The infamous Kentucky Lake. Well, it’s was one of the few lakes in the SE that I had never wet a hook in, until the Triton Gold and Owners events the last week of May. Won a Bassmaster Series event on the Alabama River in ’08 to qualify for the Gold event and hooked up with fellow Dobyns Rod guy Justin English for the Owners event. Pre-fished from Paris on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Saturday proved to be awesome doing something I didn’t see anyone do all day. FISHING SHALLOW! Swimming jigs in the shoreline grass was producing a fish every dozen casts or so, and about every fifth or sixth fish was at least three pounds. Did go out and find some ledges for a back up pattern and caught dozens of fish but not many keepers. After hearing the parking lot talk at the hotel, I knew I was on to something that was different. On Sunday evening while idling into the ramp area, I decided to swim the jig inside the marina to catch some of the Saturday tournament release fish, and in six casts had over 24lbs! “I wish this wasn’t off limits for Wednesday” I thought to myself. Monday was a holiday and had motor troubles. Blown fuses kept me guessing and limped back to the ramp after fishing only deep ledges and boating forty or better fish before lunch. Tuesday, I was at the dealership when the doors opened because the Triton truck hadn’t arrived yet. He hooked up the 250XS to the laptop and got a bad injector reading. Replaced and back on the water. Same trouble after about a 15 mile run. Back to the ramp and to the Merc trailer and he fixed me right up by replacing the “direct injector” instead of the actual fuel injector.

 So, Wed. is the first day of the Gold event and on Tuesday evening I learn that Paris is NOT off limits. I’m stoked at the Sunday fish I had caught in there and make it my first stop. One problem though. Tuesday night, they decided to pull the water down about six or eight inches and there isn’t not a fish to be found in the grass!!!! Down the lake to my good grass places. Same thing! Nada. So out to the ledges. Crankbaits and C-rigs boat me over one hundred fish during the day but no luck with keepers. Landed one three pounder all freakin’ day. Only the top 25 fish day two, so I don’t even weigh in. Practice on the ledges on Thursday and find some good keepers cranking but nothing impressive.

 First day of the Team event I’m standing on the ramp at 4am and my phone rings. It’s my mother-in-law’s number I had that bad feeling in my gut before I answered it. That feeling was right as it was my wife telling me her father had passed away in the night. I tell her I’m packing up and heading home, but she was adamant that there was nothing I could do there and to stay and fish as planned. Folks, that was a hard thing for me to do, but you have to know my wife to understand the reasoning. I would have been in the doghouse if I had left unlike most that it would have been the other way around. You young guys need to make sure you marry a good one if you plan on doing this long, and I’ve got the best wife around by far!

 So, we are struggling early. One keeper before ten o’clock. Then another. Then a move back up river and I get a hit and miss on the crankbait. I kill it, and my partner hooks up. I net his fish, and while we’re admiring it in the net my rod is bouncing, but line is tangles everywhere. So I grab it with my hands and hand-line another keeper in. Four in the box. Then five, then it’s culling time, but we land no monsters and end the day with just over 13lbs.

 Second day starts slow. Then after a move, my crankbait is hung up shallow. I’m pulling, pulling hard too just trying to break it off. It snaps loose, and then hung up again. So I’m trying to rip it free just as I see scales and lips jumping with this big ‘ole crankbait shaking around. Land a 5lb 12ouncer and the day has started well. Land another four pounder an hour or so later. Then NOTHING! Can’t get anther keeper all day. Catching fish wasn’t a problem, but just had no luck at getting on the bigger schools as the leading teams did.

 All in all, it was a great trip to a new fishery. Eight days of cranking took it toll on the hands and forearms but well worth the aggravation. Made some great new friends and some good contacts in the industry. You folks around Kentucky lake have a great fishery and it will absolutely only get better over the next two to three years!