Six anglers were bunched within 13 ounces of 10th place with one hour left on Day 3 of the Simms Bassmater Elite at Lake Fork. Derek Hudnall had no way of knowing that. But he started the day in 8th place, and he felt like he was close to making the top 10 cut for Championship Sunday.
“It was an absolute race and it was gut-wrenching,” Hudnall said. “I knew I needed one more good fish to have close to what I’d weighed the previous two days.”
Hudnall separated himself from the other five contenders with a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass at 2:41 p.m. His check-in time was 3 p.m. Hudnall’s three-day total was 70 pounds even. He edged Todd Auten by 12 ounces.
Hudnall, 41, from Denham Springs, La., said he could possibly have caught the same 4-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught in the same place the day before. Both catches, whether they were the same fish or not, came on a Missile Baits Ike’s Headbanger jig in 25 feet of water.
It’s a big deal to make that 10th and final spot for Sunday’s final, even if you’re almost 18 pounds behind the leader. Hudnall trails Lee Livesay by 17 pounds, 15 ounces after three days. If nothing else it’s worth an extra $5,000 over 11th place. There are usually sponsor bonuses as well for making the final. And occasionally crazy things happen on Championship Sunday.
Hudnall got a scare after he checked in Saturday. That’s when he was first allowed to look at the BassTrakk leaderboard. It showed he’d missed 10th place by two ounces. Then his cameraman pointed out that Hudnall’s last catch hadn’t gone into his total yet. That’s when he could finally exhale.
Hudnall has caught most of his fish this week shallow, as shallow as two feet. They’ve come on a half-ounce Jackhammer Chatterbait trailed with a 4.25 Missile Baits Shockwave.
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