Hallman extends lead on Day 3 at Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Okeechobee
Category: press release
Feb 6th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Feb 6th, 2016 at 12:00 AM
Anchored by an 8-pound, 10-ounce kicker, pro Bradley Hallman of Norman, Oklahoma, brought four bass to the scale Saturday totaling 14 pounds, 3 ounces to extend his lead to more than 13½ pounds heading in to the final day of competition at the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Okeechobee presented by Ranger Boats. Hallman’s four-day total of 64 pounds, 10 ounces make him the No. 1 seed on championship Sunday as the field is now cut to 10 in the four-day competition that features 169 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
In second place is Alex Davis of Albertville, Alabama, who weighed in five bass totaling 9-2 Saturday for a three-day cumulative weight of 15 bass worth 51-1. Clewiston local Brandon McMillan brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces for a three-day total of 44-3 to remain in sixth place.
“I had a really tough day today,” said Hallman, a former Bassmaster Elite Series angler who is fishing his first tournament on the Walmart FLW Tour. “It started off with the giant, and when I caught that I was thinking ‘This just might be the week for me.’ But then they just quit biting. I fished clean, I didn’t lose any fish. It just didn’t happen for me today.”
Despite being the only pro to not catch a limit, Hallman’s four bass weighing 14-3 was still the third-largest stringer weighed on Saturday. He thought the water temperature was the main factor in his day three struggles.
“The water temperature dropped 2½ degrees overnight,” Hallman said. “That’s not a real big drop, but here in south Florida that is a big deal to these fish. They wouldn’t fire today.”
When asked if he was comfortable with his 13½-pound advantage heading into the final day, Hallman was confident but remained realistic.
“It’s fishing, and a lot can happen on that final day,” he said. “I’ve seen guys with 20-pound leads struggle and get beat. I’m just going to go out there tomorrow and fish like I have been all week. I’m going to flip reeds all day and when the clock says it’s time to come in, I’ll know that I will have left it all out on the water.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Lake Okeechobee are:
1st: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., 14 bass, 64-10
2nd: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 51-1
3rd: Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 15 bass, 47-8
4th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 14 bass, 45-11
5th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-2
6th: Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 44-3
7th: Charlie Weyer, West Hills, Calif., 15 bass, 43-7
8th: Billy Shelton, La Crosse, Va., 15 bass, 41-11
9th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 40-5
10th: Clark Reehm, Huntington, Texas, 15 bass, 40-0
Finishing in 11th through 20th are:
11th: Old Spice pro Greg Bohannan, Bentonville, Ark., 15 bass, 39-11, $12,000
12th: John Cox, Debary, Fla., 15 bass, 38-6, $12,000
13th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 15 bass, 37-0, $12,000
14th: Ryan Chandler, Hebron, Ind., 15 bass, 36-13, $12,000
15th: Keystone Light pro Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 15 bass, 36-6, $12,000
16th: John Devere, Berea Ky., 15 bass, 35-14, $12,000
17th: Kevin Johnson, Surprise, Ariz., 15 bass, 34-3, $12,000
18th: Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., 15 bass, 32-10, $12,000
19th: Andy Young, Mound, Minn., 15 bass, 32-7, $12,000
20th: Jim Tutt, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 32-5, $12,000
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.