As hot as the fishing's been in spite of less-than-ideal weather, it's no surprise that the Top 10 all weighed in a limit on day 3 of the Kentucky Lake FLW Tour.
And it doesn't take any real stretch of the imagination to believe that Terry Bolton's bag was a lot bigger than everybody else's.
The resident of nearby Paducah, Ky. caught 20-09 on another violently windy day and will take a 4-10 lead into day 4 in pursuit of his first Tour win. His vast experience on this venue, where he's made 17 Top 10s in FLW Outdoors competition, will make him difficult to catch.
He'll get a good night's rest in his own bed and start tomorrow in the same position he's been in many times before. The only difference will be that the stakes are a lot higher this time.
Sizzling Steve Kennedy of Alabama is his closest pursuer with 15-15, and Texas' Gary Yamamoto is also within reasonable striking distance at 15-02. Two Virginians – day 1 leader Curt Lytle (13-13) and David Dudley (13-06) completed the Top 5.
Here's how the rest of the field looked:
6. David Walker: 13-02
7. Jim Moynagh: 11-13
8. Toshinari Namiki: 11-12
9. Matt Herren: 11-11
10. David Fritts: 10-05
It was another day marked by fierce winds out of the west that rendered some of the prime deep structure impossible to fish. It blew a steady 25 mph, and more than one angler was sure that there were gusts that topped 40.
Several contenders limited themselves to just a few areas because relocating was so difficult, but not Bolton. He fished 10 separate locales, and he has those plus another 10 or so to pick from tomorrow.
"I don't think it's the (weight difference) that's insurmountable, but it's the fact that he's so dialed in on this lake," Lytle said. "He's mentally that far ahead of us, and that's why I don't think he can be caught right now."
More of the same conditions are predicted for tomorrow. The Weather Channel forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a high temperature of 66 degrees and an 18 mph westerly wind.
The winner will be determined by highest combined weight over the final 2 days.
Bolton Cautious
Bolton is a good kicker fish ahead of everybody, but he's not working on his trophy pose just yet.
"This lake here, anything can happen," he said. "Nothing's for sure. There's a lot of good structure fishermen and a lot of big bass, so I'm going to have to go out and catch them."
He caught about a dozen keepers today, including a 6-pounder. Of the 10 places he fished, some he hit two or three times.
As has been the norm, his day got off to a slow start. He got the bulk of his bag from noon on.
"Three mornings in a row, I haven't caught a thing off my first spot," he said. "I'm going to have to try a fourth one tomorrow."
He won an EverStart (now Stren) event here just 11 months ago, and wasn't the least bit unnerved by thoughts of how he'll try to nail down the biggest win of his career. But he did admit that this one would be more significant than the others.
"It would be huge," he said. "I have so many friends pulling for me, and these people around here were the ones who taught me to fish. They're people I competed against, and they beat my brains out early on and helped me become a better fisherman."
What's his goal weight for tomorrow? "I'd like to catch another 20 pounds. I'd feel pretty good with that."
Steve Kennedy couldn't find a spot to call his own for quite awhile this morning.
2nd: Kennedy has Hope
Kennedy didn't like his chances of overtaking Bolton, but he wouldn't concede anything either.
"Anything's possible," he said. "But (Bolton's) the man here, no doubt about it."
He thinks he'll need at least 20 pounds tomorrow to have a shot at erasing the deficit. "I'd take my chances with that, but it might take more than that to actually pull it off."
He fished deep all day and hit four locations.
"It's kind of interesting how many of us are fishing the same spots and didn't realize it. At my first place this morning, David Fritts pulled in and turned around – I guess he wanted to fish where I was.
"I caught two keepers out of there and went to my second spot, and there's Bolton with about 20 boats following him. So I went to another spot, and there's David Walker.
"I ran across to the other side, and my co-angler said he'd fished there with Bolton on the first day. It was just amazing."
Walker eventually vacated the third stop on the run, and that's where Kennedy caught most of his fish.
"I'll go do the same thing tomorrow and hope I can find an open spot," he said. "I'm assuming it'll be a big weekend tournament kind of deal, and that could make it tougher. This time of year, the fish are only holding in certain places."
3rd: Yamamoto Realistic
Yamamoto hopes to outduel Kennedy for 2nd tomorrow. The only way he can catch Bolton is if the leader bombs, and he has no control over that.
"Twenty pounds would be difficult for me to get," he said. "I might be able to get 17 or 18, but I don't think I can catch 20.
"It's possible to catch Steve, but I think Bolton is too far out."
He had two 4-pounders among his six keepers today.
"I primarily fished two places because it was blowing so hard," he said. "I just couldn't move around.
"One of the spots I was in has some decent-size fish. They're post-spawn, and they're on a river bend with deep water close by. I've got another spot in a marina that has bunches of fish, and my biggest one came from inside there."
He said he'll start in the marina tomorrow, then move to the river bend. "If I get a decent limit, then I might go flip some."
Curt Lytle didn't cull today – he caught only five keepers.
4th: Lytle Stays Shallow
Lytle fished the skinny water in Barkley again and caught five keepers.
"I've been consistent," he said. "I've caught six, six and five. I hope tomorrow it's not four. That would be bad for me."
He found a couple of new areas today, and that bodes well for tomorrow.
"The places I've been fishing, I think I've been virtually catching them all out of there," he said. "One tree or one log, you eventually hit the limit on those places.
"I found some new places today, and I will catch some. My concern is finding enough of those places."
He doesn't have a goal weight in mind for tomorrow. "I just want to catch five. If I do that, I'll have at least 12 pounds.
"I think the fish on Barkley have a little bit bigger shoulders, on average. The ones that are coming from Kentucky look a little bit skinnier."
7th: No Monsters for Moynagh
Moynagh didn't get the big bites like he did when he led the cut on day 2. Consequently, he was looking way up at Bolton.
"The big bites were completely absent for me," he said. "The wind whacked out all my ledge spots, and I needed them for the sunny conditions.
"This wind was my weak link. When I was done practicing, I realized that my best spots were wide open to a west wind, but I thought, 'What are the chances that it'll blow so hard that I can't hold the boat.'
"I thought I would be all right. Wrong."
He scrounged a limit off of shallow points and said he lost two good fish. "I didn't see them, but they were solid. They were just a couple of fish that would have helped me."
He came into the event 8th in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race and admitted he's become aware of his chances for that honor. "It was just kind of a pipe dream after Beaver. Now after this one, I'm not so far out of first."
10th: Fritts' Spot Blown Out
Due to the wind, Fritts spent little time on the spot where he caught 50-plus keepers with a crankbait on day 2.
"I just couldn't hardly fish it," he said. "I had waves breaking over the boat and I caught three, but I just couldn't sit there and fish.
"I could not throw the bait 12 yards into that wind, and every other cast was a backlash. It just pretty much got the best of me."
He moved to a protected location and caught a limit, then relocated to another big-fish spot.
"I know several drops on the east bank, but there wasn't any fish on them. I tried to find something else I could fish, but I couldn't throw the bait like I wanted to.
"When I fish a crankbait (under normal conditions), I know when fish are coming up on it, and I make it do something to get them to bite it. Today I couldn't feel the bait, and that probably hurt me mentally as much as anything. I just don't have any confidence when it's like that."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits.
> Bolton has been a multi-species angler each of the past 2 days. After boating a drum, a catfish and a crappie on day 2, he caught two crappie and a sauger today.
> Kennedy's day had a painful beginning. "I stuck a hook in my thumb before we ever got started. I tried to throw a box of treble hooks into a compartment, and apparently one of them was sticking out. It stuck under the skin and came back out, and we had to use scissors to cut it out. It was right where I stick my thumb on the line, so it was pretty sore all day."
> Lytle broke a fish off today, and he's pretty sure it was a gar. "I felt a thump, thump, then I set the hook and it was gone. It almost had to be something with some sharp teeth to break the line that easily."
> Moynagh finished 8th and 14th in the points race in his first 2 full years on tour (1997-98), but hasn't ended a season better than 47th since. "It's probably dangerous to try to analyze why that is, and I don't want to start thinking too much. Sometimes too much thinking isn't good for fishing."
> Herren (9th) has lost two quality fish each day. He had two 5-pounders come unhooked today. "I got them to the top, then they started cartwheeling and doing somersaults and came off. I've had 15 or 20 pounds worth of bites every day, but it just wasn't meant to be, brother."
Weather Forecast
Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the final day of the tournament.
> Sat, May 13 – Partly Cloudy – 66°/47°
- Wind: From the W at 18 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 5, 20-09
2. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Al -- 5, 15-15
3. Gary Yamamoto -- Mineola, Tx -- 5, 15-02
4. Curt Lytle -- Zuni, Va -- 5, 13-13
5. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 5, 13-06
6. David Walker -- Sevierville, Tn -- 5, 13-02
7. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 5, 11-13
8. Toshinari Namiki -- Mineola, Tx -- 5, 11-12
9. Matt Herren -- Trussville, Al -- 5, 11-11
10. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 5, 10-05
