DOTL Challenge: Put a Bassmaster Elite Series pro on a small lake he’s never seen before. Give him seven hours to locate and catch bass while we log his every move.
Steve Kennedy has carved out a phenomenal career in pro bass fishing while pretty much flying under the radar. For example, you won’t see him wearing a jersey splattered with dozens of lure sponsor logos. “I’d rather just buy whatever baits work and not be obligated to some big corporation,” he explains. Kennedy was arguably the first Southern bass pro to grasp the power of big swimbaits; today these outsized artificials remain his favorite lure genre. “After I won $110,000 at that 2007 California [Elite Series] tournament, I walked into a nearby tackle store and spent $10,000 on swimbaits,” Steve recalls. “And 10 grand didn’t get me a ton of lures either. Those West Coast guys were handmaking big swimbaits in their basements, and they were crazy expensive.” Kennedy also stands apart from the Elite Series pack by his “Aw, shucks” manner — the man has no game face, just a big grin that belies his meticulous work ethic and fiercely competitive nature. Here’s what happened when we put Kennedy on obscure Lake L during some of the most volatile weather conditions we’ve faced in this series.
6:46 a.m. It’s clear, windy and 45 degrees when we arrive at Lake L’s deserted boat launch. Severe thunderstorms swept through the area the night before and are expected to pop up again by late morning. “The bass should be moving up shallow to spawn, if they haven’t spawned already,” Kennedy says as he readies his rod arsenal. “It was 75 degrees here yesterday, then it rained 2 inches last night and it’s supposed to blow 30 mph and rain more today. I’ll look for shallow run-ins and protected areas where they could be spawning.”
SEVEN HOURS LEFT
7:05 a.m. We launch the Bass Cat. Kennedy checks the water: it’s 60 degrees and fairly clear. “Conditions here look perfect for a new bladed jig-type lure that I’ve been using. I also want to throw some swimbaits and glidebaits and try to catch some big females. I’m going to head for the dam; that’s usually a good place to start on a new lake.”
7:09 a.m. Kennedy idles into a shallow pocket adjacent to Lake L’s dam and makes his first casts of the day with a 3/8-ounce chartreuse shad G-Ratt Baits Weedless Vibrating Jig with a white G-Ratt Baits Mixer trailer. “G-Ratt is a small California lure company that’s making some really innovative stuff. Their Weedless Vibrating Jig [WVJ] has some cool design features that set it apart from a standard bladed jig. It vibrates like crazy on a straight retrieve, yet its free-swinging hook and low-profile head make it way more weedless than a regular bladed jig. It’s so snag resistant, you can actually pitch it into grass and laydowns and shake it through thick cover like a flipping jig.”
7:17 a.m. Kennedy retrieves a big trout-pattern G-Ratt Baits Poppa Pete glidebait through the pocket. “Glidebaits are super-erratic lures that are really exciting to fish. You can usually see the bass swim up and eat it.”
7:26 a.m. Kennedy switches Weedless Vibrating Jig colors to sunfish with a green pumpkin Mixer trailer and casts it parallel to riprap at the dam.
7:31 a.m. Kennedy idles to a nearby cove and tries the chartreuse shad WVJ around some laydowns.
7:32 a.m. A 10-inch bass hits the WVJ and shakes free. “I bet that was a bedding fish.”
7:39 a.m. Kennedy moves to a nearby, narrower cove and tries the sunfish WVJ on a sloping bank.
7:41 a.m. He spots a vacant spawning bed in the back of the cove. “The water is 65 degrees back here. Some fish may have already spawned.”
7:45 a.m. Kennedy is moving quickly along the bank while making short underhand pitches to flooded bushes and overhangs with the chartreuse shad vibrating jig. “I’m often able to catch a bedding fish with this lure by crawling it onto the nest and shaking it.”
7:47 a.m. Kennedy catches his first keeper bass of the day, 1 pound, 2 ounces, off a laydown on the chartreuse shad WVJ. “I didn’t see a nest but that’s probably a bedding buck.”
7:54 a.m. Kennedy casts the sunfish WVJ to a flooded tree; it tangles in a branch and dangles enticingly over the water. “I call that ‘wind chiming!’”
SIX HOURS LEFT
8:05 a.m. Still scanning the shallows for bedding fish. How will this cold front impact spawners? “The temperature has definitely dropped since yesterday but I don’t think it’s severe enough to push them off their nests.”
8:11 a.m. Kennedy runs uplake and enters a tributary arm with multiple docks and boathouses, which he begins probing with the chartreuse shad WVJ.
8:13 a.m. Kennedy enters a canal leading to several boathouses and catches his second keeper, 2 pounds, 2 ounces, on the chartreuse shad WVJ.
8:17 a.m. Kennedy’s trolling motor is kicking up mud as he moves to the back of the canal. “This is absolutely the kind of place they like to spawn in — shallow, isolated and protected from the north wind.”
8:20 a.m. No more takers here, so Kennedy quickly exits the canal while pitching the sunfish WVJ beneath brushy overhangs.
8:27 a.m. Kennedy has probed several boathouses with both colors of vibrating jig. He speed trolls into another cove and continues casting the lures to scattered wood cover. “I’m dying to throw those big swimbaits and gliders more but I’m waiting until the bite gets more active before I switch to them. So far it’s been pretty slow.”
8:34 a.m. Kennedy comes to a long dock and slow rolls a G-Ratt Baits Executioner soft swimbait down the structure. ”I rig this bait with a small spinner blade dangling from a weighted belly hook. The water is dirty back here, and that blade gives it a little extra vibration.”
8:41 a.m. No love on the swimbait, so Kennedy vacates the cove and idles into another canal. Moving quickly, he casts the sunfish WVJ to shoreline cover and docks.
8:46 a.m. Kennedy’s forward-facing sonar has detected a big fish on the bottom under a boathouse. He pitches the sunfish WVJ to the fish; the blip on his graph’s screen swims away, then circles back. “That’s definitely a big bedding fish.”
8:52 a.m. Kennedy has spent several minutes trying to entice the big spawner to bite but the fish refuses to cooperate. “I’ll come back here later and maybe she’ll be in a better mood.”
8:57 a.m. Kennedy has vacated the canal and is casting the sunfish WVJ to a seawall.
FIVE HOURS LEFT
9:05 a.m. He follows the seawall into another shallow canal; the water here is downright muddy. He retrieves the chartreuse shad WVJ around a boathouse.
9:11 a.m. It’s clouding up rapidly as Kennedy presses farther up the canal with the WVJ. A bass grabs the lure near a dock piling but shakes free. “That was a good fish!”
9:19 a.m. Kennedy has reached the back end of the canal. “I haven’t caught squat back here, which is surprising — normally they move into these runoff spots after a warm rain. I’m facing kind of a double whammy today; first there’s the cold front, and the fish that had already moved shallow appear to be on bed and aren’t cooperating. I may have to slow down and switch to a wacky worm to get the spawners to bite, which sucks because I like to fish faster.”
9:25 a.m. Kennedy moves to a nearby shallow flat and catches his third keeper, 1 pound, 6 ounces, on the sunfish WVJ. “Another buck bass. Where are their girlfriends hiding?”
9:30 a.m. It’s spitting rain as Kennedy moves into a sheltered cove where he pitches the sunfish WVJ around shoreline cover.
9:34 a.m. He retrieves the Poppa Pete glidebait around a big laydown but hauls water.
9:42 a.m. Kennedy spots a bass on a bed near the bank; it bolts off as he moves closer. “Three-pounder.”
9:44 a.m. The spawning bass hasn’t reappeared, so Kennedy continues around the cove, covering water quickly with the sunfish WVJ.
9:52 a.m. Kennedy crosses a shallow mud point at the termination of the cove and progresses along a shallow bank with the sunfish WVJ.
FOUR HOURS LEFT
10:09 a.m. Kennedy casts the sunfish WVJ parallel to a long seawall.
10:14 a.m. The seawall makes an abrupt bend. Kennedy casts the sunfish WVJ to the sweet spot and a big bass hammers it! He works the fish closer and swings aboard his fourth keeper, a 4-0 largemouth. “This big girl was right on the point where that seawall turns and, judging from its raw tail, it was on a bed.”
10:15 a.m. Kennedy recasts the sunfish WVJ to the same spot and another good fish loads on! His fifth keeper weighs 3 pounds, 10 ounces. “This must be the male. It was in the exact same spot as the 4-pounder.”
10:21 a.m. Kennedy has reached the end of the seawall. He moves to a shallow pocket and retrieves the Poppa Pete glidebait near a submerged tree. “I need a couple of big fish to cull my two ’pounders.”
10:28 a.m. He resumes cranking the sunfish WVJ around boathouses. “I’m really surprised I haven’t caught anything around these docks and boathouses yet. They provide great overhead cover and plenty of bluegills to chomp on.”
10:34 a.m. Moving at a fast clip, Kennedy hits a steep shoreline with the sunfish WVJ.
10:50 a.m. The wind is howling as Kennedy continues pounding Lake L’s shoreline with the vibrating jig. What’s his take on the day so far? “It was pretty slow until around 10 a.m. when I caught those two good fish on back-to-back casts, now it’s slowed down again. The cold front has definitely put these fish in a funk and weather radar shows more rain on the way. I’m going to keep covering water, and if I actually see a bedding fish I’ll force myself to switch to a wacky worm.”
THREE HOURS LEFT
11:05 a.m. Kennedy ’Scopes a good fish under a boathouse. He pitches the sunfish WVJ to the bass; it follows the lure to the bottom but doesn’t strike it. Steve gently shakes the bait but can’t get a reaction.
11:11 a.m. He slings Poppa Pete to a seawall but can’t entice a strike.
11:18 a.m. Kennedy flips the sunfish WVJ to a big laydown.
11:23 a.m. Steve swims the Executioner past a moored pontoon boat as waves crash against the shoreline. “That storm is getting closer.”
11:26 a.m. Kennedy wacky-rigs a green pumpkin/blue Yamamoto Senko finesse worm and idles into another shallow cove. He moves quickly along the shoreline while looking for beds but can’t spot any spawning fish.
11:34 a.m. Kennedy puts down his wacky-rigged spinning rod and casts the sunfish WVJ to another seawall. A good fish grabs it, jumps and comes unbuttoned! “Three-pounder!”
11:36 a.m. Kennedy casts Poppa Pete to the seawall but there’s no comeback.
11:41 a.m. He moves to a chunk rock point where he tries the chartreuse shad WVJ. No takers here.
11:45 a.m. Kennedy races uplake to the mouth of a shallow cove and retrieves the sunfish WVJ around submerged stumps.
TWO HOURS LEFT
12:05 p.m. Kennedy has made a quick trip around the cove with the sunfish WVJ, keying on laydowns and stumps without success.
12:09 p.m. The sky is turning black as Kennedy rockets across the lake to a shallow flat with several boathouses. He lowers his trolling motor but it grinds into the bottom. “Oh, great! Now the dang boat’s stuck!”
12:14 p.m. We’ve tried rocking the boat free without success, so Kennedy resorts to removing his shoes, rolling up his pantlegs and getting in the water to push. “I sure don’t want to be stuck here if there’s a tornado approaching!”
12:16 p.m. Kennedy manages to push the boat free just as the rain starts falling. He climbs back aboard and begins casting the sunfish WVJ to boathouses.
12:24 p.m. It’s pouring rain and the wind is blowing 30 mph as Kennedy casts the Executioner swimbait to a seawall. “They would for sure cancel an Elite Series tournament in weather this bad!”
12:32 p.m. Undaunted by the violent storm, Kennedy continues hitting docks and boathouses with the swimbait and sunfish WVJ.
12:39 p.m. We’re now being peppered by small hailstones as the storm intensifies! “Are you having fun yet?” Kennedy asks. Nope!
12:51 p.m. The hail and rain diminish as the storm cloud moves northward. Kennedy has transitioned to a main-lake point to try the chartreuse shad WVJ. “That was pretty hairy, but I’ve been through a lot worse. At least there wasn’t any lightning.”
ONE HOUR LEFT
1:05 p.m. The wind is still howling as Kennedy gets a short strike on the sunfish WVJ.
1:15 p.m. The sun has popped out again as Kennedy races back uplake to the boathouse with the bedding bass beneath its roof that he fished earlier. He scans the spot with forward-facing sonar but can’t locate the spawner.
1:22 p.m. Kennedy runs back to the seawall where he caught back-to-back spawners. His second trip to the structure doesn’t pan out.
1:28 p.m. It’s now gusting to 40 mph. Kennedy moves to a clay flat with scattered stumps and tries the chartreuse shad WVJ.
1:36 p.m. Another black cloud looms overhead as a bass nips at the vibrating jig. “This storm’s really got ’em spooked.”
1:51 p.m. It’s spitting rain again as the storm closes in. Kennedy makes his final casts of the day to a channel bank above the boat launch with the sunfish WVJ.
2:05 p.m. Time’s up! In spite of volatile weather, Kennedy has managed to boat five keeper bass. Their total weight is 12 pounds, 4 ounces.
THE DAY IN PERSPECTIVE
“It’s been a wild day!” Kennedy told Bassmaster. “The crazy weather combined with many fish either in spawning or immediate postspawn mode made for a tough bite. Catching those two nice spawners on back-to-back casts was awesome! If I were to fish here again tomorrow, I wouldn’t spend so much time hitting docks and boathouses — I never caught a single fish off those structures. I’d spend more time targeting seawalls and isolated cover in protected spawning areas, and I’d force myself to slow down throwing that wacky worm.“
WHERE AND WHEN STEVE KENNEDY CAUGHT HIS FIVE BIGGEST BASS
(1) 1 pound, 2 ounces; 3/8-ounce chartreuse shad G-Ratt Baits Weedless Vibrating Jig with white G-Ratt Baits Mixer; laydown in spawning cove; 7:47 a.m.
(2) 2 pounds, 2 ounces; same lure as No. 1; shallow canal; 8:13 a.m.
(3) 1 pound, 6 ounces; 3/8-ounce sunfish G-Ratt Baits Weedless Vibrating Jig with green pumpkin G-Ratt Baits Mixer; shallow flat; 9:25 a.m.
(4) 4 pounds; same lure as No. 3; spawning bed near seawall; 10:14 a.m.
(5) 3 pounds, 10 ounces; same lure as No. 3; same place as No. 4; 10:15 a.m.
TOTAL: 12 POUNDS, 4 OUNCES
