PRACTICE: The Big Bass Splash was out of Paris Landing and with my lack of success in the grass the few times Id fished it, I made up my mind to practice north on KY Lake one day and south on Barkley one day. I headed to the Blood River area and started staring at my Lowrance and while most of the schools were long gone, the few I found were massive. A few of my schools that had disappeared during July high water had made their way back to the main river ledge and they had multiplied! A couple of these schools probably had over a thousand fish in them by my estimation and while that sounds like the mother lode, its not always good news. Late summer schools tend to suspend really high in the water column which makes them nearly impossible to catch and if you do make them bite, theyre usually on the smaller side in the 2 to 2.5lb range. Apparently these four schools didnt get the memo on it being mid August because they bit like it was June 1st and they were built like it as well! I caught 4lbers out of every one of them usually on my first cast and when I did make multiple casts I caught fish on every one of them. I had low twenties easily on my best five and with Barkley fishing as tough as nails, I knew that kind of weight would put me in contention on Saturday. I never made a cast on Friday because even though I knew it would be tougher on tournament day, there was nothing I could find on south Barkley that would change my game plan. I was KY Lake bound!
TOURNAMENT: I knew something would put a damper on my plans and it did. Thunder was roaring and lightening was all around us as we launched out of Barkley State Park marina. Ive expressed my fear of lightening in past entries and Ive also expressed my fear of the bass refusal to group up on cloudy, rainy days! We lucked out on the storms and by the time I drove 25 miles north on Barkley to the canal and back south 40 miles on KY, I somehow avoided all of the electricity and other than rain drops to the face at 75 mph I was no worse for wear. I arrived at my first spot which was a small school but their usually 4lb class fish and I didnt even have the nerve to scan it. I was afraid I wouldnt see anything and Id get bummed out so I just started fishing. I made a few casts and never had a bite and I knew then they werent home. I finally spotted a couple on my sonar and dropped a Purple Haze, Strike King Super Finesse worm down on them and immediately caught a 17”er. The Super Finesse worm is made of the Elaztech plastic and it is the deal for drop shotting. You can catch hundreds of bass on the same worm and if the fish throws the bait off, it floats back up. One pack will last you an entire season, I trolled around looking for more fish on the sonar and while I was dialed into that my co angler caught a chunky little 3.5lber casting a worm around the boat. I picked up another small keeper on a spinner bait and that was all I could stand. We packed up and headed to one of the 1000 fish schools. I was a little concerned about them being where Id left them Thursday with the clouds over head but I quickly settled down when I reached my waypoint and starting seeing bass! They were lined up for 50 yards just like they were in practice and I knew I was about to put 20lbs in my Triton and 12 grand in my checking account! I got lined up on them and made a cast without a bite. I figured Id missed the school a little so I eased up and fired another cast out and nothing. I was pretty sure I was lined up on them but after ten more casts without a sniff, I figured I had to be missing the school. As I eased towards my waypoint, I saw what I didnt want to see. I started marking bass on my sonar by the hundreds which meant Id just made at least 20 casts right into their nest and they werent interested. My concern had been the fish not being schooled up, I never even considered them not biting. I tried a few different baits with no luck so I finally put my drop shot right in their faces and still couldnt get any takers. I made a big circle around the school raining baits down on them from all angles and I finally hooked up with a 3.5lber on the spinner bait. I fired back out as quickly as I could and popped another 17” keeper. I thought I ignited the school and it was about to be a beat down but I never had another bite. I decided to make a short run and let the fish settle down and try them again on my way back. The next school was loaded as well but proved to be even less productive. I had one more giant school a little further south and there was a huge storm heading that direction. I decided to go try them and hang with them until the storm got close and then head back to my starting place. That group was stacked and I caught several keepers in a row on the spinner bait but they were just 2.5lbers. Once they cooled down I put the drop shot right on their noses and managed to coax a trio of 3lbers into biting. I headed back to my best school to finish out the day and caught a 3.5lber on my first cast but never upgraded after that. I weighed in 16.13lbs and finished in 4th place less than 1.5lbs shy of the win and the 8 grand in Triton/Mercury bonus money!
SUMMARY: Well, I said I can live without catching them as long as I get to try and I got to fish everything I needed to fish and it just wasnt meant to be. It was a little frustrating knowing that on my previous six trips Id boated enough weight to have easily won this tournament and on the day I really needed it I couldnt make it happen. I was definitely around the right kind of fish and I wouldnt change a thing as far as my game plan went. I really think if the sun wouldve shown itself, the fish wouldve been a little more cooperative, but thats beyond my control. Its still tough to be that close to a big pay day but I have several more chances coming up in September and October.
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