PARIS, Tenn . — Some pros remained tight lipped, while others made gloom-and-doom predictions of their practice time prior to the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia.
The sandbagging is over and Kentucky Lake is ready to put on a show this week for the next three days. The prevailing patterns and weather conditions are setting up in favor of the anglers for a 80-plus pound win. That trend is well underway, with 9 of the top 10 anglers catching at least 20 pounds on Friday.
Last month’s record rainfall raised Kentucky Lake beyond summer pool, and now the lake is nearly back to normal. During the rise and fall of the lake the conditions got prime for largemouth to move into shallow water and spawn.
The spawn is in all phases, and tipping more towards the postspawn as largemouth begin backtracking towards deeper water. There’s a shad spawn underway, too. Put both factors together and you have the dynamics of an all day bite. Fish the shad spawn early, boat a quick limit, back off later in the morning for quality fish.
With so much going on it’s worth finding out what worked well, what didn’t and what adjustments the pros plan to make moving forward. Here was how Friday unfolded for the top anglers.
Chris Zaldain (24-3)
What worked: Everything, I caught my total weight by 10 o’clock this morning. I had such a good practice (he caught around 30 pounds on Wednesday) that I can’t see much room for improvement.
What didn’t work: Nothing, I practiced to win and so far so good.
What he’ll change tomorrow: Maybe some adjustments with the changing weather. I need three things to make it happen, so it’ll be about putting those together.
Jordan Lee (21-3)
What worked: I struggled in practice and also this morning. I made the right decision to make a big change, or otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am.
What didn’t work: I wasn’t paying attention to what I needed to do this morning. I went two hours without a fish, just got stuck. Sometimes you need to wise up and make changes happen when you don’t necessarily think it’s time.
What he’ll change tomorrow: Go back to same places I caught fish today, and just pound ‘em and see what happens.
Jason Christie (20-13)
What worked: Just grinding it out. Going to my next place knowing there will be a boat already there. Just putting my head down and being determined to get the better bite than other guys in the same area. That gave me confidence.
What didn’t work: My sandwich. It got soggy.
What he’ll change tomorrow: I caught most of my fish where I hadn’t even caught any in practice. That tells me there’s not one place any better than another. There is no private water, so just keep grinding it out.
Bobby Lane Jr. (20-7)
What worked: Execution. I haven’t had a good first day in a while and everything just clicked.
What didn’t work: Cloudy skies. I need the sun to come out. The water level stabilizing will help, too. I need the fish more in the bushes. When you get a bite, it’s a good one.
What he’ll change tomorrow: I need another 20 pounds to stay in the game, so more of the same.
Gerald Swindle (20-4)
What worked: I stayed settled down. I didn’t have a lot of company and that was breeding confidence in my all day. I wasn’t fishing fast and furious, going into a pocket trying to compete against 20 guys.
What didn’t work: I should have fished a Carolina rig more.
What he’ll change tomorrow: You never shoot 100 percent but that’s my goal. So go back and try to execute better. Today I lost two fish over 7 pounds, so there’s room for better execution.
Josh Bertrand (20-2)
What worked: My timing. I got lucky because I was alone in my first two areas. The fishing pressure is really high in the best areas, so being in the right place at the right time made the difference.
What didn’t work: I had a couple of long lulls without fish. There is a lot of dead water right now in between the good areas. I wasted a lot of time trying to find new water, thinking I will need it for tomorrow.
What he’ll change tomorrow: Try and find more water to myself.