Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Elite angler Mike McClelland culled his way into the top five at the conclusion of day three of the Bassmaster Elite Series event at the Sabine River presented by Stark Cultural Venues, earning a spot to continue his hunt for a victory on championship Sunday.
"I wish I was a little bit closer to the leader than I am now, but with the flood that has happened here, there have been some struggles," McClelland said. "I don’t think it rained as much where I’m fishing as it has here locally. But if these guys run into high, muddy flooded water, they might really struggle hard and I may have the opportunity to win this thing."
By bringing in 12 pounds on Saturday — his biggest bag of the weekend and the biggest bag overall on day three — McClelland increased his total tournament weight to 32 pounds, 15 ounces and moved up to fourth overall on the leaderboard.
"After everything that I’ve been through, I deserved to have the biggest bag today," McClelland said. "My run-time total had been right at about four hours but it went to four hours and 57 minutes today due to the rough water conditions in Galveston Bay. It was a pretty well-deserved big bag of the day, the way I look at it."
McClelland, along with the other 11 anglers vying for the win on the Sabine River, will launch at 7:10 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in at 4 p.m. at the City of Orange Boat Ramp.
"I have to look back already on the last two months and be pretty happy with the way things have gone," McClelland said. "I finished up pretty strong at the Bassmaster Classic; definitely not where I wanted to be, but I have had some strong finishes. Finishing the Classic in eighth place, going to the first Central Open and just barely missing the top-12 cut after leading the first day, and coming into the first Elite Series tournament and making the top 12 here, I feel really good about the way I’m fishing. I also feel really good about my decision-making right now and I’ve gotten more confident."
By: Rob Geiger
