Morehead ahead
Well-known local pro takes early lead in EverStart Central on home water
BENTON, Ky. – To hear that most of the leaders of the EverStart Series Central Division event on Kentucky Lake are catching their fish from deep, offshore structure is believable, especially for this time of year.
But to hear that most of the leaders of the tournament have yet to fish their best fishing spots is a little harder to accept.
Well, believe it or not, most of the leaders at the Kentucky Lake EverStart purposely avoided their sweetest honey holes today in an effort to save them for the finals.
Case in point, Stratos pro Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., leads the event with 21 pounds, 6 ounces after day one, and he never went to his best spots today.
“I had what I weighed in by about 8:30 this morning, then I spent the rest of the day practicing,” Morehead said. “I had a great practice, and I’m just running secondary places until I make the finals. I won’t even look at my best stuff until Friday.”
Kennedy second
Pedigree pro Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., is becoming very fond of Kentucky Lake. He won an FLW Tour event here in 2003, and now he is in second at the EverStart Central event with 19 pounds, 10 ounces.
Kennedy is also fishing offshore ledges in Kentucky Lake and caught 15 keepers today.
“I only have two schools of fish to work with, and I’m trying to save one of those for the finals,” he said.
Lashlee in third
Sam Lashlee of Camden, Tenn., is in third place with 19 pounds, 4 ounces.
Lashlee is also working the “save the best for last” strategy.
“I’ve got about 50 spots holding fish, but I only fished four of them today,” Lashlee said. “That’s the way you must fish these things if you want to win – you have to save your best stuff for last. This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Kilzer in fourth
Bobby Kilzer of Paris, Tenn., is in fourth place with 18 pounds, 9 ounces.
Ties for fifth and seventh
Kentucky pros Brett Foust of Paducah, Ky., and Jeff Hardin of Eddyville, Ky., are both tied for fifth place with 18 pounds, 6 ounces.
Tennessee pros Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., and Lloyd Pickett of Bartlett, Tenn., are both tied for seventh place with 18 pounds, 3 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 in the Pro Division are Ray Barga of Gilbertsville, Ky., in ninth place with 17 pounds and Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., in 10th place with 16 pounds, 14 ounces.
Grigsby’s big bass
BFGoodrich Tires pro Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich., is on a big-fish roll.
He won big-fish honors at the EverStart Eastern Division event on Lake Guntersville a couple weeks ago, and he took the day-one big-bass award of $750 at the Kentucky Lake EverStart today with a 7-pounder.
Pro stats
In the Pro Division there were 73 limits, 23 zeros and the top-20 cut weight now stands at 14 pounds, 14 ounces.
Clark ‘Penns’ up first in Co-angler Division
Woody Clark of Bandera, Texas, was paired with well-known local pro Shawn Penn of Eddyville, Ky., today and caught 17 pounds, 8 ounces from the back of his boat to take the Co-angler Division lead.
“We had a great day,” Clark said. “I used a Carolina-rigged 10-inch Power Worm and caught 8 keepers in anywhere from 12 to 20 feet of water.”
Rogers in second
Bill Rogers of Jasper, Texas, is second place with 17 pounds, 6 ounces.
His stringer was anchored with the day-one big bass in the Co-angler Division – a 6-pound bass that won him $250.
Divis in third
Frank Divis of Fayetteville, Ark., has been making cuts like a lawn mower in the Co-angler Division of both FLW and EverStart events recently, and now it looks like he is well on his way to making another one by holding down third with 13 pounds, 11 ounces.
“After the Kentucky Lake FLW, I stayed here for over a week trying to apply what I learned from Fritts at that tournament,” he said. “I took the places he was fishing and mimicked them up and down the river and discovered a different way to fish them, which is how I caught my fish today.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers after day one are Ron Bricker of Indianapolis in fourth with 13 pounds, 6 ounces; Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., in fifth with 13 pounds, 5 ounces; Harry Barber of Madisonville, Ky., in sixth with 13 pounds, 2 ounces; Steven Bankston of Mount Juliet, Tenn., in seventh with 12 pounds, 14 ounces; Tony Cooper of Horn Lake, Miss., in eighth with 12 pounds, 12 ounces; Eric Braden of Radcliff, Ky., in ninth with 12 pounds, 10 ounces; and Barry Baldwin of Dayton, Ohio, in 10th with 12 pounds, 6 ounces.
Co-angler stats
In the Co-angler Division there were 17 limits, 50 zeros and the top-20 cut is currently 9 pounds, 5 ounces.
Day-two fishing begins at 6 a.m. Central tomorrow at Moors Resort and Marina.