Five memories from Kentucky Lake

Every Elite Series tournament has its own flow and character. The things I tend to remember are the behind-the-scenes moments that most fans will never know about. Now that the dust has settled on the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia, here are my most memorable moments from the tournament:

1. Redneck ingenuity: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays the Bassmaster media crew from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” I’ve made an edit to the unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service to shed some light on my Elite coverage partner Steve Bowman. Day 2 of Kentucky Lake was a soggy mess, with heavy rain falling all morning. Bowman and I put on the Carhartt rain gear and went out in search of Bobby Lane. When we couldn’t find him, we opted to do a live feed with Marty Robinson for Bassmaster LIVE. We were testing a new piece of equipment that is able to stream video even when cell signals are poor. We worried about ruining the new equipment. But Bowman used some of his typical redneck ingenuity and wrapped both the camera and the streaming backpack in garbage bags (photo above) and then got about his business. And that’s typical for Bowman, he finds a way to get it done even when circumstances throw us a curveball.

2. KVD a superstar in good times and bad: Kevin VanDam finished 56th at Kentucky Lake. Not a happy ending for a guy who has placed 1st twice on the lake, 2nd twice, and 3rd once. When he exited backstage, after weighing his fish, a mob of admiring fans hemmed him in seeking autographs and photos. After back-to-back tournaments he was certainly ready to head home. But he was as gracious as could be—signing every autograph and smiling for every selfie photo over the course of about 30 minutes. For a while I thought he’d never make it out of the crowd. B.A.S.S. Communications staffer Mandy Pascal offered to rescue him twice. But the 25-time Bassmaster winner declined. I thought to myself, this is what life was like for Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. I can’t imagine any celebrity handling the attention better than KVD.

3. A son’s love for his mother: I noticed this Marshal photo of Chris Zaldain (above) on Day 1 and assumed he was sending an early Mothers’ Day message to his mom. But that wasn’t really the case. Zaldain’s mom has cancer, and he got word during practice she had experienced a setback. Maybe it was a twist of poetic justice that put Zaldain atop the leaderboard on Day 1. He had a tough Day 2 and dropped into the 40s, then finished strong on Day 3 in 18th place.  No doubt he was fishing with a heavy heart.  And it’s a reminder that real life can raise its ugly head even for anglers fishing their dream on the Elite Series. 

4. Asian carp a significant threat to the Tennessee River: Kentucky Lake is a long way from my hometown of Knoxville, which is near the headwaters of the Tennessee River, but the giant river system is like family to me. So I was alarmed to learn more about the Asian carp that have made their way into Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Some Elites said the Asian carp didn’t hurt the bass fishing much last week, while others were deeply concerned about their impact. What we know for sure is this invasive species is bad news. They are filter feeders, eating plankton, which is the base of the food chain for everything else. If we don’t get on top of this problem soon, the nations best river system for bass fishing will be harmed, perhaps beyond repair. We must take this seriously. Bassmaster will be doing more reporting on this issue in the months to come.

5. Wesley Strader is one cool cat: As you probably already know, Wesley Strader won the Kentucky Lake Elite tournament with 80 pounds 4 ounces of bass. Unbeknownst to Strader, he and Skeet Reese traded the lead back forth during much of Championship Monday. But that information probably wouldn’t have changed the way he fished. Strader has a way of being both intense and relaxed at the same time. “I go at this with a whole different attitude than a lot of other guys,” he told Mike Suchan. “I don’t think that I’m fishing against Keith Combs, or VanDam, or black and yellow Skeet Reese. At the end of the day, it’s about you against the fish.”

Strader is the only Elite angler I’ve seen sit down and take a lunch break during competition. He did it on Days 3 and 4. They weren’t long breaks, maybe five minutes. He’d eat a sandwich, chat with the cameraman and writer covering him, and then get right back to fishing. For most Elites I’ll notice them quickly chomping on a power bar, or throwing down a handful of nuts while idling to a new spot. Maybe Strader will start a new trend: relax, eat better, fish better.