Sportsmen's Digest Tuesday Solo Cup #1

I caught numerous 20+ lb stringers on guide trips in the middle of the week last summer when the current was flowing and I could fish anywhere I wanted because no one else was on the lake. Saturday would roll around and Id have to drive by 40 schools before I could find one with no one sitting on it and when I finally found a place the fish wouldnt cooperate because the current wouldnt be moving. Id work my tail off to catch a limit of 2.5 to 3lb fish and all the way back to weigh-in think, “if only this was last Tuesday!” I thought how cool it would be to have a BWS or BFL type event during the week when conditions are optimal and we could all fish where we wanted to fish because there arent 10,000 boats on the water. I just happen to know a great tournament director named Randy Sullivan and I ran the idea by him and the next thing I knew the Tuesday Strike King Solo Cup was born. Its still in its infancy and this first event was somewhat of a test run but with the positive feedback weve gotten so far, it looks like the Solo Cup is here to stay and we have another event scheduled for October 29th. We had 20 boats show up and another ten guys were out of town that week that wouldve have been there. I really wanted to have a good finish since I had kind of help put it together and I had basically recruited the best fishermen from both ends of KY Lake to come and participate, it was going to be a pretty prestigious event.


Two days before the tournament I got a call from Triton Boats asking if I could help out with a photo shoot Tuesday morning. I was about to turn them down when they informed me that it was for the cover of the catalog and it was in the new Triton TRX! That was all it took to convince me because Id been itching to play around in the TRX plus it was for the cover, I couldnt turn down the cover! I decided I could donate a couple hours of my morning to the shoot and still have plenty of time to fish since they were shooting right around the corner from Paris Landing. So Tuesday morning after everyone blasted off, I headed around the corner to where the shoot was taking place complete with my signature shaggy hair nicely trimmed only to find nobody there! Id gotten my phone wet that past weekend and it was on the fritz but after an hour of waiting around I finally got a call to go through and verified that the shoot had been canceled due to cloudy weather. Most people wouldve probably been upset over losing an hour of fishing time but I was much more concerned over the fact Id gotten my hair cut for nothing. I headed back to Paris Landing and had Randy check my boat and I headed out. Ill go ahead and cut to the chase and let you know I didnt catch them very good. I weighed in 15.63lbs and finished in 7th or 8th place I think but it was everything Id hoped it would be from a fishing standpoint. I ran from Paris past the Blood River and back to White Oak creek and back north of Paris and I got to scan or fish every single place I wanted to fish. The current was rolling and the schools were schooling, I just never caught any over 3.5lbs. Ive said many times, I can live without catching them as long as I get a chance to try and I got to try everything I wanted to try at least once. So many weekend days I never get to fish the places that I think will give me the best chance to win and I think the Solo Cup is the cure for that problem. Matt Nix dropped a pile of grass fish on the scales that weighed almost 29lbs and ran away with first place and the $900 check that came with it. Unfortunately Matt didnt get in the side pot and 2nd place overall finisher Micah Smith took home $500 for 2nd and another $600 in side pot money. Eric Shelton popped a near 8lber for big fish of the tournament! Congrats guys.


SUMMARY: Being able to fish everywhere I needed to fish was a nice change from what Im used to. Im actually so used to fishing the “leftover” holes I may have hurt myself a little because I didnt really know where to start. I ran around fishing every school really fast and never really settled in but Ill take fishing them all too fast over having to milk a school because its the only one I can get any day. Thanks to everyone that came out and I hope to see everyone back Oct. 29th at Paris Landing.

 

KY BWS #4 Practice and Tournament

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.