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.
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