Top Quotes from day 3, tomorrow may be a shoot out!
Cliff Crochet (9th Place, 55lbs -15 ounces)
Dave Mercer – Just 12 move on to Championship Sunday, and right now dude….what number is right there beside your name?
CC- ahhh….1st. Number one. Id like to stay there but, aaah….(crowd cheers)
Dave – how much would it mean to you to fish here tomorrow on Championship Sunday?
CC- It would, ah, it would be important. You know, being from down South, you hear about Toledo Bend, and its like…its like heaven. You know the fish…they big, and that’s why you go, and you know, its everything. But to come here and have a good tournament, anywhere is great but ah, at home, in Louisiana, at Toledo Bend, it would ah….I tell ya, I cant describe it. It would be everything. (crowd roars).
Dave – Biggest day of the tournament so far for you, are you on to something? Why did they start eating so much for you?
CC- First (laughs as someone in crowd yells “HUNGRY!”)..thats no bull! But ah, the first day I caught ‘em and they were biting. Yesterday, they weren’t biting and I kinda had to grind through ‘em. Today, I think I might have figured a little something out, and I hope to get to go tomorrow, because it could be a good day.
Jonathan Van Dam (11th place, 54-15)
Dave – Your best day of the tournament so far today. Is the fishing getting better?
JVD- Yeah it is. You know, I started on that spot that I caught ‘em on yesterday today, and ah, there’s quite a few fish there and a lot of real nice ones. And ah, You know, I hadn’t started there all week before today, so ah, you know, you can bet I’m gonna be there tomorrow.
Todd Faircloth (5th place, 57-4)
Dave – maybe you’ll get a shot to fish tomorrow.
TF- Yeah it’d be great. It’d be great. You know I’ve ah, I’ve…this is where it started for me, you know, Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend fishing with my Dad. And ah, I fished against a lot of these guys out here (points at the crowd) and I’ve seen a lot of ‘em, new, familiar faces that I fished against growing up, and its just great to see the support from the crowd, coming out here and supporting us this week. This is evidence that we do not have to go to a big town to have a big crowd and I want to thank y’all for that.
Dave – If you get the opportunity to fish tomorrow…you got some fish left?
TF – Well I don’t know. You know, my weights have went down each day. Usually the ah, guy that ends up winning the tournament, his weight will go up a little bit, so he’s figuring something out. It seems like my fish are, ah, dissipating on me and, ah, you know I caught that big one and, ah, I know there’s some more big ones out there. If I get the chance to go fish tomorrow, you know, I’ll give it my all. That’s for sure.
Hank Cherry (16th, 49-15)
Dave – a great finish here again.
HC- Yeah, it’s a great finish. You know, Evan Williams out this on, there one of my sponsors, and ah, the Livingston Lures guys here always supporting us. I tell ya, today was kinda like ah, a cross between a shootout at OK Corral and Bombs over Baghdad with all the A-Rigs I saw slingin’. There was a TON of people on the lake today. Um, had some couple of unfortunate spots tried to get to, couldn’t get on there was…they were pre-occupied so I kinda ran around and made the best of it. You know, 15 pounds is 15 pounds.
Mark Davis (7th Place, 56-5)
Dave – I’m looking for a lake that you cant catch ‘em on, because you’re just catching them everywhere we go!
MD- I’m not gonna say anything to jinx that, cause you know, you know you start braggin’ – these fish will get you humble in a real hurry. So, I ah, I don’t know, I’m sure that lake is right around the corner. But I’m enjoying the ride for..for as long as it goes and Im gonna ride that train. You know, Ive been there before, and you get in the zone, you know. Fishing is like other sports: you get momentum, and you get in the zone. You just pray real hard, and singin’ “Victory and Jesus”. That’s my theme song. I got Charlie Daniels for you guys (points to crowd) out there but ah, when Im on the ramp, you n=know, its “Victory and Jesus” and…that helps me. It really does. All day long, I hum that little song, yeah (crowd cheers). You bet, thank you. But anyway, man I…I’d like to go again tomorrow. Those big fish don’t bite for me everyday. I could, I could bust 30 pounds so easy, but they don’t bite everyday. I had one spot, and I, I’m not gonna tell you exactly how I’m catching ‘em, but I’m, I’m catching a lot of them. I caught maybe, 20 keepers, and finally I thought: “there’s gotta be a good one thee”. And I give up, and I just troll…you can see, the water is clear, so I troll up there on top, and there goes a 4 pounder. There goes a 5 pounder, and there goes a 6 pounder, so its not like they’re not there. They’re….they’re stubborn. Its not like you can sight fish ‘em, but the potential’s there.
Jacob Powroznik (2nd Place, 60-1)
Dave – It seems like the tap shut off a little bit. We followed the action on the Bassmaster App today and ah, those early morning shad spawn fish just didn’t cooperate today.
JP- ‘No, they kind of….they kind of went away, you know. Yesterday, the shad was there, you know I caught a big one, lost a big one. But today, I remember hardly seeing any shad at all you know. But tomorrow morning, Im gonna go look for it again, because it’s a good way to catch a big bag, and ….but I just gotta say one thing: today was the first day I’ve ever got to fish in a forest fire. I’m not lying. My best pocket, where I’ve got like three or four big ones still left on the bed….I couldn’t see three feet in front of me. And, you’ll see it. There’s a video of it. I mean there was ashes falling in my boat and everything. But you know, that’s fishing. It was a good time. I love this lake; I love every one of y’all (gestures to the crowd) and ah, man, its been a blessing. You know, just the chance to get out there and try to fish for…to win this thing and get a chance to go to the classic is awesome.”
Dean Rojas (1st Place, 62-11)
Dave – Dude, what is it with you and Toledo Bend?
DR- I dunno, Its just magic every time I come here. This lake has treated me so, so good over the years, and I’m just…I’m just so happy and so…..fortunate to be in the position I’m at right now.
You know folks, I’m just fishing, you know. I’m just fishing stuff that I’ve fished over the years, ah, just the experience out here on the lake, and ah, and they’re just…there. They’re just all of a sudden just showing up. So, I you know its something that I know what to do when that happens…its just a fantastic fishery.
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