3rd FOM Northern KY

[fishon1219]

We had our 3rd FOM northern KY division tournament this past weekend on Beautiful Herrington lake and this is a sweet lake with lots of potential if you can figure out how to fish it.

Being from Michigan and with limited experience on southern impoundments I was really lost as to how to fish a lake like this one. For those of you who have never seen it, it is mostly bluff walls with 20 ft of water right next to the wall falling off into over 100 feet about 30 yards from the bank.

Going into the practise day i had to totally change my whole lure structure that I had tied on because after seeing the lake I guessed that most of the fish were going to be suspended or holding on the bottom of the first shelve waiting to spawn.

Practise may 18th- We started out fishing around the walls in Herrington Lake Marina. The shad were bunched right up in groups right up tight to the wall and I started to use a fluke casting it as tight as I could to the wall and managed to have lots of fish come up and eat it that were in the 2lb range and shook most of them off. I had a good solid limit going this practise day just fishing around the boat slips and any type of floating cover in the marina. It seemed as if the spots were everywere in there.

We moved to the very back of the creek were it shallowed up quite a bit and I was throwing a 3/16 ounce shaky head with a case magic stick in water melon gold flake and got a bunch of bites off of every piece of wood I could find that was laying on the bank. I shook off most of the bites and that was difficult because they just didn't want to let go. I managed to get most of the fish up to see them and for the most part they were just keepers with a few in the solid 3 lb range.

We left that creek about 11:00am and started to move up the lake a little further and found some nice pockets with some isolated wood down by Gwen island and that is were we saw the biggest fish of the day. We had a couple in the 5lb range that ate up that shaky head and were shook off right at the boat.

The whole practise day it seemed that every piece of wood you could find that was near a point or on an outside turn in the lake you could get a bite.

We went to the pre-tournament meeting very confident in a solid 15lb limit for the tournament the next day, just because we didn't stick many fish and they seem to be holding tight to the wood.

May 19th Tournament morning- We were greeted with temp's just about 38 degrees for blast off and fog. We took off from chimney rock marina at 6:00am and started to slowly make our way up the lake to Herrington Marina and try to catch some of the fish we had up in there the day before. We finally get to the marina and start fishing, but here was no activity from the shad like we had the day before. No worries yet because it was still real cold and the water temp had dropped a little bit from the day before. We fished around the walls of the marina and the floating boat slips with not even a bite. This concerned us a little bit because we were hoping to have a limit before we moved up the lake to were we found some of the bigger fish.

While we were fishing the marina a few bass boats made there way into the marina and went right to the gas dock.
While we were up there we talked to one of the guys in a boat and he said they were having a company bass tournament that morning and he was in theere the night before and never caught so many fish in his life and most of them were in the creek off of wood. I asked if he stuck a lot of fish and his reply was "every bite I had" I asked him why he would do that the night before a tournament and he said that they would still eat today.

My hopes of catching some fish in the creek were just shot down with them all having sore mouths. We continued on any way and I flip my little shaky head up to a small piece of wood on the bank and get my first bite of the day. The fish starts moving out towards the boat and I give it a little snap and my line breaks. Talk about being upset. I think I invented a few new cuss words. While I was retying We here a splash on the opposite side of the boat and caught a glimpse of a 5lber jumping with my shakyhead hanging out of his jaw. Now I am really worked up and take a few minuets to collect my thoughts and get back to work.

We fish all the way to the back of the creek were it turns into about 6ft of water with lots of wood and manage keeper number 1 on a spinner bait. Not a big fish, but it is in the box.

We idle all the way back out and head to a point on the main lake were we shook off a few spots the day before on a piece of wood in 40ft of water and as soon as I throw the shaky head to it we get keeper number 2. A nice spot about 2 lbs. We worked that area to death after that and didn't get another bite.

We moved down to the next point were during practise we found a bunch of ceders somebody had sunk and they were sitting on the first shelve in about 20 ft of water to find 3 guys sitting on the dock fishing. We ask them how they are doing when the tell us they had caught 3 nice bass right before sunup, but they slowed down after that. The 3 they caught were on there stringer so I figured no chance of catching any more. I ask them if it is O.K. to fish the trees and they say go for it, but we already caught them all.

My first cast in there with the shaky head gives us fish number 3. A nice spot about 1 1/2 lbs. Now we have 3 and it is about 10:00am. We continued to fish this area for another 1/2 hour with no more takers and move on up the lake somemore. I see a piece of wood coming off of the bank on an outside turn and pull up to it and give it a shot.
Nothing there. In the process of fishing this little area I move over to a dock and hang my shaky head in the rocks and move up to free it and see a bass about 3lbs sitting on a bed in 2 ft of water. I had the boat right on top of him and he wasn't moving so I figured this fish was real catchable. At least every thing I have ever read said I could catch that fish. We worked that fish for about a 1/2 hour and It didn't care what we put in front of it. It just wasn't going to eat.

Now we decide it is 12:00 and we have 3 in the box it is time to move down to the pockets by Gwen island were we had the big ones on the day before. We get to the first pocket and my partner puts keeper number 4 in the boat, a squeaker at 12 inches exactly. Not a big one but it is number 4. We move to the back of the pocket and a whole mess of wood had floated in there over night so I pitch my Critter craw in a little hole and lift out a nice 2lber. Now we have 5 fish for a total of about 6 lbs. No were near the weight we would have had the day before, but maybe i am on to something with this critter craw. We fish around more cover like this and catch several more keepers, but they are all right at 12 inches. No helpers at all.

We have 2 hours left before weigh in and decide to give that bed fish another shot. It would help us out by about 2 1/2 lbs. We get to the fish and stay way back off of him and there is a slight ripple on the water from the wind. I am excited. After another 1/2 hour of teasing this fish with every thing I can think off he just wont eat. I have to say I am no slouch at catching bedding fish and do it all the time here in Michigan and can for the most part get them to eat something, but this fish could care less. Several bluegill were cruising his bed and he didn't even chase them away. I don't know what was up with him so we finally gave up and headed back to herrington marina in hopes of catching something to upgrade with a little bit.

We get to the back of the creek at herrington marina and my first pitch to a piece of wood I connect with a solid 1 1/2 lber on the critter craw and we upgrade by almost a pound. We fish around back there and catch several more fish, but nothing to upgrade with.

It is now 2:45 and we need to be back to chimney rock at 3 so we tie everything down and blaze our way back threw all of the pleasure boat traffic and the long no wake and make it with 1 minute to spare.

We weigh in with 7. 69 lbs for the day and the leaders were at 12.5. We managed a 9th place finish with our catch and the field was tight in the 7 to 8lb range. One more fish in the 2lb range would have got us a check.  I over heard the winners caught there fish early on crankbaits way up the lake somewere.

summary- We probably wasted to much time in the creek at the marina, but we were sure there were some prespawners working there way back there and that 5lber would have gained us at least 2nd place. Also, we should have went down to Gwen island a lot sooner then we did and spent more time fishing those 2 little pockets, because i am sure there were some prespawners hanging around the points.

Maybe next time I will figure them out.

Good fishing to all of you

[thomas]

Do love your reports Kevin. Looks like things are going well for you this year. I hope nothing but great success for you this year.

thomas

[SODY]

I enjoy reliving your tournament day and I do love Kentucky. (I'm a BIG horse fan). Glad to see you enjoying FOM, good luck and tight lines.
Rich Soderquist SW MI FOM Director