Okay, so maybe JT Kenney isn't the quickest of learners.
"It only took me 8 1/2 days to figure out that there weren't any bass to be caught out deep at Wheeler Lake," he said, referencing last week's Forrest Wood Cup. "After 4 1/2 days of pre-practice, 3 days of official practice and then 1 day of the tournament, I finally got that through my head."
He plied the offshore ledges on day 1 and returned to the launch in Huntsville, Ala. with a single keeper that weighed 1-11. He was in 48th place in the 50-angler field.
He scrapped the deep program on day 2 and went to some creeks upriver of the take-off ramp. That move resulted in a 19-02 stringer that was the best of the event, catapulting him up 30 places in the standings and into the 20-cut.
"I spent very little practice time shallow – maybe half a day," he said. "I got some bites, but I was still thinking Tennessee River, summertime, current running ... it's going to be won out deep.
"I really felt stupid. I wish I'd had a little more faith in (the shallow) stuff because that's obviously where the catchable fish were."
He used two baits to compile his massive day-2 stringer – a Nichols Pulsator spinnerbait and a Gambler tube. The haul consisted of four fish that each exceeded 4 pounds and one in the 2-pound class.
"I'd spinnerbait my way up a creek and then flip my way back down with the tube. The channel was narrow enough that I could cast to either side."
He had a couple of chances to get rid of the 2-pounder and push his bag past the 20-pound threshold.
"I jumped one off on the spinnerbait that was a good 3 1/2," he said. "Another time I flipped into a bushy little brushtop and got a bite and set the hook, and the fish immediately went the other way. I'm not saying it was a 7-pounder or anything, but it was at least a 3 and it might've been a 5."
He ran pretty much the same stuff on day 3, but managed to boat only 8 1/2 pounds. Nonetheless, he moved up one more place (to 17th) on the standings sheet.
"I caught about 20 keepers that day, but the size just wasn't the same. I went back to the creek where I'd caught the big bag, including one about 3 pounds, but I'd worked it over pretty good the day before."
The Sunline Strong Performer, which focuses on the angler who makes a significant single-day move in the standings at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great people at Sunline.
