Ky lake Regional journal

[Team houston]

OK, this should kill a little time for all you guys bored out there. My travel partner Ben Felton and I drove down on Fri night.We would be staying at Big Bear resort with Randy Ramsey and Brian Clark.  We hit the water Sunrise on Sat for 5 days of practice. Ben was very prepared with a thick notebook of notes from research.

The first day we got thru about a third of the stuff he wanted to check. With only 3 keepers and maybe 8 to 10 bass total. Fishing was very TOUGH. The next two days was more of the same, 8 to 10 fish with only 1 or 2 keepers. We were catching most of our fish on Cranks,Jigs and topwater.

Tues we got tired of Ky lake so at 10:30 we loaded up and went to Barkley. In the 4 hrs we were there we caught 6 fish with 2 keepers. One was a 4lber caught off some riprap on a spinnerbait. So that gave Ben a backup area.

Day one of the tourny I was paired with an old Mi division BFL angler some of you may know, Ed Moravec. After a 35 min run to the Blood River we pulled up to a rocky bank with a rocky point on each end. Ed said the fish had the shad pinned on the bank and were feeding in practice. We went down the bank throwing cranks and got to the end with no fish. We turned around and started back down the bank and Ed pulled a shakey head out of the rodbox. After a few minutes he hooks up with a short which has me reaching for mine. We procede to catch a couple more shorts each.

We turn around again and start back down. When we get to the middle section the has a steeper slope to it I pull out the Beaver. A couple casts later and I loose contact with my bait. I set the hook into a good fish. Ed gets the net and I have a keeper in the boat. I know every keeper will be like gold in this event and that many co- anglers will zero both days.

When we get to the end this time we jump across the cove to the next point. We catch a couple more shorts and make our way back. Again in the steeper section I am hopping my beaver down the bank and get a solid thump. I set up into a better fish and after a short tussle get it in the net. I am really happy to have two keepers but I know three will be fantastic. When we reach the point on the end Ed sets up with his Texas rigged tube into a good fish that ends up weighing 3lb 10 oz.

Again in the steeper section I get a good thump Here it is that important 3rd fish. I get a solid hookset, darn it's a Drum. We try some spots on the LBL side and on our way back to the launch but can't get any more keepers. I end the day with 4lbs 7 oz and 16th place.

Day 2 I am paired with Randy Ramsey Jr. No relation to my cabin mate. He and his co each caught 3 the first day which is a good thing. Randy is fishing three small coves and a rocky bank a couple miles down the lake. We get to his starting spot which they caught 3 keepers out of late in the day on day 1. He expects it to be better later when the shad get active but hopes to get a bonus fish early. I do hook up but it ends up being a catfish I snagged in the back.

The second cove Randy catches a couple shorts on a chatterbait. I snag another catfish what the f. The third cove he catches a keeper and a short. We start rotating thru the spots with only a couple shorts to show for it. We do notice that if we are near a fish that blows up on a shad if we get a bait in the area quickly we can get it to hit.

We decide to change it up and fish a nearby point he caught a keeper on in practice. Randy is throwing a shakey head and sets into a solid fish that pulls off after a couple cranks. He casts back and the same thing happens again. We rotate thru all the spots again, nothing. He decides to fish the point again. I throw a shakey head to the point and stop to take off my sweatshirt.

When I get the rod back in my hands there is a fish on there. It is a short but in hindsight it seemed to stir things up. The shad get very active and bass start blowing up on them. We catch a few more shorts by random casting and by throwing to blowups. We are catching them now on Rattletraps, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and swimbaits.

One fish that seemed to be a little better has blown up three times in the same vicinity near the point. I start throwing my spinnerbait in the area over and over and over. After about 30 casts, its on. We get it in the net, I unhook it and put it on the board. YES it's 16 inches. I know that that is enough for a check and one more I could make the top 12 cut.

Randy needs another one for a check and 2 more to have a chance at the cut. The fish activity has slowed way down with no more blowups and the shad settling down. We fish hard till the end but catch no more keepers. I end up with a  6lb 12 oz total good for 17th place but I miss the cut by 1lb 1oz. So close, but I realize I was lucky to catch what I did. It was a very good week. During the week we saw many deer,wild turkeys,bald eagles,fox,coyotes and even an otter. Already looking forward to next years.

[MadWags]

Thanks for the great report! Enjoyed it.

[LAPORTE]

Nice job Phil,  You will get them next year...

[Smallie 1]

After reading Team Houstons report mine is almost the same, got to Kentucky Lake late on Saturday and began fishing the Big Sandy area on Sunday figuring we would work are way north everyday till we ended up at the dam. Fishing was slow the first few hours on Sunday as we fished riprap and bays with cranks and traps but noticed that not many shad were present. Moved out to the points and found large schools of shad throughout the water coloumn in 15-22 ft. of water with bass beneath the schools, problem is we could not get them to bite. Worked are way just north of the bridge at Ken Lake launch and found even larger schools of shad and bass everywhere on the Hummingbird side imaging. I starting vertically jigging blade baits and caught four bass all just under 15 inches. My partner Brett started doing what we from the Michigan division do best, "dropshotting" and he began getting keepers 16-18 inchers. After he caught three keepers we decided to leave the fish alone and look for identical areas to fish. We moved down to the mouth of the Blood River area and bingo the shad and bass where there. We both dropshoted and caught another five keepers with the kicker being a four and half pound smallie.The magic bait "Blue Glimmer Zulu" we called it a day and felt pretty good because are best five would have gone 11 to 12 pounds.

Monday we launced out of Ken Lake and checked the area by the bridge  and the bass and shad were still there. We boated further north scanning the deeper water and found shad and bass began dropshotting and again catching keeper bass with are best five going 9 to 10 pounds catching fourteen bass all day but the majority just under the 15 inches. Brett and I though we had figured out a pattern for the tournament but that would change on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday and Wednesday the wind was coming out of entirely different direction which changed everything from are earlier pattern and we found the shad in the same areas but the bass were missing. We found large balls of shad in the bays and fish busting on them. I decided to cast a sexy shad colored rattle trap and had two hits but no hook ups. I keep throwing the rattle trap into the schools of shad and bam get hit set the hook and the fish heads right to the boat on a tight light staying down never coming to the surface. Both me and Brett are thinking it is a big stripper and after ten minutes we get it to the surface only to see it is a thirty pound big head carp that took my rattle trap. Disappointed we got my trap back and called it a day, heading for the ramp to get to registration and the meeting. Brett being the boater hopes the pattern from Monday and Tuesday will pick up and me being the co not knowing where or how I will be fishing.

Tournament Day 1 I draw Stuart Eversole, he tells me that we will be fishing bays starting in 8-10 ft. working our way closer to about three feet or less of water. Stuart says he has been catching fish this way. Stuart also tells me that we will also be dropshotting because he caught a 8 pounder prefishing. I am stoked now knowing that the dropshot pattern may work. My first two keepers come on a rattle trap and I'm feeling good my third fish comes on a #6 sexy shad crank and it is a solid three pounder. I end up in sixth place for the day with 6:09 and feel real good.

Tournament Day 2 I draw Ed Moravec and we hit the same areas that Team Houston fished and I catch one keeper weighing 2:08 on a crankbait early in the day and must of cast what felt like five hundred times only to catch five more short fish. We come off the water and I am on pins and needles having a two day total of 9:01 and sitting in 8th place. The top twelve are announced and I can now breath I made the cut in 8th place.

Tournament Day 3 I am partnered with Jacob Wheeler and feel good because he is on fish and we should have a good day. We run 88 miles south to are fishing destination and we are fishing weed mats in 6-8 ft of water. We are both throwing white zara spooks and Jacob is catching keepers while I could only catch shorts no keepers for me. I switch baits and still catching only short fish. It is now high noon and we have to start heading  back Jacob with four fish for approx. 12 pounds and me with zero. Jacob tells me we will still have time to catch fish and we will be fishing the marinas on the way back. We get to Paris Landing and start fishing docks and Jacob gets a short fish, I am pitching a white swim jig and get nothing. I switch to a white spinner bait and start catching fish three shorts. We move to the next marina, it is 1:15 two hours to fish. I finally get a keeper from a dock and and feeling better at least I have a fish in the boat several more casts but no takers.  Another long run and another marina no takers now its time to go in. Jacob with four fish me with one. We get back only to find out that two boats in the top ten did not have much time to fish one boat lost a lower unit and the other the motor was torn off of the transom. Me and Jacob are feeing a little better, both of us only wanting to make the All-American. I weigh-in first for three day total of 10:15 good for forth place at the moment knowing that It would not last a moment. I end up in eighth and Jacob ends up in fifth for the tournament. I am dejected at the moment but know there is always next year and had great boaters all three days, I caught fish just not enough keepers.

As for my buddy Brett his dropshot pattern was working but only one keeper and a bunch of shorts for two days. I would like to wish Tony Grubb good luck at the all american. Till next year Smallie 1

[MadWags]

Good report. Thanks!

[Team houston]

I enjoyed that Joe. I was so tempted to pull out a dropshot all week but never did. Our group did get on the blade bait pattern a little in practice. Congrats Tony

[djkimmel]

Good job guys and thanks a lot for the detailed reports.