Peek reaches new heights

Alabama co-angler notches second win in two weeks

MURRAY, Ky. – Richard Peek thought he was on top of the world last week when he won the EverStart Series Southeast Division event on Pickwick Lake. As it turns out, that was just the precursor to a much bigger win this week at the Walmart FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake.

A recent Auburn graduate and College Fishing veteran, Peek’s 2011 season has been nothing short of remarkable. The week prior to Pickwick, he took ninth at the FLW Tour Open on the Potomac River. Before that, he took 14th at the FLW Tour Red River Major. Prior to that, he took second at the EverStart Southeast event on Lake Eufaula – losing by a single ounce. And before that, he took third at the FLW Tour Lake Hartwell Major.

While he caught four bass for 11-8 with pro Ramie Colson Jr. Saturday, Peek made his move on day two, fishing with pro JT Kenney. While working a ledge near Moors Marina, Peek sacked 20 pounds, 11 ounces, the heaviest stringer of the tournament among the co-anglers.

“I absolutely love ledge fishing on the Tennessee River; I grew up 30 minutes from Lake Guntersville,” he said. “So fishing Barkley today was an adjustment for sure. I hadn’t really been over there so I didn’t have a great idea of what was going on.”

The deep bite was slow Saturday, but when Colson fished shallow Peek capitalized by flipping a Bo’s jig and throwing a ChatterBait. When he fished deep, he used a 10-inch Ouzo ribbontail worm and an unnamed soft plastic swimbait. The swimbait is noteworthy not only because Peek has won back-to-back tournaments with it but also because his group of friends is using it with much success and keeping its identity quiet.

Those individuals include JR Wright, who won at Hartwell, and Keeton Blaylock who won at both Beaver and Chickamauga. What makes the swimbait so productive is that you can ever-so-slowly reel it in and the paddle tail still maintains a great kicking action.

“They think it’s a shad in those shell beds and they can’t resist it,” he said.

While the swimbait accounted for much of his weight early in the week, he also mixed in a crankbait and a Carolina Rig.

“Today I only got four good bites and I got them all in the boat. I guess the good thing about being shallow today was we were a little more protected from the wind, especially when we were in the backs of the creeks.”

Peek’s latest win earned him $20,000. The money will help him fish the EverStarts as a pro in the near future, but the title is what’s most important.

“This is huge. Other than winning the Forrest Wood Cup, this is the biggest tournament you can win as a co-angler.”

Dumitras retains second

Tony Dumitras had the rare opportunity to fish with his friend and practice partner Glenn Chappelear on day three. The stormy conditions were tough, but Dumitras still scratched out four Kentucky Lake bass weighing 11 pounds, 11 ounces, bringing his three-day total weight to 46 pounds, 14 ounces. Dumitras narrowly missed the win – coming up 4 ounces short to be exact. But to hear him tell it, he’s already won.

“I just really wanted to accomplish this,” said an emotional Dumitras. “I can’t speak. I couldn’t speak the first day after I caught the 20 pounds. This is my first top 10 and it means a lot to me.”

As his day-one pro partner Blake Nick described it, Dumitras “old-manned” it this week. To translate, that means he slowly dragged a football-head jig with a 10-inch worm.

For second place, the Winston, Ga., native earned $7,134.

Lucy rises to third

Hot Springs, Ark., co-angler Dakota Lucy rose from eighth to third via a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces. He finished the tournament with 38 pounds, 13 ounces, earning $4,750.

“I caught my last keeper with 45 minutes to go,” he said.

This was Lucy’s second FLW Tour top 10 and fourth overall.

Bone, Sward round out top five

Fourth place and $3,797 went to Patrick Bone of Cleveland, Ga., with a combined weight of 37 pounds, 5 ounces. Bone’s day-three catch of four bass weighed 11 pounds. With one tournament remaining, Bone has overtaken Blaylock for the lead in the Co-angler of the Year race. His worst finish of the season was a 24th-place effort at Beaver Lake.

Justin Sward of Birmingham, Ala., finished fifth with a three-day total of 36 pounds, 13 ounces. His five-bass limit Saturday weighed 12 pounds, 14 ounces – the heaviest stringer of the day among the co-anglers. He earned $2,844.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finishers at Kentucky and Barkley lakes:

6th: Sean Stepp of Stafford, Va.,36-6, $2,367

7th: Matt Hults of Gautier, Miss., 36-3, $1,890

8th: Rob Hicks of Lula, Ga., 35-13, $1,700

9th: Billy Brindle of Calhoun, Ga., 35-12, $1,604

10th: Dan Thill of La Crosse, Wis., 35-9, $1,509