The two-day leader of the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Bull Shoals Lake tumbled from the top and Casey Scanlon willingly slid into the top spot heading into today’s championship round.

Scanlon, of Lenexa, Kan., weighed his five-bass limit at13 pounds, 12 ounces on Sunday, the third of four days of competition, to bring his three-day total to 43-14 and take the lead.

Scanlon, who was in second place heading into Sunday, was able to jump into the lead after Greg Vinson, of Wetumpka, Ala., fell all the way to 23rd with a 5-pound, 12-ounce catch on Sunday following hauls of 16-13 on the first day and 13-8 on Saturday.

Scanlon is trailed by Terry Scroggins, of San Mateo, Fla., whose three-day total of 43-2 left him in second, 12 ounces behind the leader. He jumped from fourth place to second, while Cliff Prince, of Palatka, Fla., weighed in the day’s largest catch at 14-11 to move into third place with 42-15.

Scanlon said he caught his limit by 8 a.m. Sunday, but wasn’t satisfied, so he spent the rest of the day trying to increase the weight.

“It seemed I couldn’t do any wrong the first two days,” Scanlon said. “Wherever I went, I could pull up and catch them. Not Sunday. They bit early, they bit late, but during the middle of the day, I could barely get a bite no matter where I was.”

Stephen Browning of Hot Springs totaled 11-2 on Sunday to finish at 34-4 and in 37th place, while, Mark Davis of Mt. Ida hauled in 10 pounds on Sunday to finish with 32-5 and in 43rd place.

Sports, Pages 13 on 04/22/2013