Lakes that have been good to Steve Kennedy in the past are treating him extremely well here in 2011. He won a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament at West Point in Georgia, where he caught huge stringers as a boy while fishing with his father. Now he's surged to the front of the pack in the final PAA Tournament Series event of the season, which is taking place at a venue where he won two BFL Super Tournaments a decade or so ago.
He topped the 14-pound mark for the second straight day at Alabama's Lake Neely Henry to take over the top slot with one day to fish. With a 28.23-pound total after a 14.03 haul today, he holds a lead of nearly 2 1/2 pounds over Gary Yamamoto, with whom he flip-flopped positions on the leaderboard.
Yamamoto, who caught the only 15-pound-plus stringer of the tournament on day 1, managed just 10.11 today for a 25.84 total. Russ Lane, whose 13.53-pound bag was second-best to Kennedy's for the day, improved 15 places to 3rd with 23.34.
Todd Auten sacked 11.17 and moved up one spot to 4th with 22.89. More significantly, he clinched the circuit's Angler of the Year (AOY) award as his two closest pursuers, Tommy Biffle and Mike McClelland, failed to make today's cut to the Top 19 (one-third of the original field).
Joey Nania completed the Top 5 with an 11.93 bag for a 22.05 total.
Here's how the bottom half of the Top 10 shakes out:
6. Mark Menendez -- 21.67
7. Chad Morgenthaler -- 21.21
8. Adam Brown -- 21.00
9. Randy Qualls -- 20.84
10. Randy Howell -- 20.62
Alabama Power dropped the lake level about a foot today, which hindered some in the field, but aided others. Examples of both could be found in the Top 3 – the bigger fish deserted the riprap banks that Yamamoto exploited on day 1, whereas Lane capitalized on some hefty specimens that had moved out to offshore structure.
Gary Yamamoto fell out of first place today as the big fish moved away from his riprap area.
Tomorrow's weather forecast for the Gadsen, Ala. area predicts conditions similar to the past 2 days – mostly sunny skies with a high of 95 degrees and a southwest breeze topping out at 5 mph. The winner will be crowned following the weigh-in based on cumulative weight.
Tougher Day for Kennedy
> Day 2: 5, 14.03 (10, 28.23)
Kennedy's bag nearly matched his day-1 harvest, but he said he had a more difficult time compiling it. The sack was topped by a 5 1/4-pounder that's the biggest fish of the tournament thus far.
He's working the same creek that produced the two long-ago BFL victories and using an aluminum boat to access the gnarliest stretches toward the back.
"It was much, much harder today," he said. "It was painful and I almost gave up. I fished all the way in as far as I was willing to go and I got a couple of decent bumps, but all I had were four fish for about 4 pounds. I sat in the shade for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what I wanted to do.
"It's bad stuff back there and I decided I wasn't going to attempt to go any farther. I needed to go back down and figure out how to catch the fish I'd left behind."
He made a bait change and boxed everything he weighed on the way out. The two spotted bass in his bag were caught on the same cast.
"I've got two other baits that I want to try in there tomorrow. I think I can catch them, or at least catch a few.
"It looks good and I like my chances."
2nd: Yamamoto's Big Ones Gone
> Day 2: 5, 10.11 (10, 25.84)
Yamamoto is convinced that the reduced water level was the primary reason he fell from the top slot.
"It was disappointing," he said. "The fish disappeared. I struggled to catch the 10 pounds – they were just five 2-pounders.
Russ Lane cranked up a couple of quality offshore fish late in the day.
"I caught 10 fish, but most of them were little, bitty ones. I didn't lose any – I just didn't get any big bites."
He's throwing his own Double Tail grub in the black and blue coloration.
"Tomorrow I'll fish some of the deeper boat docks and see if there's anything there."
3rd: Big Move for Lane
> Day 2: 5, 13.53 (10, 23.34)
Lane fished the same way he had on day 1 – he pounded the banks early and then went cranking offshore. The deeper-water action was much more productive today.
"The water getting dropped a little bit might've helped my offshore deal," he said. "It kind of placed them where I wanted them to be and I was able to catch a few throwing a Spro Big Daddy crankbait. I caught a couple out deep yesterday, too, but they didn't help me."
His bag consisted of two spots and three largemouths. It was topped by a 3 1/2-pound spot and one of the green ones was also over 3. Both of those took the crankbait later in the day.
He's skeptical about his chances of winning.
"Kennedy would have to help me out – he'd have to stumble and I'd have to have a really good day. I'm not going to worry about that, though. I'll just try to catch a couple of big ones and maybe things will work out.
"I put every bite in the boat today and everything worked well, and I hope I can do it again tomorrow."
4th: Auten Glad Race is Over
> Day 2: 5, 11.17 (10, 22.89)
Auten was happy that he nailed down the AOY crown.
Todd Auten moved up one place today and secured the circuit's Angler of the Year title.
"It does feel good," he said. "It'll be great if this can help me get a couple more sponsors. It's definitely something to add to my résumé."
He went through about 20 keepers today, but none bigger than 2 3/4 pounds. He brought in three largemouths and two spots.
He's throwing a Phenix jig, but declined to go into specifics about his technique.
"I had a couple of bites that felt really good, but they didn't take it all the way. I had them on for just a second before they came off, but they felt like really good fish.
"I think I figured out another little deal that got me a couple of bites later on. It's even more sporadic, but it seems like it produces some better-quality fish. I might do that tomorrow morning and see what happens."
15th: More was Less for Snowden
> Day 2: 5, 7.58 (10, 19.47)
Brian Snowden tumbled 12 places today with a bag that was just over 7 1/2 pounds.
"I didn't get as lucky as I did the first day," he said. "I did the same thing and caught more fish, but they were just smaller.
"I did break one off that I didn't see that might've gotten me into the 8- or 9-pound range. It was a flipping fish that wrapped me up, but it felt bigger than normal."
In addition to flipping, he's also throwing a swimjig and a crankbait.
"I might try a few different places farther up the river tomorrow, but I can't go and get in anyone's way."
Notable
> For the official standings, click here.
