By BassFan Staff

Things went so well for Ott DeFoe today, he even helped put a competitor on fish.

In the midst of catching 26-07 that gave him the day-1 lead at BASSFest at Kentucky Lake, DeFoe kindly suggested a couple areas to close friend Andy Montgomery, who was looking for one more upgrade.

The first spot didn’t pan out, but the second one produced a 4-pounder and contributed to Montgomery’s 25-04 stringer that has him right behind DeFoe on the leaderboard.

“He stopped by and we chatted and I told him about a spot he could probably go catch one,” DeFoe said. “About 45 minutes later, I saw him coming back. He said he didn’t catch any so I told him to go over to a different spot.”

The second area was within eyesight of DeFoe and he watched his pal land the solid upgrade. Later, DeFoe himself stumbled upon an area that produced a 7-05 kicker to round out his bag.

“It’s never bad to be at the top of heap,” DeFoe said. “I’m definitely glad to have caught what I did. I just I hope to keep it rolling.”

After Montgomery is a pair of anglers with considerable résumés on the Tennessee River. Edwin Evers, who was 2nd at Kentucky Lake in 2010, caught 24-00 today and sits in 3rd. Kevin VanDam, a two-time winner at Kentucky Lake (he was 2nd in 2009 and 3rd in ’06), weighed 23-09 for 4th place.

Brett Hite, still shaking off the doldrums of a poor West Coast swing, started strong with 23-05 that has him in 5th.

Here's a look at the Top 12 after the first day of competition, with deficit margin from DeFoe indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Ott DeFoe: 26-07
2. Andy Montgomery: 25-04 (1-03)
3. Edwin Evers: 24-00 (2-07)
4. Kevin VanDam: 23-09 (2-14)
5. Brett Hite: 23-05 (3-02)
6 (tie). Brandon Lester: 22-14 (3-09)
6 (tie). Shinichi Fukae: 22-14 (3-09)
8. Ken Iyobe: 22-08 (3-15)
9. Jason Christie: 22-07 (4-00)
10. Kotaro Kiriyama: 21-15 (4-08)
11 (tie). Brent Ehrler: 21-12 (4-11)
11 (tie). Billy McCaghren: 21-12 (4-11)

For all the poor-mouthing that went on before the tournament, the weights certainly tell a different story. Nearly 30 anglers caught 20 or more pounds and it looks as though 17 pounds per day might not even make the Top-50 cut.

The cut line will be worth watching tomorrow since Angler of the Year points leader Dean Rojas caught 16-15 and finds himself in 53rd. Justin Lucas, the top-ranked angler in the BassFan World Rankings who came into BASSFest 10 points behind Rojas, is 23rd with 20-05.

Shin Fukae, a seasoned veteran with plenty of experience on Kentucky Lake from his FLW Tour career, had the best day of the 13 Open competitors. He caught 22-14 and is tied for 6th.

The sun finally made a prolonged appearance today and the north wind that blew against the current virtually all practice finally let up. It wasn’t optimum, but some believe the brighter conditions led to better fishing, especially on the ledges where the post-spawn fish are ganging up on structure.

The Top 50 after tomorrow’s round will advance to fish Saturday, while the remaining 74 will compete Friday in a 1-day fish-off at Lake Barkley. The Top 10 from Barkley will join the Top 50 on Saturday back at Kentucky. The Top 12 after Saturday will compete Sunday, with the winner crowned based on cumulative weight.

DeFoe Delighted

> Day 1: 5, 26-07

It should come as no surprise that DeFoe, a noted tackle tinkerer, caught his five weigh-in fish on a variety of baits.

“I think it was four or five different things,” he said. “That was mostly due to me getting them to bite one thing and then picking up something else to see if they’d bite that.”

He said he had a solid practice, but wasn’t entirely sure what kind of quality he was on until this morning.

“You can see the potential when you make three casts and catch a 5 and two 3s,” he said. “You also don’t know if there are 5s down there or 2 1/2- and 3-pounders.”

He got a flurry of bites pretty early, but caught fish fairly consistently up until he pulled off his key area.

“I was the only person who fished it,” he noted. “I know others saw me fishing there, but I was the only one who fished it. I tried some other stuff, but where I caught them was stuff I found in practice.”

He said he lost one fish that may or may not have helped him, but he’s enthused that he’s around areas where he can get bit on several different presentations.

“I think they’re around,” he said. “Getting them to bite is always the thing.”



B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina
Photo: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Andy Montgomery shared his main spot with several other competitors this morning

2nd: Community Hole Produced for Montgomery

> Day 1: 5, 25-04

Montgomery is not known for his ledge-fishing chops, but that might change if he keeps up the pace he set today. He thinks that’s unlikely considering his key spot also produced good results for several other competitors.

“Practice wasn’t really good for me so I went to a community hole and caught them pretty good,” he said. “I’ve had some good practices here before, but this wasn’t one of them. It just worked out today.”

Hite, Bobby Lane, Boyd Duckett and Bernie Schultz also were casting on the same area as Montgomery.

He said having the sun overhead for a change seemed to lead to better fishing.

“I’m not a ledge expert by any means, but from what I hear it helps a lot,” he said. “It was a lot better today than in practice. After I caught my weight, I started looking around and saw some on places where I didn’t see them in practice. I think it’s probably going to get better as the week goes on. I think the weights down through the field will be better.”

The majority of his weight came early this morning – he caught four in the 5- to 6-pound range – but had a small fish he wanted to upgrade.

“I was running down the lake and stopped to talk to Ott,” he said. “He said he had all 4-pounders and he told me one place I could go catch one. I went over there and made one cast and caught a 4.”

After that, he tried to locate other areas for tomorrow, but he thinks he’ll back to where he started today.

“I have to start there at least,” he said. “I know I won’t have a good boat draw, but I still have to start there.”

3rd: Evers Happy With Start

> Day 1: 5, 24-00

Evers said he caught his weight by 10 a.m. and pulled it from several different spots rather than milking one particular area.

“A couple spots have some history and a couple are brand-spanking new,” he said. It’s good to get a first-day stringer like that under my belt. There’s still a lot of fishing left to do. It’s a start, at least.”

The lack of a north wind and the presence of sunshine, he said, was a good thing for how he’s fishing.

“Without the north wind, it lets the current move more and any time you’re structure fishing, the sun helps keep them from roaming,” he added. “I tried to cover a bunch of water today and not get too into anything.”

He spent most of his day in the middle portion of the lake and totaled about a dozen keepers.

5th: Hite Only Hit One Area

> Day 1: 5, 23-05

Hite said it felt good to post a good weight today and start to put the struggles he had during the West Coast swing behind him.

“I had two really good ones and two bad ones where I thought I’d do well,” he said, referring to the Sacramento River and Lake Havasu tournaments. “This season’s been kind of a roller-coaster ride. I’ve just had some misfortune this year, so it’s nice to get the ball rolling and get back on the right track.”

He feels like he’s on the right caliber of fish. Now, it’s a matter of being able to get back on them.

“My marshal said I caught 20 today and they were all 3-pounders or better,” he said, noting his big one was 5-11. “I’m on the right fish and I only really fished one spot.”

He said the bites were fairly steady right up until noon, when the others who were also on the area started to vacate it.

“I pre-fished for a while in the afternoon because it’s all about spot management and fish management here,” he said. “I had other spots where there are some good ones, but I didn’t want to have to go through 10 3-pounders to catch an upgrade because I might need those fish later on.”

B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina
Photo: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Edwin Evers had a strong day fishing the middle portion of the lake.

6th: Lester Thinks More Are Coming

> Day 1: 5, 22-14

Brandon Lester caught roughly a pound per minute right away this morning en route to a nearly 23-pound day.

“I had a limit for 19 pounds in about 20 minutes,” he said. “I bounced around some and went to a secondary spot and culled a couple times and went practicing the rest of the day.”

He said the unseasonably cool weather the last week has likely kept some fish from moving all the way out toward the main river channel. The sunny conditions today and tomorrow will likely trigger a migration, he says.

“I think a lot of fish moved out today and a lot more could move out tomorrow,” he said. “We’ve been in the 50s at night and it’s only been getting into the 70s during the day. The water is about 10 degrees cooler than what it usually is so if the sun stays out and warms the water up, we could see more fish coming.”

He said he mixed in about half a dozen baits and caught his fish on three of them.

“I’m just throwing a bunch of stuff and seeing what they want at the time,” he said.

He’s hopeful he’ll be able to get back on his key spots from today on Thursday.

“I pulled off of my stuff early,” he said. “One reason is I didn’t want anybody to see me sitting on it and I didn’t want to burn them too bad. I also didn’t want to sit and catch fish that would help me tomorrow. The two places I caught them today, I haven’t seen anybody.”

69th: Tough Day for Kennedy

> Day 1: 4, 14-02

Steve Kennedy is no slouch at Kentucky Lake. He’s won twice there (‘03 & ‘06) and knows the lake fairly well. After enduring one of the tougher practice sessions he can recall, he had his chances to be among the group that caught 20 pounds.

A couple missed opportunities has him about halfway down the leaderboard with some work to do tomorrow in order to make the cut.

“I had one almost 4 pounds at my fingertips,” he said. “A lot of things happened. I could’ve been right there.”

He said the cloudy, cool weather in practice had the fish scattered around and it may take a day or two of sun to get them back in their typical mode for this time of year.

“The fish didn’t seem to be relating to the bottom very well,” he said. “The ones I did get were with a big swimbait ripping it up. I had one school from practice where I could catch them pretty much every cast. I went back there today and those fish are gone now.

“Other places are community centers now – places I’ve won and others have won on.”

Another observation he made came after studying the day-1 standings.

“If you look at the weights, there’s one 15-pound bag and a couple 16s and a few 14s,” he said. “The rest are 17 or 18 and up or 12 or less. What’s missing is those 2 1/2- to 3-pound fish. There are not as many as in years past. I may be wrong and they may show up tomorrow, but it’s like there are 2- and 2 1/2-pounders and then 4 1/2-pounders and bigger.”

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 124 anglers, 94 limits, 12 fours, 3 threes, 6 twos, 4 ones, 5 zeroes.

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., June 4 – Sunny - 83°/60°
- Wind: Light and variable

> Fri., June 5 – Mix of Sun and Clouds - 84°/63°
- Wind: Light and variable

> Sat., June 6 – Morning Rain, Afternoon Thunderstorms - 81°/63°
- Wind: From the NNE at 5 to 10 mph

> Sun., June 7 – Mostly Sunny - 84°/64°
- Wind: From the W at 5 to 10 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 26-07 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 26-07

2. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5, 25-04 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 25-04

3. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5, 24-00 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 24-00

4. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 23-09 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 23-09

5. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5, 23-05 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 23-05

6. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 5, 22-14 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 22-14

7. Shin Fukae -- Palestine, TX -- 5, 22-14 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 22-14

8. Ken Iyobe -- Tokoname, Aichi, Japan -- 5, 22-08 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 22-08

9. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 22-07 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 22-07

10. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 5, 21-15 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 21-15

11. Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 5, 21-12 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 21-12

12. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 21-12 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 21-12

13. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 5, 21-09 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 21-09

13. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 5, 21-09 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 21-09

15. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 5, 21-05 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 21-05

16. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, Ontario -- 5, 21-03 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 21-03

17. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 5, 21-02 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 21-02

18. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 21-00 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 21-00

19. Darold Gleason -- Leesville, LA -- 5, 20-15 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 20-15

20. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5, 20-12 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 20-12

21. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 5, 20-09 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 20-09

22. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5, 20-07 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 20-07

23. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 20-05 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 20-05

24. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, FL -- 5, 20-05 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 20-05

25. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 20-04 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 20-04

26. Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5, 20-03 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 20-03

27. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 5, 20-02 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 20-02

28. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 20-02 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 20-02

29. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 20-01 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 20-01

30. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 5, 19-11 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 19-11

31. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 5, 19-06 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 19-06

32. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL -- 5, 19-05 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 19-05

32. Morizo Shimizu -- Suita, Osaka, Japan -- 5, 19-05 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 19-05

34. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 5, 19-03 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 19-03

35. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 19-01 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 19-01

36. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 19-00 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 19-00

37. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5, 18-15 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 18-15

37. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5, 18-15 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 18-15

39. Matt Lee -- Auburn , AL -- 5, 18-12 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 18-12

40. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 5, 18-10 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-10

41. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5, 18-06 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 18-06

42. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 4, 18-01 -- 64
Day 1: 4, 18-01

43. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 5, 18-00 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 18-00

44. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 5, 17-15 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 17-15

45. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 17-09 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 17-09

46. Jordan Lee -- Vinemont, AL -- 5, 17-07 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 17-07

47. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 5, 17-06 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-06

48. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 17-03 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 17-03

48. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 17-03 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 17-03

48. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 17-03 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 17-03

51. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 5, 17-02 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 17-02

52. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 5, 17-01 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 17-01

53. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 16-15 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 16-15

54. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 5, 16-13 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 16-13

54. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 16-13 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 16-13

56. Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 5, 16-11 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 16-11

57. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 5, 16-07 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 16-07

58. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 5, 16-04 -- 48
Day 1: 5, 16-04

59. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 5, 16-01 -- 47
Day 1: 5, 16-01

60. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5, 15-14 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 15-14

61. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 14-15 -- 45
Day 1: 5, 14-15

62. Shaw Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 14-14 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 14-14

63. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 5, 14-10 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 14-10

64. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 5, 14-09 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 14-09

65. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 14-05 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 14-05

66. Casey Scanlon -- Lanexa, KS -- 5, 14-04 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 14-04

67. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 5, 14-03 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 14-03

68. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 14-02 -- 38
Day 1: 5, 14-02

69. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 4, 14-02 -- 37
Day 1: 4, 14-02

70. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 5, 14-00 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 14-00

71. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 13-15 -- 35
Day 1: 5, 13-15

72. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 5, 13-13 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 13-13

72. Koby Kreiger -- Bokeelia, FL -- 5, 13-13 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 13-13

74. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville, IL -- 5, 13-04 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 13-04

75. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 5, 13-03 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 13-03

75. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 5, 13-03 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 13-03

77. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 5, 13-02 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 13-02

78. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 5, 12-12 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 12-12

79. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5, 12-11 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 12-11

80. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 5, 12-09 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 12-09

81. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5, 12-07 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 12-07

82. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 5, 12-04 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 12-04

83. Hank Cherry Jr -- Maiden, NC -- 5, 12-02 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 12-02

84. Troy Broussard -- Beaumont, TX -- 5, 12-01 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-01

85. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 12-00 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 12-00

86. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 4, 11-13 -- 21
Day 1: 4, 11-13

87. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, TX -- 5, 11-05 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 11-05

87. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5, 11-05 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 11-05

87. Chad Wiley -- Pineville, LA -- 5, 11-05 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 11-05

90. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, TX -- 4, 11-05 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 11-05

91. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 11-00 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 11-00

92. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 10-13 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 10-13

93. Scott Barnett -- Mansfield, TX -- 3, 10-12 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 10-12

94. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5, 10-07 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 10-07

94. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 10-07 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 10-07

96. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 4, 10-07 -- 14
Day 1: 4, 10-07

97. Gary Clouse -- La Vergne, TN -- 4, 10-06 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 10-06

98. Randy Allen -- Shreveport, LA -- 3, 10-05 -- 13
Day 1: 3, 10-05

99. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 5, 10-03 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 10-03

100. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 10-02 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 10-02

101. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 5, 10-01 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 10-01

102. Kevin Hawk -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 09-07 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 09-07

103. Nate Wellman -- Newaygo, MI -- 4, 09-00 -- 8
Day 1: 4, 09-00

104. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 4, 08-15 -- 7
Day 1: 4, 08-15

105. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 4, 08-13 -- 6
Day 1: 4, 08-13

106. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, TX -- 4, 08-05 -- 5
Day 1: 4, 08-05

107. Kevin Ledoux -- Choctaw, OK -- 4, 08-01 -- 4
Day 1: 4, 08-01

108. Jared Miller -- Norman, OK -- 4, 07-15 -- 3
Day 1: 4, 07-15

109. Jesse Tacoronte -- Orlando, FL -- 2, 06-08 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 06-08

110. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 2, 06-07 -- 2
Day 1: 2, 06-07

111. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 2, 06-01 -- 1
Day 1: 2, 06-01

112. Chad Pipkens -- Holt, MI -- 2, 05-15 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 05-15

113. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, Australia -- 2, 04-15 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 04-15

114. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 3, 04-12 -- 0
Day 1: 3, 04-12

115. Joseph Sancho -- New Windsor, NY -- 2, 04-03 -- 0
Day 1: 2, 04-03

116. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, OK -- 1, 03-07 -- 0
Day 1: 1, 03-07

117. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 1, 02-12 -- 0
Day 1: 1, 02-12

118. Stephen Longobardi -- Northford, CT -- 1, 02-08 -- 0
Day 1: 1, 02-08

119. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 1, 01-10 -- 0
Day 1: 1, 01-10

120. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

120. Logan Sherrer -- Karnack, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

120. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

120. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00

120. Craig Workman -- Fort Worth, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00