By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
When you average more than half a pound per minute for the first half-hour of a tournament day, you're off to a really good start. Steve Kennedy experienced that phenomenon as the 51st Bassmaster Classic got under way at Lake Ray Roberts in Texas.
The veteran from Alabama boxed approximately 18 pounds during the first 30 minutes of day 1, then made several culls thereafter to work his way up to a 23-pound stringer. He'll begin the middle day with a 9-ounce edge over Patrick Walters, who also capitalized on the early shallow-water bite at the flooded impoundment on his way to a 22-07 haul.
Hank Cherry, the winner of last year's Classic at Lake Guntersville, was the only other competitor in the 54-man field to surpass – or even approach – the 20-pound mark. His tally for the day was 20-04.
Here's how the early Top 10 stacks up:
1. Steve Kennedy: 23-00
2. Patrick Walters: 22-07
3. Hank Cherry: 20-04
4. Chris Jones: 17-02
5. Drew Cook: 16-10
6. (tie) Jamie Hartman: 16-04
6. (tie) Matt Robertson: 16-04
8. Jordan Wiggins: 16-03
9. Cory Johnston: 16-02
10. Chris Johnston: 16-00
Kennedy did his early damage with a swimjig in and around the inundated vegetation that would be high and dry if the lake level were at normal pool (it's about 4 feet above that). Many of the shallow bass are spending their mornings gorging on shad, which are still engaged in their annual reproduction ritual.
His confidence level going into the day was high, as he'd whacked fish during the early portion of Wednesday's final practice day as well.
"It was fun this morning," said Kennedy, the runner-up to Jordan Lee in the 2017 Classic at Lake Conroe, also in Texas. "We launched at 6:15 and I looked at the clock at 6:43 and I had 17 or 18 pounds. I caught a 3-12 and a 4-10 back to back and a 4-pounder that was 5 or 10 feet away just came streaking to get my bait – It blows my mind how far he came to eat it."
That action was over once the sun got up. Later in the day, he popped a 4-pounder on a soft-plastic swimbait from another place that he'd determined held fewer fish, but excellent quality.
"I spent a long time flipping bushes (in practice) and I came to the realization that that wasn't the deal for me," he said. "There were too many guys doing it. I wanted to fish just outside that stuff.
"In the morning they pull up on the bushes and stuff and later they're either holed up in them or sitting out. I think out is better, but it's harder to target the fish."
A wind that gusted as hard as 20 mph out of the south prevented him from visiting his best big-fish locale. He'll also avoid it on day 2 if he thinks he can afford to with the hope of saving it for Sunday's final round.
Patrick Walters threw more than a dozen different baits on day 1, but caught fish on only two of them.
He'll start the second day on a stretch where he farmed a couple of 4-pounders.
"A lot of thoughts are going through my head," he said. "One is that you don't want to be leading on the final day because the (spectator) boat traffic has an impact. I've actually thought about whether to tank a little bit or hold something back, but I'm not going to. I'm putting my foot on the gas and going for it."
Walters had hoped to catch a couple of decent specimens from the bushes in the morning and then do the majority of his on fish suspended in timber once the sun got high. The wind negated the second part of that program, but the first was much better than he'd expected.
"The shallow bite is good first thing, then it cuts off at about 9 o'clock," he said. "I don't know what happens to them or if they just move out, but you've got to do something different.
"The afternoon bite is going to be the key for me. If I can get that going in the timber, that'll be what holds up all the way through, but with the water 4 feet high, they're not wanting to set up quite the way I want them to. If the lake was at normal pool, it'd be won out there hands down, but right now you have to cover a lot of water to get a bite and you have to fish efficiently to catch two fish."
He threw about 15 baits through the course of the day but only caught fish on two. He enticed one of his weigh-in fish with a ChatterBait and flipped up the other four.
Cherry is attempting to join Rick Clunn, Kevin VanDam and Jordan Lee as a winner of consecutive Classics.
"It'd be nice, but I don't look at it as being important as far as validating my career," he said. "I'm here and I'm part of this tournament and I'm on the journey I've wanted to be on my whole life. I've got one (Classic win) and I'm searching for two, and if it's meant for me to get two, I will."
He caught most of his fish throwing a jig around flooded trees.
"It was an off day as far as bites – I only got six or seven," he said. "I was a little uncomfortable for a while; the wind had stirred up the water and it wasn't looking quite right. But I managed, and I'll go back out tomorrow and try to do it again.
"The problem here is there's quality fish, but you just don't get a lot of bites."
Notable
> Day 1 stats – 54 anglers, 32 limits, 9 fours, 5 threes, 6 twos, 1 one, 1 zero.
> Frank Talley (14th place) took big-bass honors for day 1 with an 8-03 bruiser.
(Outdoor Sportsman Group Senior Digital Editor Lynn Burkhead contributed to this story.)
Weather Forecast
> Sat., June 12 – Mostly Sunny - 96°/76°
- Wind: From the S at 9 mph
> Sun., June 13 – Mostly Sunny - 96°/76°
- Wind: From the NNE at 7 mph
Day 1 Standings
1. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 23-00 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 23-00
2. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 5, 22-07 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 22-07
3. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 20-04 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 20-04
4. Chris Jones -- Bokoshe, OK -- 5, 17-02 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 17-02
5. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 5, 16-10 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-10
6. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 5, 16-04 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-04
6. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 5, 16-04 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-04
8. Jordan Wiggins -- Cullman, AL -- 5, 16-03 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-03
9. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON-- 5, 16-02 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-02
10. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 5, 16-00 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-00
11. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 5, 15-14 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-14
11. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 5, 15-14 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-14
13. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 15-12 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-12
14. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 4, 15-10 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 15-10
15. Cody Bird -- Granbury, TX -- 5, 15-08 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-08
16. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 5, 15-08 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-08
17. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 5, 15-05 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-05
18. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 5, 15-01 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-01
19. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 5, 14-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 14-11
20. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 14-04 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 14-04
21. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 4, 13-11 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 13-11
22. Justin Kerr -- Lake Havasu, AZ -- 5, 13-06 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 13-06
22. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 5, 13-06 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 13-06
24. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 13-03 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 13-03
25. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 4, 12-15 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 12-15
26. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 5, 12-13 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-13
27. Trevor McKinney -- Benton, IL -- 5, 12-12 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-12
28. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 5, 12-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-11
29. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 5, 12-10 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-10
30. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 5, 12-07 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-07
31. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 4, 12-05 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 12-05
32. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 5, 12-02 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-02
33. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN-- 3, 12-02 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 12-02
34. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 4, 11-14 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 11-14
35. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 4, 11-08 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 11-08
36. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 5, 11-01 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 11-01
37. Keith Carson -- DeBary, FL -- 5, 10-15 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 10-15
38. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 5, 10-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 10-11
39. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 10-03 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 10-03
40. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 4, 10-02 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 10-02
41. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 4, 08-10 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 08-10
42. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, ON -- 4, 08-08 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 08-08
43. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 3, 08-04 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 08-04
44. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 3, 07-05 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 07-05
45. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 2, 05-15 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 05-15
46. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 2, 05-10 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 05-10
47. Masayuki Matsushita -- Tokoname-Shi, JAPAN -- 3, 05-09 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 05-09
48. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 2, 05-08 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 05-08
49. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 2, 04-10 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 04-10
50. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 3, 04-00 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 04-00
51. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 2, 03-09 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 03-09
52. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 2, 03-00 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 03-00
53. Tommy Williams -- Shepherdsville, KY -- 1, 01-05 -- 0
Day 1: 1, 01-05
54. Blake Sylvester -- Plaquemine, LA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00
