Jake Lawrence acknowledged that he was “very familiar” with the local waters after delivering a stunning 28-15 limit yesterday to grab the day one lead in the Costa FLW Series Central Division tournament on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake.
The local pro wasted no time this morning keeping the pressure on. Following a long run from the Lake Barkley State Park launch site to his fishing hole south of Paris, Tenn., on Kentucky Lake, he hooked a chunky bass on his third cast. At 8:11 he boated his fourth bass, and after rotating through a couple of ledges, he was culling fish by mid-morning with about 20 pounds in the livewell. Around noon he flashed a thumbs up to some neighboring boats before breaking for the marina to refuel.
Cody Huff, who started day two in 29th place at 17-3, had “10 or 11” pounds by 9:30. Keith Amerson, who finished day one in 18th place with an 18-12 limit and was working in the same general area as Lawrence and Huff, had two fish by mid-morning.
Reports from the northern end of Kentucky Lake have Stacey King with four fish for about 14 pounds. King started the day in 10th place at 20-2. Marcus Sykora (eighth with 20-10 after day one) had three fish and around 8 pounds. Greg Bohannan had just two small ones mid-morning.
Over in Barkley, Ramie Colson Jr. started off with a 4-pounder early. We left him with just one in the boat.
Weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. CT at the Lake Barkley State Park marina. The three-day tournament, which is presented by T-H Marine, wraps up Saturday. The top 10 pros and co-anglers with the heaviest cumulative weight will advance to Saturday’s final round.