, $12,000
18th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 42-12, $12,000
19th: James Niggemeyer, Van, Texas, 15 bass, 42-12, $12,000
20th: Jared McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., 15 bass, 41-12, $12,000
21st: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 15 bass, 41-9, $10,000
22nd: Jason Meninger, Saint Augustine, Fla., 15 bass, 41-8, $10,000
23rd: General Tire pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 15 bass, 40-10, $10,000
24th: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, 15 bass, 40-8, $10,000
25th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 14 bass, 40-8, $10,000
26th: Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., 15 bass, 40-8, $10,000
27th: James Watson, Lampe, Mo., 14 bass, 40-5, $10,000
28th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., 15 bass, 40-0, $10,000
29th: Rob Jordan, Flowery Branch, Ga., 15 bass, 39-12, $10,000
30th: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 15 bass, 39-10, $10,000
Overall there were 148 bass weighing 380 pounds, 3 ounces caught by pros Saturday, Of the final 30 pros, 28 of them were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.