There aren't too many negatives associated with a string of Top 5 finishes. They translate into hefty paychecks, a lot of Angler of the Year (AOY) points and happy sponsors.
But unless there's a win or two mixed in, they can be accompanied by a bit of frustration. Alabama's Steve Kennedy had felt some of that recently.
Between tour-level and triple-A events, he led three tournaments in 2005 going into the final day, only
to watch somebody else walk away with the trophy. He has three Top 5s on the Bassmaster Elite Series this year, but felt he was on the fish to win a couple of times. He couldn't close the deal.
He rid himself of a lot of that aggravation with his victory at the Kentucky Lake FLW Tour. He caught a huge sack on the final day and got a big break when hometown favorite Terry Bolton, who would have beaten him by 4 ounces, received an 8-ounce penalty for a dead fish.
It was his second tour triumph – the other occurred at the same event 3 years ago. Here's how he did it.
Practice
Kennedy traveled to Kentucky directly from the Clarks Hill Bassmaster Elite Series, where he'd finished 31st. He had only 2 days to practice and wasn't sure whether his focus should be shallow or deep.
"I had one shallow pattern that I'd fished 2 years ago, but it wasn't as good this time," he said. "I spent the rest of the time out on ledges looking for schools."
He located some quality deep fish, but he found that they wouldn't stay put.
"The water wasn't 70 degrees yet – it was between 67 and 70 – and the fish just weren't committed to being on the ledges," he said. "One day they'd be 12 feet deep, and the next day they'd be 22. You had to find them every day and you couldn't go back the next day expecting them to be in the same place."
He settled on a milk-run that consisted of five spots, and fished each of them every day during the tournament. As the event progressed, he discovered that he wasn't the only contender with those locales in his rotation, but that didn't trouble him too much.
"I just committed to working each one when I could and not getting into any boat races," he said. "I felt I could go in behind anybody and catch some fish."
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 14-08
> Day 2: 5, 19-08 (10, 34-00)
> Day 3: 5, 15-15
> Day 4: 5, 21-06 (10, 37-05)
Kennedy boated just six keepers on day 1 and left the marina in 40th place. His fish turned on the next day though, and he filtered through 20 keepers for a strong sack that bumped him all the way to 5th at the cut.
His day 3 bag was second-biggest of the day, but it was more than 4 1/2 pounds lighter than Bolton's 20-09 effort. But because he'd lost some substantial leads himself over the past two seasons, including a couple that were in excess of 4 pounds, he figured he still had a chance.
His 21-06 bag on day 4 was easily the biggest of the day and ranked No. 2 for the tournament (Jim Moynagh caught 23-04 on day 2). It was anchored by a 4-13 smallmouth that he caught at his last stop, just 5 minutes before cranking up his big motor to head back to the launch.
He spent the majority of that day in one location – a spot that Bolton also used during the tournament. The action was slow, but it eventually yielded four that weighed an average of more than 4 pounds each.
"In the past, I caught a lot of fish there that were barely keepers," he said. "This time I couldn't get many bites, but they were the right kind of fish. You had to be patient though – it was maybe one an hour."
A jig technique that Steve Kennedy learned from a co-angler 2 years ago played a big role in his victory.
Pattern Notes
Kennedy finished a mediocre 57th in this event the year after he won it the first time, but it was an educational experience. He was paired 1 day with Frank Divis of Fayetteville, Ark., who took 4th in the co-angler division.
Divis showed him the technique of dragging a big football-head jig across hard ledge bottoms. It paid off big for him this time – it produced all of his weigh-in fish on day 4.
"It's just dragging it along the bottom, not jerking or hopping it," he said. "It just bumps along those rocks – my wife calls it 'tickle-rock.'
"It's obvious when you find the sweet spot because it's different from the rest of the bottom. It's chunk rock or gravel or mussels or something, and there's typically not much wood. I'm assuming the fish are down there feeding on crawfish on the bottom."
The technique wasn't wildly effective on days 1 and 2, which featured overcast skies and rain. But it was deadly under the bluebird conditions of the last 2 days, when most of the fish were anchored to the bottom. He used it effectively despite winds on day 3 that gusted to 30 mph at times.
"It's great for those fish that are down there 15 to 18 feet that you really can't get to with a crankbait," he said. "It's kind of hard to feel a bite doing it because it's a big jig and they don't seem to hold onto it that well."
He also caught weigh-in fish on a Carolina-rigged 10 1/2-inch Zoom Ol' Monster worm, Kinami Nories Bug and Zoom Baby Brush Hog, and a Bomber Fat Free Shad crankbait.
Winning Gear Notes
> Jig gear: 7' heavy-action G.Loomis GLX rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 12-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon line, 3/4-ounce PJ's Finesse Baits football jig (brown-purple), Kinami Double-Tail Grub trailer (green-pumpkin).
> Carolina-rig gear: 7' medium-heavy Bass Pro Shops Extreme rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (6.3:1), 15-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon (main line and 3-foot leader), 3/0 or 5/0 Gamakatsu round-bend hook, 10 1/2" Zoom Ol' Monster worm (green-pumpkin), Zoom Baby Brush Hog (green-pumpkin) or Kinami Nories Bug (green-pumpkin/watermelon laminate).
> Crankbait gear: Same rod and reel as Carolina-rig, 10-pound P-Line Fluoroclear, Bomber Fat Free Shad (chartreuse/black back).
Notable
> Main factor in his success – "I really think that jig was the key. I couldn't have done it 2 years ago."
> He said there were very few similarities between this win and the one in 2003. "That year the lake was 8 feet over full and I caught all those fish in the backs of bays in 8-10 feet (of water). There's no comparing the two tournaments."
> He caught a smallmouth that weighed at least 4 pounds on 3 of the 4 days. "They're usually the kicker fish. (The lake) has some of the most incredible smallmouth fishing I've ever seen."
> He's 52nd in the points, so he'll need a decent finish in the finale at Champlain to make the Forrest L. Wood Championship. "If I make a check (75th) at the last one, it'll be close. If I do real well, then I'll get there for sure."
> His father, Van Kennedy, was a force in Southern tournaments and Steve recalls helping him practice as a boy. Van was particularly careful about not allowing other competitors to discover where he was catching fish. "He'd even put the boat up on plane while I was hooked up if there were other boats around."
