Mike McClelland of Bella Vista caught five fish weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to move into the lead entering today’s final round of the Bassmaster Elite Series event on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo.
McClelland, who has fished Table Rock since he was a child, has a three-day total of 49-13. That gives him a 3-pound, 15-ounce lead over first-day leader Aaron Martens (45-14) of Leeds, Ala.
Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., a four-time Bassmassters Classic champion, leaped from 37th place into third with a stringer weighing 19-7, thanks in part to the tournament’s big bass of the day, a largemouth weighing 7-8.
Mount Ida’s Mark Davis, the Day 2 leader and the leader in the Angler of the Year standings entering the tournament, brought in an 11-12 stringer Saturday and is tied with VanDam in third place at 45-7. Jeff Kriet (15-13/44-11) of Ardmore, Okla., is fifth.
Greg Hackney (13-14/44-8), formerly of Star City and now living in Gonzales, La., is sixth.
The top 12 anglers qualified for today’s final round. Other qualifiers included Bill Lowen (18-13/44-5) of North Bend, Ohio; Edwin Evers (13-1/43-14) of Talala, Okla.; Brandon Palaniuk (12-10/43-1) of Hayden, Ind.; Kevin Hawk (15-11/42-4) of Ramona, Calif.; Cliff Prince (12-15/41-15) of Palatka, Fla.; and Jared Lintner (11-2/41-7) of Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Little Rock’s Scott Rook (13-5/38-2) finished in 25th place.
Sports, Pages 32 on 04/06/2014