Twelve years ago, David "Scotty" Young finished 2nd at the Kentucky Lake FLW Tour by 3 ounces. The legend David Fritts beat him in that go-round.
Today, at the very same event, Young – widely considered to be the most dangerous stick at this Tennessee/Cumberland River impoundment – fell victim to the late charge of an unheralded pro.
Keith Williams, now in his 9th FLW Tour season, had never won at the tour level, although he'd made the Top 10 six other times. But Williams roped a 9-pounder early today, followed that up with quality fish, and amassed a 24-03 limit.
Young, on the other hand, had a 7-pounder break off the hook next to the boat. He lost another 7-pounder at boatside, plus a 6, a couple 5s, and several other big fish he never even saw.
Young's limit today weighed just 19 1/2 pounds, which gave him a 2-day total of 29-10 – more than 2 pounds shy of Williams' 42-00 winning weight.
What's shocking is that not only did Williams catch that 9-pounder from water that had absolutely been beat to death over 3 weeks of intense competition, but that Young – a veteran and Kentucky Lake virtuoso – could fall prey to the type of disastrous day that every BassFan dreads.
Larry Nixon, who began the day in 4th, never challenged for the win. He got off to a slow start when his milk run turned sour, then lost a few good fish that shut a different school down. His 14-03 limit placed him 3rd, but a distant 8-plus pounds behind Williams.
Mark Rose rallied with an 18-11 limit, which moved him up one spot to finish 4th, while Travis Fox came in light with 13-02 and slipped two spots to finish 5th.
Kentucky and connected Barkley are unforgiving lakes that typically serve up a sizable portion of drama each time a tour stops here. Several years ago, Terry Bolton lost an FLW Tour event here to Steve Kennedy on a dead-fish penalty. The stories go on, and this round will certainly be added to the annals of KY–Lake lore – the story of how an inconspicuous pro, who almost gave up the sport, camped on top of one of the world's best bass fisheries and beat local (Young) and national (Nixon) legends.
It'll also go down as the story of how the big worm (Williams) beat the big spoon (Young and Nixon).
Williams 'Pumped'
Williams spent the day, and the weigh-in, fearing what Young could catch.
"I was sweating bullets all day," Williams said. "I was trying to add up what I had in the livewell. That's hard to do, because I don't catch that many big ones like that. I didn't know what I had, and I knew David was going to catch them too. I still didn't think I had it won. I still can't believe I won."
About the 9-pounder that won it for him, he said: "I caught that fish at about 8:00 this morning. It was my first fish, and after I caught it I was shaking – kind of nervous a little bit. It took me a while to settle down after I caught it.
"I'm pumped – I'm still excited," he added. "I really can't believe it happened. It's been a blur all day – ever since I caught that big one. It all happened so fast. I thought I had a chance to win at about 12:00, when I caught a 4 1/2-pounder and culled a smaller fish. But when I got the boat out of the water and got closer to weigh-in, I started hearing rumors that Young had about 23 pounds. I really didn't think I had it until he weighed in his first three fish."
According to David Young, he lost a mind-numbing amount of big fish today – enough to have blown the doors off the competition.
Williams' last victory of note was actually 9 years ago, in the very first BFL he ever fished. He said: "It's been a big dry spell from there. It's a lot of ups and downs since then – mostly downs. I had considered not doing it any more. I had considered quitting and (sponsor) Land O'Lakes kept me in it. This is a big confidence boost."
He ran about 70 miles each way to the southern portion of Kentucky Lake, where he worked three 100-yard stretches of ledge. He caught his fish the first 2 days on a football-head jig tipped with a Zoom Brush Hog. The final 2 days, he replied primarily on a Zoom Ole Monster worm.
The full details of his winning pattern, plus pattern information for the other top finishers, will be published soon.
2nd: Young Disappointed
About his finish, and what happened out there today, Young said: "It sucks, really. But it's okay. I'll take second. But I lost so many fish today that the guy with the 9-pounder (Williams) wouldn't have come close to me. It's unbelievable how many fish I lost today. I know it sounds weird, but I probably lost a total of 13 big fish.
"I lost two 7-pounders up against the boat, a 6-pound smallie, a 5 1/2-pound smallie – I lost them all day long. And I'm not even counting the fish I didn't see. They've got all those on camera.
"I had it all the way. I just didn't do it. It was just a really bad day, but a good tournament. You can't argue about this (finish). There's a lot of people who'd like to do that. It'd be great to have first, though. I'd give them all the (prize) money to give me 1st, but I want to earn it – that's what it comes down to."
3rd: Nixon Disappointed
Age hasn't diminished Nixon's fire one bit. The 58-year-old wanted to win this one just as bad as any other, he said. In the end, though, his schools of fish just wouldn't fire today.
Larry Nixon was admittedly a little out of his element – he force-fed them a big spoon instead of coaxing them with a worm.
"It's okay," he said of his finish. "I'm disappointed I didn't win. But the two or three spots I really counted on didn't pan out today. And the one I was saving – I guess I should have fished that one first this morning.
"I fished the best I could," he added. "I just couldn't get them to bite. I had to rip that spoon all day long. I've got bruises all over my chest from jerking on that spoon. You just had to force-feed them, and that's not me. Everybody here would bet a million dollars that I was throwing a Berkley Power Worm, but I sure wasn't. It's been an exciting week for me."
As he noted, he'd saved a spot for the final day and made the 30-mile ride there today. "My timing was bad," he said. "The fish weren't there when I got there. If I'd started there I think I could have caught some, but I couldn't reverse my gameplan."
4th: Rose Has Regrets
Rose began the day in 5th and improved one spot with an 18-11 limit.
"I'm kind of happy to move up a spot, but in another way I feel like I let one slip through my hands," he said. "I feel like I could have had two 22-pound days and won this tournament. And I feel like 22 pounds is real reasonable for what I was doing.
"I just left too much weight out on the table. I weighed three fish the past 2 days that were in the 2-pound range, and you just can't do that here."
Mark Rose says he should have stayed down-lake and tried for 22 pounds a day instead of running up the river for a glory bag.
He added that one of his problems was he had "too much stuff" and fished "real scattered."
"Looking back, I should have stuck to one particular deal, and that was the deep deal. I went upriver and fished some shallower stuff up there. But I should have stayed down the lake instead of running up there and trying to make something big happen."
5th: Fox Happy
This was Fox's seventh FLW Tour event. Not only did it mark his first Top 10, but his first check too. According to him, though, that first check could have been a little better.
About his finish, he said: "I'm happy. But I'm still trying to recuperate from a couple of big fish I lost early in the day. It hasn't sunk in yet how well I did, because I'm disappointed that I was that close to doing a lot better, but hey, in your rookie season, your first Top 10 – it's pretty cool. You've got to be pretty excited."
He said those big fish might have elevated him to 3rd, which would have given him an extra $20,000.
"But you know, if everybody got in all the big fish they lost, I may not have even made the cut," he added. "But I made a rookie mistake. The net had a telescoping handle. I extended the handle all the way out when I had a 5-pounder next to the boat. She jumped and the handle was way too long and I couldn't maneuver the net. I learned my lesson there, only it cost me $20,000 to learn it."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 9 limits, 1 three.
> Jason Christie caught 19-plus pounds today and moved up four spots to finish 6th. "I had a little trick going," he said. "I was throwing the new (Bomber) Switchback. I'd get them fired up with that rattling crankbait, then turn the rattle off on the Switchback. I'd get them riled up with the rattling bait, then turn the rattle off. There's just something about that deal."
> Brent Ehrler still leads the Angler of the Year race, but his lead has narrowed to only a few points. To view the updated standings, click here.
Final Standings
1. Keith Williams -- Conway, AR -- 5, 17-13 -- 5, 24-03 -- 10, 42-00 -- $100,000 + $25,000
2. David Young -- Mayfield, KY -- 5, 20-01 -- 5, 19-09 -- 10, 39-10 -- $50,000
3. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, AR -- 5, 19-08 -- 5, 14-03 -- 10, 33-11 -- $40,000
4. Mark Rose -- Marion, AR -- 5, 14-00 -- 5, 18-11 -- 10, 32-11 -- $30,000
5. Travis Fox -- Springdale, AR -- 5, 17-15 -- 5, 13-02 -- 10, 31-01 -- $20,000
6. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 11-07 -- 5, 19-02 -- 10, 30-09 -- $19,000
7. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, AR -- 3, 12-13 -- 5, 17-07 -- 8, 30-04 -- $18,000
8. Ott Defoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 12-02 -- 5, 16-07 -- 10, 28-09 -- $17,000
9. Bobby Mcmullin -- Pevely, MO -- 5, 13-03 -- 5, 12-10 -- 10, 25-13 -- $16,000
10. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- Hazard, KY -- 5, 13-12 -- 3, 7-06 -- 8, 21-02 -- $15,000
