Kentucky Lake Elite Series

> Day 1: 5, 9-04
> Day 2: 5, 16-11
> Day 3: 5, 13-09
> Total = 15, 39-08 (23rd)

I had the big fish today, a 5-04, and that sort of helped. It sort of saved my day.

I had a couple of people fishing some of the spots I was fishing. Whether they knew about them or saw me there the day before, I don't know. So it was a little crowded in a few areas.

The big fish I caught on a Fat Free Shad (crankbait), and I caught it pretty early. But mostly I was dropshotting a 7-inch oxblood Roboworm today. They were out on the ledges, but up on top of them.

I think a lot of people struggled today because we had more boats and more wind. It really seemed to blow out some areas. A lot of my main-river stuff was too hard to fish.

Next up for me is I'm leaving at 4:00 in the morning and driving 17 hours to Champlain for the FLW Tour.

Today was a tough day both mentally and physically. It was a hot day at about 98 degrees, with high humidity. That's something this left-coaster is not used to.

Fishing was tough on me and my partner. I tried to expand on my shallow flip-bite with the hula grub, but it only produced two keeper bites for me, although I did lose two other small keepers on it.

They were biting it pretty weird today – just kind of sitting on it and not tapping or really taking the bait. By the time I felt them, they'd just about spit it out. Mentally, I'm spun out right now.

My flipping gear consisted of a 7'6" St. Croix Legend Tournament rod with 50-pound PowerPro braid and a 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight.

I had to rip through a variety of weeds, rocks and debris, and I was almost certain that I'd break my Minn Kota prop. I always carry an extra, but so far, I have yet to use it.

I'm upset with my performance these last four Bassmaster events. I'm in a slump and I have no choice but to crawl out of it. My points standings are falling like a rock - a large boulder – and I have no choice but to fish through the hard times.

It's tough going to new lakes and performing, but at this level, you're expected to do so, and do so consistently.

Becca and I are fortunate to have wonderful sponsors who take great care of us, allowing us to promote and compete without worrying about needing a check. I don't know how a lot of these guys do it – trying to figure out a winning pattern while focusing on getting a check or not making the next event.

This sport is brutal enough just trying to figure the fish out, let alone worrying about finances. Having some bad tournaments really makes me appreciate working the promotional route with the sponsors. Many people want to win before working with sponsors, but one must realize that you can qualify for the biggest events in the world, but if you don’t have the money to fish, then you're wasting your time at this level.

I'm young and I have a lot to learn, plain and simple. I'm excited about the future and learning the new lakes and where the right ledges and brushpiles are. This sport takes time and experience and serious commitment. These boys don't play around. They're here to take your lunch and eat it too.

Talk about commitment – my buddy John Crews is tearing them up this year. John is a young angler who's perfect for the sport. He represents his sponsors well and he can flat-out catch them. One thing you'll notice about John is that he is the first one on the water and the last one off – regardless of the weather. That is true inspiration for me and after this season, he'll be a true household name. Go get 'em John!

Becca and I will work the sponsor expo for our sponsors this weekend, then we will drive 1000 miles in a day and a half to New York, drop the rig off and fly back home to Page, Arizona to do some filming for ESPN 2 BassCenter.

It'll be a neat piece on Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon. Until next time, good fishing and thanks for reading.

> Day 1: 5, 9-02 (64th)

Today I started dragging a tube and dropshot on main-lake ledges in 15-20 feet. This is where I've been getting the most bites – me and everybody else. Twelve boats, to be exact, were all dragging the same water. The problem was they knew when to leave – I didn't.

After 3 1/2 hours and zero bites, I decided it was time to go. I don't know why I can't get bit deep anymore. I know the fish are out there.

At about 9:30 I went to my backup pattern, which was casting a Yamamoto hula grub (green-pumpkin and watermelon) to laydown trees in 1 to 4 feet of water. It produced some bites, but they were mainly small fish – just barely keepers.

I did jump off a nice keeper smallmouth and about a 2 1/2-pound largemouth that were buried deep in the brush. I hate losing good fish like that.

Hopefully I can catch them again tomorrow. I ended the day in 64th place, just a few pounds out of a $10,000 check. The pressure's on.

> Day 1: 5, 9-04 (65th)

It was the curse of the practice. When you go out and catch big ones every day of practice, I guess I used all my luck up. I was sticking them in practice because there's so many other kinds of fish in there – I caught sauger, drum – you have to stick them to see what they are.

I caught a few 2-pound smallies, but no big smallmouths.

I caught my fifth one at 9:20 this morning, and it barely touched, so I threw it back. At 2:20, I still didn't have my fifth fish. Then I ended up catching two more keepers at the end of the day, but I ended up fishing for limit fish instead of staying in bigger-fish areas.

Tomorrow I'm going to reverse a few things and actually run up to the area where I caught a couple 5-pounders on the first day of practice. I didn't go there today.

I have to catch a 5 to get up in the check, so I've got to go hit it tomorrow.

My practice for Kentucky lake has been so-so. I've been trying to catch them shallow with Senkos and Yamamoto hula grubs, but the bass have had a different idea. I've been using my Lowrance X-26HD unit to locate a variety of humps and ledges. The neat thing about this unit is that it has all the ledges and contours already marked. The tough decision is figuring out which ones are ideal for fishing.

I've been doing the drag quite a bit and although bites are few and far, there seems to be some quality around most of them.

This is my first trip here and this place is huge. Top that off with trying to figure out both Kentucky and Barkley lakes in less then 25 hours of practice.

In the beginning of practice, I'd start my search for shallow bass by finding the coves that had laydown trees in the back of them. It then became apparent that finding the most productive coves was done by looking on the bank and looking at the destroyed forest.

Last year a major tornado came through here and really tore things up. I'd pitch plastics up to the wood and slowly hop them back. The bites were fierce. The problem with this bite is that it's really inconsistent.

My gameplan for this event is to keep dragging along those ledges looking for keeper bites. Me and everybody else.

My report is good. The fishing down here's been great.

I'm fishing the same old stuff I did the other times I was here, and I've run a lot of stuff. You can go a long ways without much, but when you get on them, they bite.

I caught three over 5 on Tuesday and a couple over 5 on Monday. And I caught a huge 5-plus smallmouth. I'm catching a lot of smaller fish too.

I'm throwing crankbaits, jigs – the same old stuff you always hear about here. It's really just a matter of covering water and being in the right place at the right time.

I'm having a good time and hopefully the fishing will stay good.