Steve Kennedy has a 4-pounder in his livewell today. The importance of a fish that size is obvious when you look at the BassTrakk standings and see him inside the top 15 with only three fish totaling an estimated 8 pounds, 9 ounces.
No matter where the Elite Series goes, Kennedy finds time to pursue a fish species other than bass. He just loves to fish – for everything. Two weeks ago at the St. Johns River, Kennedy, his wife, Julia, and their children, Sophia and S.J., were camped at Salt Springs. Kennedy caught a tilapia bigger than the 4-pound bass he landed this morning.
“I would guess it weighed 4 1/2 pounds,” said the 51-year-old Auburn, Ala., angler. “It was pushing 5 pounds, I think. It was stout across the back.”
Stout enough to feed a family of four that night. Kennedy also hooked three tarpon in Salt Springs. He hooked them, but didn’t land them. “I hooked one that was about 30 pounds,” he said. “It looked like it went 10 feet in the air. That 10-pound line snapped so quick.
“I don’t keep a list, but I like to catch something everywhere we go, whatever is available. That’s what I love about what we do.”
Kennedy has caught more than his share of bass in his pro career. He’s won three Elite Series tournaments and his B.A.S.S. totals include just under $1.8 million in prize money.
