TW_Staff
06-17-2009, 11:23 AM
Keith Williams fished New Johnsonville roadbeds and ledges to clinch the FLW Kentucky Lake victory.
The south end of the lake now experiences a strong bloom of grass and has turned red-hot. But the Kentucky Lake FLW Tour launched at the very north end of the lake.
Flocks of pros made the huge 70-mile run south to the New Johnsonville area of Kentucky Lake, while other stayed north and kept their lines wet for a longer period.
Williams certainly showed the true power of the south at Kentucky Lake. After several weeks that included a Bassmaster Elite Series event, the FLW Tour stop, plus several massive pro-ams and local tournaments, New Johnsonville still kicked out big fish, including the 9-pound day-4 hawg that won it for Williams.
For the official practice, Williams decided to headquarter in Paris. The first day of practice was actually the final day of the Elite Series event there. Williams said he "mostly stayed out of the way" of the BASS pros and "practiced some spots where (he) didn't think they'd fish.
"I found some shallow spots, but didn't fish any ledges until they left," he added. He noted he caught at least 20 pounds there each day of practice and "knew it could easily be won down there."
Competition:
Williams started day 1 on a spot at New Johnsonville that he'd found the third day of official practice. When he arrived, nobody was on his first spot and he went to work with a football-head jig.
"I started slowly working down the ledge and a local pulled in 50 yards in front of me," he said. "I got closer and closer, then politely asked him if I could have this stretch of water. He headed off and I caught 21 pounds in about 30 minutes in that one spot."
With 21 pounds in the box, Williams decided to leave the rest of his stuff alone. He fished all new water, but lost one of his three batteries and was forced to drift the ledges and crank a Norman DD22.
He began day 2 the same way as day 1, but this time a local had beat him to the spot and he never caught a keeper there.
"After about 2 hours on that hole I went to my second-best spot," he noted. "It was the same ledge, but about 2 miles upriver. It was a roadbed that runs in front of a big grass flat. On the side of the roadbed's a ditch that drops to 20 feet, comes back up to 10 feet, then drops into the main river channel. It was maybe 20 yards wide.
"I went to that ditch, sat right there and caught 20 pounds in 15 minutes on the jig. You had to make one certain cast – you couldn't miss by a foot either way – and you'd catch a 3 1/2- or 4-pounder every time."
Williams started day 3 in exactly the same spot he did the first 2 days. He was still throwing a jig, but his co-angler hooked up first and landed a 3 1/2-pounder on a big worm.
Next, Williams ran to his roadbed and ditch and his co-angler almost immediately roped a 5-pounder (again, on a big worm).
"We got closer to the spot, fished about an hour back and forth, and neither of us got a bite," Williams said. "I knew the fish were still there – the depthfinder was lighting up. After about the fourth pass his co-angler caught one over 4 pounds on a worm. He knew then he had a chance to win, and gave me some of his worms."
Williams went on to catch 18 pounds that day on the 11-inch plum worms. He caught most of his fish on the roadbed/ditch spot, but added a few from the spot he'd found on day 1 when he was drifting. It was the same roadbed/ditch, but a mile down the river.
Williams started day 4 with his own big worm – a plum Zoom Ol' Monster – but didn't start where he did the previous 3 days. Instead, he went straight to his roadbed/ditch and his first fish was a 9-pounder.
“Seventy percent of my bites came on the initial fall. I would put the boat in anywhere from 20 to 30 feet, and I would make long casts up toward the ledge. In the morning, especially on cloudy days, they were way on top of the road bed, and I was keeping my boat deep and making really long casts to keep from spooking them, and I was throwing shallow – maybe even 8 feet.”
“There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, and this will really give me a confidence boost. I had a few good years when I first started fishing the Tour, but then I hit a dry spell. I even considered not fishing, but Land O’Lakes has always been there supporting me. If it wasn’t for them keeping me in it, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Winning Pattern:
About how he worked his jig, Williams said: "I was stroking it a little bit, but I was trying not to jump it too high. I lot of guys jerk it real high off bottom – they try to fish it almost like a jigging spoon. But I was trying to keep it in contact with the bottom. I wasn't dragging it, but I was hopping it. That's the way I fished the worm too."
About his roadbed/ditch area, he said: "The roadbed was about 10 feet (deep), the ditch dropped into 20 feet, then it came up a little and dropped to 35 or 37 feet in the main river channel. It was just an old road that used to go along the river."
Winning Gear:
Jig gear: 7'6" heavy-action Team All Star flipping stick, Pflueger Patriarch (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PPTCR) casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC), 3/4-ounce Strike King Football jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKTFJ) (green-pumpkin) and 3/4-ounce homemade football jig (green-pumpkin), 6" Zoom Brush Hog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZBBH) (green-pumpkin/red).
Worm gear: Same rod, reel and line, 5/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten Worm weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTCBW) (black), 5/0 Gamakatsu round-bend hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GWHRB), Zoom Ol' Monster worm (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZOM)(plum).
The Field:
David Young:
David Young has had a tremendous run on his home waters of Kentucky Lake.
“I told my cameraman to get ready right before I made my first cast,” he said. “Sure enough, I caught a nice keeper, and I caught another keeper on my second cast.”
From there, the day took a difficult turn. Young had a 7-pounder all the way to the boat that actually broke off his hook. He lost another 7-pounder and a 5-pound smallmouth that rolled off right at the edge of the net. Needless to say, it will make for some excellent television coverage.
“It was unbelievable; I should have had 30 pounds. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see those fish come off.”
Young said the key to his success this week was fishing a mixture of mussel and rock. The Mayfield, Ky., pro estimated that half of his spots were homemade.
“I never went to the spot I had saved for today. I never went four or five miles from where we took off this morning (Kenlake).”
Young’s key bait was a 1-ounce Spaits Spoon. As day four concluded, he used a Bill Norman DD22 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DD22S) in chartreuse and blue to give the fish something they hadn’t seen yet.
“When the sun was shining, that spoon was just like a flashlight going off down there. The fish could see it from 20 to 30 feet away.”
Larry Nixon:
Chevy pro Larry Nixon targeted mussel-laden ledges in 18 to 22 feet of water. When practice began, he used a crankbait and a jig, but all they would produce were tons of little fish. He then switched to the Spaits Spoon, and it made all the difference in the world.
“I got my tail kicked on that thing two years ago in Ultimate Match Fishing by Kelly Jordon,” said the three-time FLW Tour champion. “It is huge and it floats kind of funny, but they absolutely hammer it. Once the tournament started, I never weighed a bass on another lure. Sometimes you had to force-feed them, but if you got one, you could get them every cast.”
“I was fishing from the Eggner Ferry Bridge (Highway 68/80) down almost to Paris.”
“That was one of the most fun tournaments I’ve fished in a long time. But I’m still not happy. Every time you make a top-10, you want to win.”
Mark Rose:
Mark Rose is known as an excellent TVA angler who loves to drag a jig over deep main-river ledges. He did plenty of that this week, and his jig of choice was a 3/4-ounce Strike King football (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKTFJ) head tipped with a Strike King Rage Chunk (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKRC). He also mixed in a Strike King Series 6 crankbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPMCB).
The Marion, Ark., pro would start every morning just south of the Eggner Ferry Bridge. He would then make a long run about 15 miles south of Paris. Rose weighed 18-11 today after catching only 14 pounds Saturday. His final-round total was 32 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I just fished a conservative tournament the last couple of days,” he said. “I had a small one today that I couldn’t cull; I was hooked up with a 4-pounder, but it jumped and spit my jig.”
Travis Fox:
During the opening round, Fox caught his fish on a PJ’s football-head jig with a Yamamoto twin-tail grub (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YA4DTG). He said the jig helped him locate and feel the shell beds. During the final round, he caught his bass on a blue-and-chartreuse DD22 crankbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DD22S) and a 10-inch Lucky Strike Worm. He tied his baits to 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC).
“Practice was awesome, the tournament was awesome – my week was just outstanding,” said the Springdale, Ark., native.
Fox focused on ledges north of Kenlake State Park Marina. When the fish were on top of the ledges, the crankbait was his best lure.
TW Staff
The south end of the lake now experiences a strong bloom of grass and has turned red-hot. But the Kentucky Lake FLW Tour launched at the very north end of the lake.
Flocks of pros made the huge 70-mile run south to the New Johnsonville area of Kentucky Lake, while other stayed north and kept their lines wet for a longer period.
Williams certainly showed the true power of the south at Kentucky Lake. After several weeks that included a Bassmaster Elite Series event, the FLW Tour stop, plus several massive pro-ams and local tournaments, New Johnsonville still kicked out big fish, including the 9-pound day-4 hawg that won it for Williams.
For the official practice, Williams decided to headquarter in Paris. The first day of practice was actually the final day of the Elite Series event there. Williams said he "mostly stayed out of the way" of the BASS pros and "practiced some spots where (he) didn't think they'd fish.
"I found some shallow spots, but didn't fish any ledges until they left," he added. He noted he caught at least 20 pounds there each day of practice and "knew it could easily be won down there."
Competition:
Williams started day 1 on a spot at New Johnsonville that he'd found the third day of official practice. When he arrived, nobody was on his first spot and he went to work with a football-head jig.
"I started slowly working down the ledge and a local pulled in 50 yards in front of me," he said. "I got closer and closer, then politely asked him if I could have this stretch of water. He headed off and I caught 21 pounds in about 30 minutes in that one spot."
With 21 pounds in the box, Williams decided to leave the rest of his stuff alone. He fished all new water, but lost one of his three batteries and was forced to drift the ledges and crank a Norman DD22.
He began day 2 the same way as day 1, but this time a local had beat him to the spot and he never caught a keeper there.
"After about 2 hours on that hole I went to my second-best spot," he noted. "It was the same ledge, but about 2 miles upriver. It was a roadbed that runs in front of a big grass flat. On the side of the roadbed's a ditch that drops to 20 feet, comes back up to 10 feet, then drops into the main river channel. It was maybe 20 yards wide.
"I went to that ditch, sat right there and caught 20 pounds in 15 minutes on the jig. You had to make one certain cast – you couldn't miss by a foot either way – and you'd catch a 3 1/2- or 4-pounder every time."
Williams started day 3 in exactly the same spot he did the first 2 days. He was still throwing a jig, but his co-angler hooked up first and landed a 3 1/2-pounder on a big worm.
Next, Williams ran to his roadbed and ditch and his co-angler almost immediately roped a 5-pounder (again, on a big worm).
"We got closer to the spot, fished about an hour back and forth, and neither of us got a bite," Williams said. "I knew the fish were still there – the depthfinder was lighting up. After about the fourth pass his co-angler caught one over 4 pounds on a worm. He knew then he had a chance to win, and gave me some of his worms."
Williams went on to catch 18 pounds that day on the 11-inch plum worms. He caught most of his fish on the roadbed/ditch spot, but added a few from the spot he'd found on day 1 when he was drifting. It was the same roadbed/ditch, but a mile down the river.
Williams started day 4 with his own big worm – a plum Zoom Ol' Monster – but didn't start where he did the previous 3 days. Instead, he went straight to his roadbed/ditch and his first fish was a 9-pounder.
“Seventy percent of my bites came on the initial fall. I would put the boat in anywhere from 20 to 30 feet, and I would make long casts up toward the ledge. In the morning, especially on cloudy days, they were way on top of the road bed, and I was keeping my boat deep and making really long casts to keep from spooking them, and I was throwing shallow – maybe even 8 feet.”
“There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, and this will really give me a confidence boost. I had a few good years when I first started fishing the Tour, but then I hit a dry spell. I even considered not fishing, but Land O’Lakes has always been there supporting me. If it wasn’t for them keeping me in it, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Winning Pattern:
About how he worked his jig, Williams said: "I was stroking it a little bit, but I was trying not to jump it too high. I lot of guys jerk it real high off bottom – they try to fish it almost like a jigging spoon. But I was trying to keep it in contact with the bottom. I wasn't dragging it, but I was hopping it. That's the way I fished the worm too."
About his roadbed/ditch area, he said: "The roadbed was about 10 feet (deep), the ditch dropped into 20 feet, then it came up a little and dropped to 35 or 37 feet in the main river channel. It was just an old road that used to go along the river."
Winning Gear:
Jig gear: 7'6" heavy-action Team All Star flipping stick, Pflueger Patriarch (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PPTCR) casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC), 3/4-ounce Strike King Football jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKTFJ) (green-pumpkin) and 3/4-ounce homemade football jig (green-pumpkin), 6" Zoom Brush Hog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZBBH) (green-pumpkin/red).
Worm gear: Same rod, reel and line, 5/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten Worm weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTCBW) (black), 5/0 Gamakatsu round-bend hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GWHRB), Zoom Ol' Monster worm (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZOM)(plum).
The Field:
David Young:
David Young has had a tremendous run on his home waters of Kentucky Lake.
“I told my cameraman to get ready right before I made my first cast,” he said. “Sure enough, I caught a nice keeper, and I caught another keeper on my second cast.”
From there, the day took a difficult turn. Young had a 7-pounder all the way to the boat that actually broke off his hook. He lost another 7-pounder and a 5-pound smallmouth that rolled off right at the edge of the net. Needless to say, it will make for some excellent television coverage.
“It was unbelievable; I should have had 30 pounds. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see those fish come off.”
Young said the key to his success this week was fishing a mixture of mussel and rock. The Mayfield, Ky., pro estimated that half of his spots were homemade.
“I never went to the spot I had saved for today. I never went four or five miles from where we took off this morning (Kenlake).”
Young’s key bait was a 1-ounce Spaits Spoon. As day four concluded, he used a Bill Norman DD22 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DD22S) in chartreuse and blue to give the fish something they hadn’t seen yet.
“When the sun was shining, that spoon was just like a flashlight going off down there. The fish could see it from 20 to 30 feet away.”
Larry Nixon:
Chevy pro Larry Nixon targeted mussel-laden ledges in 18 to 22 feet of water. When practice began, he used a crankbait and a jig, but all they would produce were tons of little fish. He then switched to the Spaits Spoon, and it made all the difference in the world.
“I got my tail kicked on that thing two years ago in Ultimate Match Fishing by Kelly Jordon,” said the three-time FLW Tour champion. “It is huge and it floats kind of funny, but they absolutely hammer it. Once the tournament started, I never weighed a bass on another lure. Sometimes you had to force-feed them, but if you got one, you could get them every cast.”
“I was fishing from the Eggner Ferry Bridge (Highway 68/80) down almost to Paris.”
“That was one of the most fun tournaments I’ve fished in a long time. But I’m still not happy. Every time you make a top-10, you want to win.”
Mark Rose:
Mark Rose is known as an excellent TVA angler who loves to drag a jig over deep main-river ledges. He did plenty of that this week, and his jig of choice was a 3/4-ounce Strike King football (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKTFJ) head tipped with a Strike King Rage Chunk (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKRC). He also mixed in a Strike King Series 6 crankbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPMCB).
The Marion, Ark., pro would start every morning just south of the Eggner Ferry Bridge. He would then make a long run about 15 miles south of Paris. Rose weighed 18-11 today after catching only 14 pounds Saturday. His final-round total was 32 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I just fished a conservative tournament the last couple of days,” he said. “I had a small one today that I couldn’t cull; I was hooked up with a 4-pounder, but it jumped and spit my jig.”
Travis Fox:
During the opening round, Fox caught his fish on a PJ’s football-head jig with a Yamamoto twin-tail grub (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YA4DTG). He said the jig helped him locate and feel the shell beds. During the final round, he caught his bass on a blue-and-chartreuse DD22 crankbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DD22S) and a 10-inch Lucky Strike Worm. He tied his baits to 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC).
“Practice was awesome, the tournament was awesome – my week was just outstanding,” said the Springdale, Ark., native.
Fox focused on ledges north of Kenlake State Park Marina. When the fish were on top of the ledges, the crankbait was his best lure.
TW Staff