Blaylock's battle on St. Johns

Follow Stetson Blaylock as he battles to hold his Top 10 spot on Day 3 of the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

He came into today in 3rd place with a total weight of 35 pounds, 5 ounces.

I caught up with Blaylock early this morning fishing a shell bar on the main river. He stopped here attempting to get a few early morning bites before arriving at his main area.

Stopping here also gives him an idea of how the fish are biting. Are his deep spots going to play a factor today? Or will they be locked down, informing him to stick to his shallow spot?

The deep spot didn’t produce any fish, causing Blaylock to head to the banks.

But not before doing a little graphing first.

His next spot consisted of shallow lily pads close to the bank.

This too did not produce any fish and was quickly abandoned.

A quick stop on some bridge columns before heading to his tried-and-true spot.

Almost instantly after arriving to his main spot, Blaylock hooks up on his first fish of the day.

He is picking apart the rocky bank, fishing slow and taking his time. The fish aren’t very active, causing his to use slow presentations with lighter tackle.

Fish No. 2 is on the hook. This one helps his standings a lot considering the rest of the field is also struggling for bites and size.

The fish are almost coming in back-to-back. Not much size yet, but Blaylock wants to go ahead and fill his limit first.

Fish No. 3 is another keeper.

Hooked up again. This particular stretch of bank in his spot seems to be strong. This is also the same side of the canal that produced the most for him yesterday.

This one was not a keeper.

After the flurry, Blaylock moves to the other side of the canal to try another high percentage stretch of bank.

And shortly after, he has another one on the line.

Another keeper, and one fish away from filling his limit.

Immediately after, he has another one that might just fill his limit.

And indeed, it does. Fish No. 5 in the livewell and now Blaylock can focus on upgrading in size.

Into the livewell it goes.

I departed from Blaylock in the early afternoon while he was fishing the same canal. A change in spots may lie ahead as he searches for bigger fish to seal his spot in the Top 10.