Just got back from fishing Kentucky Lake for the last couple of days. I went down to Kentucky Lake to compete in the Riverwoods Church Open Bass Tournament that took out of the KY Dam on Saturday. The tournament had no entry fee and guaranteed a 5,000 dollar first place prize as well as paying out the top 10. The tournament had around 200 boats. Entered in the tournament were a couple of local FLW tour pro's as well as local guides on the lake so I knew there was going to be some competition.
I got down to the lake around 1 pm on Friday and put the boat in the water to check out some of the spots that have produced a lot of keepers for me in the past up by the dam. All I could gather from practice was what areas I would not be fishing in the tournament. One of the biggest problems was that there was no current being generated which was changing the way the fish were positioned on the ledges that had been so fruitful in the past. Instead of the fish being positioned on tops of the ledges on a 15 to 20 foot break and just on the drops the fish seemed to be suspended out in 25 to 30 feet of water on the base of the drop offs on the channel bottom or out in open water. Not much was showing up on the depth finder on top of the ledges. Whenever there is current the fishing is a lot easier because the bass will pop up on top of the ledges and get tight to the bottom. Since there was no current the fish were backed out off the ledges and I knew it was going to be a grinder for me because I'm still learning how to catch these fish.
Going into the tournament I knew where a couple of rock piles where out in 25 to 30 feet of water that I had found in previous visits to the lake. I hadn't checked these spots yet so I thought it would probably be a good place to start. When my boat number 83 was finally called I tore out of the marina and headed full speed to the first deep rock pile. I had on the deck a 3/4 oz OMEGA football jig that I had added a custom made skirt that was watermellon candy with a couple of strips of firetiger on the belly that I had created with the Naked Bait Co skirt expander and a 10 inch green pumpkin Power Worm. When I got to the spot I found another boat already sitting on it working it over. He wasn't fishing the rock pile though but fishing about 30 yards to the right of where it was so I idled on over to the spot and noticed that he wasn't in the tournament. After a couple of words were exchanged he said it was fine for me to fish the spot too. I pulled out the rod with the power worm and made repeated casts to the rockpile and on the 8th or 9th cast I got a solid thump and set the hook on a 3lb bass and quickly swung it in the boat.
I picked up the rod and put a new worm on it and threw it right back to the rock pile hoping that I had just gotten a school of bass stirred up. Well after about 8 or 9 more casts with no luck I picked up the football jig and started stroking it on the rock pile and bagged up another 3lber. The fish just about too the rod out of my hands. Having two keepers in the boat for about 6lbs before 7 am I was feeling pretty good but I knew to have any chance I would have to catch some 5 and 6 pounders. Kentucky Lake has so many big fish that if you are not catching 5 and 6 pounders you don't have a prayer.
After not getting any more bites I decided it was time to make a move to another deep rockpile. On the first cast I caught a short on the worm and went a little while without another bite. I picked up the football jig and hit the rockpile a couple of times and finally got a solid thump and set the hook on another 3lber and swung it in the boat. The fish had the jig all the way down it's throat but I didn't need a 3lber I needed one about 4 or 5 lbs. I fished the area without another bite and made a move to another rock pile that sat in 30 feet of water. After a couple of casts to the pile I boated a short and then as I was snapping the jig up off the bottom my rod about doubled over and I set the hook on a 4lber and walked it around the boat a couple of times and swung it into the boat. The jig was all the way down it's throat.
It was about noon and I didn't have to be back for weigh in till 3:30 I had plenty of time to check some other locations. I pulled up on this hump up by the dam and caught a short off it on the football jig and then didn't get any more bites. The day after the tournament I caught a 5lber off the hump so guess I just didn't time it right. Since nothing was biting I made a move to a rocky main lake point that I have fished in the past with some luck. On about the 3rd cast I got a bite at the end of the cast. I reared back to set the hook and my rod was doubled over. I quickly put the rod down to try and keep the fish from jumping but the 4lber shot up and threw my 1 oz jig. It hurt so much to loose that fish.
It had been a while since I had fished that rockpile that I started on so it was time to make the trip back down lake to hit it again to see if it had reloaded. I managed to pull a couple of shorts off it and then lose another 2lber at the boat because I had tried to swing it and it hit the side of the boat. A 2lb fish on Kentucky Lake isn't going to help you out at all anyways so it was pretty easy to shake loosing that one off. I rotated through the rockpiles that had produced earlier and just couldn't get anything off them.
Time was starting to run out and the day wasn't getting any better. My lack of practice was going to hurt me. All the obvious spots were covered up with boats and I tried joining the party on a couple of the holes but nobody was getting bit. Since the Marina wasn't off limits to fishing I decided to make a run back to the Marina to fish the last 15 minutes of my day away to try and pick up one more keeper. I was mentally exhausted from battling the heat and boat traffic and I knew that it would take culling all my fish or catching a 10lber to even have a shot at getting in the money because my day had been so slow.
When I weighed in my 4 keepers went 13lbs and it wasn't good enough to get in the money. I ended up somewhere in the 30's and was pretty disappointed with how I fished but I guess it could have been a lot worse. The tournament took 19lbs to get into the top 10 and 28lbs to win. That 4lber that I wasn't able to get in the boat would have made it close. I would have had around 17lbs but I guess that is why they call it fishing instead of catching. The last couple of tournaments I just haven't been able to control the variables. In order to do good you have to be able to execute when it counts. I'm sorry for no fish photos from the tournament. Since it was so hot the fish after weigh in were released as quickly as possible to try and ensure their survival.
Gear:
7 Foot AiRRUS Co Matrix Rod, 15lb Flurocarbon Line on the Jig, 12lb Fluorocarbon Line on the Worm, 3/4 oz OMEGA Football Jig, 10 Inch Berkley Power Worm Green Pumpkin t rigged on a 5/16th oz bullet weight with Honey Hole Hook.
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