Day 3: 17 pounds, 13 ounces
No one had ever gone from 10th to
first on the final day of the Cup in a
cumulative-weight event. Many specu-
lated that if it were ever going to hap-
pen, this would be the tournament.
The bites had been so random
the previous two days that it seemed
as if anyone could either luck into a
giant at any time or just as easily
come in with nothing.
As he idled out the final morning
Davis didn’t really think he had a
chance of winning, but he figured
that if things lined up he could cer-
tainly make a jump up the standings.
After all, there was less than 2
pounds separating 10th place and
third place.
A 2 1/2-pounder started his day off
strong, but things got real interesting
at 9 a.m. when Davis caught his
biggest fish of the week, a 5-pounder.
It prompted him to tell his camera-
man, “We can win this thing. I’m
telling you.”
Unofficially, he actually took over
the lead at that point, then methodi-
cally built up his advantage through-
out the day despite the effects of a
storm blowing in during the early
afternoon. Later, in the final hour,
Davis went to the same brush pile
where he’d lost a 4-pounder each of
the previous two days. This time, he
caught a “redemption” 4-pounder
that sealed one of the more remark-
able comeback stories in FLW history.
“I’ve worked for this my whole
life,” Davis says. “When it’s your time,
it’s your time. I guess it was time for
it to happen.”
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