TN CENTRAL BWS KY LAKE April 27, 2013

I took off boat 52 out of 89 and made a very short run north of Paris. I felt pretty good about my decision to go north and flip when I had a limit of fish with a 5lber before the rest of the field had even taken off. I dropped my Power Poles and picked the area apart and after about an hour or so I'd culled a couple times and picked up another 5lber! My goal was five 5lb bites and to have two of them that quick was a big relief. I headed to my next stop and though I caught a ton of solid fish, none were over 3lbs and that was what I needed in order to cull. I left there and hit a main lake bank that has potential to produce a tank and after 45 minutes or so, I hadn't gotten a bite. I told my co angler we were going to make a move and I decided to make one more pitch and popped a 3.5lber that culled a 3. I knew I still had time to head south and hunt for a great big bite and it was really weighing on me on what to do. I decided to hit one more pocket a little further north and if I caught a good one, I'd stay north, if not, I was heading to Jville to fish amongst all of the other boats. I pulled into the pocket and immediately started catching 3lbers. I was nearing the end of my favorite stretch and I dropped my Rodent right into the heart of a bush and a big 'ol 5lber ate it up! That got me in the 20lb range and I still had a few hours to try and get my last two 5lbers and better yet, I hadn't seen another boat all day. That was the deciding factor in how I'd spend the rest of my day. Unfortunately, the next couple hours only produced small keepers to 3lbers and time was running out. I had a crazy idea of a crankbait spot that I hadn't fished all year but things were sitting up right for them to be there. My co angler and I tied on 6XD's and headed that way. On my way down the lake I looked over into a pocket and it just looked too good. I got about a ¼ mile past the pocket and made a U turn and headed back. I eased into the back of the pocket and my first flip produced a 4lber! For those of you that dont know, I've had the fish on flipping bushes to win a few big tournaments but lost or broke off key fish. I couldn't believe what a perfect day I was having, every decision was right and I'd caught around 60 keepers out of the thickest stuff you can imagine and hadn't lost a single fish. With about 15 minutes left, I knew I didn't have enough to win but at least I had fished a very clean tournament and thats when it happened. I skipped my Rodent about 30 feet past a bush, under a willow limb to the trunk of the willow. It never made it to the bottom and one smoked it! My line was under the bush so I set the hook back to my left which I normally dont do. A 5lber shot out of the water like a Marlin and before I could catch up to her, she was gone as quick as she came. What a tough way to end a great day! I weighed in 21.31lbs which was good enough for 5th place, Toyota Bonus Bucks and the Triton Gold money.


SUMMARY: This was the most fun I've had in a tournament in a long time even though it poured rain on us all day. I've never caught so many fish flipping and my hands were actually bloody from handling fish which usually only happens when the big schools are out deep. I would've loved to have landed that last big one and then it would have been a perfect day even though I still couldn't have caught Drew Boggs who smoked 27lbs of bush fish and blew the rest of us out of the water! I'm usually not content unless I win but catching that many fish using my favorite technique was just too much fun to be upset over.

 

TN CENTRAL BWS KY LAKE April 27, 2013 Practice

Im still a little bummed out after experiencing some of the best flipping Ive ever seen leading up to my last BFL and then having the water sucked out of the bushes and the wind out of my sails on tournament day. Im checking the water daily levels daily and with the water level predicted to be at that magical 360 mark by tournament day, Ive decided not to make a cast in practice and spend my tournament where I smoked em before the BFL. I also know that the majority of the field will head south of Paris to the land of the giants and while thats the place to catch a true giant, I should have a lot of water to myself north of Paris Landing and a lot of time to pick it apart with my Rodent. I feel like I know the best areas that could still be holding some big ones and if I can fish perfectly, I feel good about getting around 25lbs worth of bites. The only wild card will be the off shore fish and from what Ive heard, theres a lot of good ones out there. I still have two things in my favor, rising water and a full moon!

 

LBL BFL #2 April 20, 2013

LBL BFL TOURNAMENT #2: We launched from Moors Resort and I headed South to the New Johnsonville area. When I got within site of the Paris Bridge there was a huge fog bank out on the main river. I will not run in the fog plus I had a pretty good idea the other tournaments launching at Paris had probably been held back due to fog so I could sneak a few casts in that area while the fog burnt off. I pulled into one of the pockets Id fished with my parents and wasnt too impressed with the water conditions. It looked like a whole different place with a foot of water gone from the bushes but I knew there had to be a few fish left lying around what shallow cover was still available. I spent about an hour picking the area apart and when I left I had one small keeper, a 3lber and I had lost one good fish in the 4lb range that got me hung up in a bush. I made my way to New Johnsonville where I knew there would be a little more cover in the water and hopefully I could scrounge up a few big ones to go with what I already had. I spent a good three hours pitching at every piece of cover I could find and I finally managed a 4lber and two very small keepers. I decided to run back north and try some different things in hopes of getting a big bite but I cranked a few points and scanned a few secondary ledges and never saw anything resembling a bass. I decided just to stay with the shallow deal even though I knew it wasnt the right thing to be doing. It was a slow go and I finally managed to cull a couple times before the end of the day and weighed in 15lbs. even and finished in 20th place.


SUMMARY: This happens to me every year on KY Lake. The water gets high and I know exactly where to go. I know where the biggest fish on the lake go when the water is in the bushes, but then it comes down and I can barely catch a limit! Ive struggled with this time of year every year since I started fishing KY Lake. Ive tried different things and talked to a lot of people that have success in April when the water isnt flooded but I just dont get it and may never get it. That being said, I cashed a check in this tournament and thats more than I can say for most falling water April tournaments Ive ever fished on KY Lake but I wish Id gone to Barkley!!!

 

LBL BFL #2 Practice

LBL BFL PRACTICE DAY 1: I sit in Captains School for a week watching the water rise into the bushes and I knew there would be a killer flipping bite going on. My parents just happen to be in Paris on Tuesday before my 2nd BFL of the year and they hopped in my Triton with me and we headed to the shallows. Our first stop produced a ton of bites and the biggest of them was a 7.5lber I snatched out of the brush with a Strike King Rodent! Our best five between us when we left there were right at 20lbs. We ran to another area and while we caught a ton of fish we never caught any over 3lbs. The last stop of the day was loaded with bass and we caught a mess of 4 to 5lb class fish in there. Our best 5 fish for the day were around 25lbs and we caught about 60 keepers on the day! It was one of the better days of flipping Ive ever experienced on KY Lake and even though I knew it wouldnt last with the water being pulled down a little more each day, it was still an awesome day with my two favorite people in the world!


LBL BFL PRACTICE DAY 2: I met my friend Troy Hollowell and we headed to the New Johnsonville area. The bite was a lot slower than the day before but of the first few bites we got, we had a 4 and a 5lber. We fished a ton of water that day and still werent seeing the numbers but when the dust settled we did have about 25lbs worth of bites on our biggest five. We headed back towards Paris and it was too pretty of a day to call it quits so we pulled into a few pockets and absolutely murdered the 2 and 3lb fish. Another fun day of flipping with a good friend but unfortunately the water is getting lower by the day and I know by Saturday its going to be a grind to catch a big stringer flipping. The wind has blown like crazy the past two days and I know Im going to live and die by flipping so I didnt practice any more this week. Ive kept an eye on the water levels and if it dips below 359, I may head to Barkley tomorrow.

 

CAPTAINS SCHOOL'S FINALLY OUT!

I spent part of April at Captains School in order to obtain my USCG Captains License. It was a long nine days and I now know more about navigating the ocean than I ever cared to know but I'm officially a Captain and can guide "legally" which should boost business since I can advertise without worrying about getting in trouble with the Coast Guard and the $27,500 fine that comes with it! A lot changed while I was in school at Green Turtle Bay and over the course of the week we actually watched the water rise about five feet and I can't wait to get on the water and use up some of the Strike King Rodents I never got to put to use last season!