Stormy Kentucky kickoff
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Competition at the third EverStart Series Central Division tournament of the season is underway as 330 pros and co-anglers took off onto Kentucky and Barkley lakes at 6 a.m. for day one of fishing action. Weather will be a factor Wednesday as severe thunderstorms rolled through Western Kentucky last night and more are forecasted for the afternoon.
EverStart anglers will be gunning for both largemouth and smallmouth bass this week on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. If competitors can battle through the heavy winds brought on by the afternoon thunderstorms, don’t be surprised if a few leading stringers consist mainly of smallmouths, particularly out of Kentucky Lake.
Pros to keep your eye on this week include Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, the winner at EverStart Sam Rayburn who has finished no lower than third place in Central Division competition this year, Jeff Ransom of Muldrow, Okla., who has repeated fourth-place finishes in the first two division events of the year, and Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind., last year’s EverStart winner here who always seems to perform well at Kentucky Lake. Also, don’t forget about the local contingency headed by Terry Bolton and Dan Morehead, both of Paducah, Ky., who have each previously won tournaments on their home waters.
Day-one weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at Moors Resort in Gilbertsville. The four-day $210,000 tournament ends Saturday, when the pro winner will receive $15,000 and a Ranger boat and the co-angler winner will receive $6,000.
Vital statistics
Sunrise: 5:59 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 63 degrees
Expected high temperature: 81 degrees
Wind: From the southeast at 6 mph
Relative humidity: 96 percent
Day’s outlook: Mostly cloudy skies in the morning followed by strong thunderstorms during the afternoon.
Day-one links: