Day one of the BASS event on Kentucky Lake was impressive for several reasons. Chief among them was the weights. The top spot currently belongs to Bobby Lane, who sacked a stout 29-14. Anchoring that five-bass limit was a 7-15, the biggest fish of the day. Right behind Lane is Kevin Van Dam with 28-11 and the final pro in the top 10 has 23-7. On day one, exactly 20 pounds would put you in 32nd place overall.
Everyone knew weights were going to be good, but Wednesday’s catch far exceeded expectations. Most of the heavy strings came from the south end of the lake. BASS launches daily on the south end in Paris, Tenn., but many of the leaders fished well south of Paris in the New Johnsonville, Tenn., area. Some are even going beyond that.
That’s a difficult, but doable jaunt for the BASS anglers. But next week the FLW Tour pros will take off from the Kentucky Dam Marina, which is located on the northwest corner of the lake. If an FLW Tour angler is brave enough to attempt a run to New Johnsonville it can take over 2 hours each way. Plus, they will have to stop for gas because one tank isn’t enough.
Essentially, a trip to New Johnsonville cuts a pro’s fishing time in half. But from the looks of things, that’s where a lot of the quality fish are located. During the final round, the FLW Tour anglers will take off from Kenlake Marina in Hardin, Ky., which is roughly halfway to Paris. That will help, but it’s still a major gamble.
Lastly, it appears that the bass are pretty well into their summer haunts. That means the slight possibility of this tournament being won shallow has all but been eliminated. My advice to fantasy players is to load up on jig and crankbait fishermen.