PARIS, Tenn. — Only a handful of anglers were able to improve on their Day Two weights, though the day seemed perfect for the shallow bite that brought most of the top 10 anglers to the dance.
There was a light northeastern wind, but according to local pro Bobby Kilzer, who missed the cut by ounces, a northeast wind can be a double-edged sword on Kentucky Lake.
"It just turns these fish off. I'm not sure what the cause is, but they are definitely affected by it."
The water temperature also fell all week, doubling the trouble for most fishermen.
Jerry Williams had a backup plan he had found during practice: "It was a dock bite, and I hadn't had to go to it the last two days, but I knew I had to make that move this morning when my fish were gone."
When he arrived at the docks that had produced good fish during practice, he was left high and dry, leaving him to rely on his experience to get a limit, "I just had to go and find new water. I just couldn't help (upgrade) my limit," he explained.
He wasn't the only one who had trouble.
Elite Series pro Jamie Fralick went to his two-day sweet spot and found the fish were also gone.
"They just left." Fralick said, as he looked down at the two fish in the weigh-in bag. "They just didn't do it."
While Day Two would see only four pros not producing a limit, the final day would see over half the field fail to bring a limit to the scales.