Although the Civil War ended nearly 150 years ago, Kentucky Lake was recently the site of a north vs. south battle.
The south end of the lake now experiences a strong bloom of grass and has turned red-hot. But the Kentucky Lake FLW Tour launched at the very north end of the lake.
Flocks of pros made the huge 70-mile run south to the New Johnsonville area of Kentucky Lake, while other stayed north and kept their lines wet for a longer period.
In the end, Keith Williams and the south prevailed. He made the cut in 7th with a 20-poind average, then weighed a 41-pound average the next 2 days to edge local expert David "Scotty" Young by a little more than 2 pounds.
And Williams certainly showed the true power of the south at Kentucky Lake. After several weeks that included a Bassmaster Elite Series event, the FLW Tour stop, plus several massive pro-ams and local tournaments, New Johnsonville still kicked out big fish – including the 9-pound day-4 monster that won it for Williams.
Here's how Williams found what he had, how he worked it, and all the details on what he used.
Practice
With the knowledge that he'd face Kentucky Lake in June of this year, Williams fished the lake last year in mid-July for the purpose scouting. He fished a local tournament "to see how New Johnsonville looked when the grass was high."
He noted last year a low-water spring, so the grass was much higher than it would be this year, since it was recently a high-water spring. Still, he got a good look at the layout.
He also pre-practiced Kentucky Lake this year before the cutoff. He fished with his father Jerry – a former FLW Tour pro – and the duo "caught them pretty good."
For the official practice, Williams decided to headquarter in Paris. The first day of practice was actually the final day of the Elite Series event there. Williams said he "mostly stayed out of the way" of the BASS pros and "practiced some spots where (he) didn't think they'd fish.
"I found some shallow spots, but didn't fish any ledges until they left," he added.
He fished all 4 days and explored every waypoint he had from the previous two trips, but narrowed things down to a 5-mile stretch of water around New Johnsonville.
He noted he caught at least 20 pounds there each day of practice and "knew it could easily be won down there."
Days 1 & 2
> Day 1: 5, 21-12
> Day 2: 5, 18-14
> Total = 10, 40-10 (7th)
Williams started day 1 on a spot at New Johnsonville that he'd found the third day of official practice. When he arrived, nobody was on his first spot and he went to work with a football-head jig.
"I started slowly working down the ledge and a local pulled in 50 yards in front of me," he said. "I got closer and closer, then politely asked him if I could have this stretch of water. He headed off and I caught 21 pounds in about 30 minutes in that one spot."
With 21 pounds in the box, Williams decided to leave the rest of his stuff alone. He fished all new water, but lost one of his three batteries and was forced to drift the ledges and crank a Norman DD22.
He never culled any fish, but did find one spot that he would later fish (after the cut).
He began day 2 the same way as day 1, but this time a local had beat him to the spot and he never caught a keeper there.
"After about 2 hours on that hole I went to my second-best spot," he noted. "It was the same ledge, but about 2 miles upriver. It was a roadbed that runs in front of a big grass flat. On the side of the roadbed's a ditch that drops to 20 feet, comes back up to 10 feet, then drops into the main river channel. It was maybe 20 yards wide.
"I went to that ditch, sat right there and caught 20 pounds in 15 minutes on the jig. You had to make one certain cast – you couldn't miss by a foot either way – and you'd catch a 3 1/2- or 4-pounder every time."
He ended the first 2 days with a 40-10 total and made the cut in 7th.
Days 3 & 4
> Day 3: 5, 17-13
> Day 4: 5, 24-03
> Total = 10, 42-00
Williams started day 3 in exactly the same spot he did the first 2 days. He was still throwing a jig, but his co-angler hooked up first and landed a 3 1/2-pounder on a big worm.
Next, Williams ran to his roadbed and ditch and his co-angler almost immediately roped a 5-pounder (again, on a big worm).
Williams made the switch to a big worm on day 3 after his co-angler out-keepered him four to nil.
"We got closer to the spot, fished about an hour back and forth, and neither of us got a bite," Williams said. "I knew the fish were still there – the depthfinder was lighting up. After about the fourth pass Brandon (Hunter, the co-angler) catches one over 4 pounds on the worm. Actually, he caught a keeper before that, so that made it four keepers on a worm. He knew then he had a chance to win, and gave me some of his worms."
Williams went on to catch 18 pounds that day on the 11-inch plum worms. He caught most of his fish on the roadbed/ditch spot, but added a few from the spot he'd found on day 1 when he was drifting. It was the same roadbed/ditch, but a mile down the river.
He ended the day with 17-13 (he was assessed an 8-ounce dead-fish penalty) and trailed leader David Young by 2-04.
Williams started day 4 with his own big worm – a plum Zoom Ol' Monster – but didn't start where he did the previous 3 days. Instead, he went straight to his roadbed/ditch and his first fish was a 9-pounder.
He spent the rest of the day there, put together a 24-03 limit and won by more than 2 pounds.
Winning Pattern Notes
About how he worked his jig the first 2 days, Williams said: "I was stroking it a little bit, but I was trying not to jump it too high. I lot of guys jerk it real high off bottom – they try to fish it almost like a jigging spoon. But I was trying to keep it in contact with the bottom. I wasn't dragging it, but I was hopping it. That's the way I fished the worm too."
About his roadbed/ditch area, he said: "The roadbed was about 10 feet (deep), the ditch dropped into 20 feet, then it came up a little and dropped to 35 or 37 feet in the main river channel. It was just an old road that used to go along the river."
Winning Gear Notes
> Jig gear: 7'6" heavy-action Team All Star flipping stick, Pflueger Patriarch casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 3/4-ounce Strike King Football jig (green-pumpkin) and 3/4-ounce homemade football jig (green-pumpkin), 6" Zoom Brush Hog (green-pumpkin/red).
> Worm gear: Same rod, reel and line, 5/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten Worm weight (black), 5/0 Gamakatsu round-bend hook, Zoom Ol' Monster worm (plum).
The Bottom Line
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.
