By BassFan Staff

Randy Howell remembers a tip he was given a few years back during a previous Elite Series event at Kentucky Lake. Some veteran anglers were opining about experience and how it would come in handy one day for Howell.

Today was one of those days.

Having not fished Lake Barkley in many years, Howell was able to retrieve some old waypoints on his electronics and despite their age, they still produced solid fish. Howell, who was 63rd after the first 2 days, caught an 18-01 stringer to pace the 74-man field – only 40 weighed in fish – that was relegated to the second-chance shootout. He’ll be one of 10 competitors heading back to Kentucky Lake on Saturday to continue in the BASSFest competition.

The rest of the Top 5 was made up of anglers who had a rough time over the first 2 days, but will now get one last shot at the big Tennessee River impoundment.

James Niggemeyer, 88th after 2 days at Kentucky Lake, caught 16-11 to finish 2nd at Barkley. Kevin Short, who’s had a miserable time at Kentucky Lake (122nd), bagged 16-08 and will get another shot at the big lake, not to mention a $10,000 payday.

Chad Pipkens, another angler buried in the 100s, caught 16-01 to punch his ticket back to BASSFest while Rick Clunn, 94th after 2 days, stuck 15-14 to take 5th.

Here's a look at the 10 anglers who earned their way back to Kentucky Lake:

1. Randy Howell: 18-01
2. James Niggemeyer: 16-11
3. Kevin Short: 16-08
4. Chad Pipkens: 16-01
5. Rick Clunn: 15-14
6. Terry Scroggins: 15-04
7. Paul Mueller: 14-13
8. Scott Rook: 13-11
9. Chad Wiley: 13-08
10. Alton Jones: 13-00

Of the 10 anglers who re-qualified, eight were in 87th or lower after the first 2 days of competition.

Many of the competitors today were either completely unfamiliar with Barkley or hadn’t fished there in several years. That led some to go straight to the bank while others opted to stay offshore and target ledges and other structure.

The nine Elite Series anglers who earned their way back into the competition today will fall back to their day-2 cumulative weight totals entering tomorrow, despite being among the 60 remaining anglers. Their Saturday weights will be added to that and their cumulative weight will actually determine their final standing and they will earn the corresponding number of points for that place.

The sun gave way to some clouds and rain in the afternoon today, but the sun should return tomorrow with some intermittent clouds and temperatures in the 80s.

The Top 12 after Saturday’s round will advance to Sunday and the winner, who also earns a berth in the 2016 Bassmaster Classic, will be determined by total overall weight.

Memories Pay Off for Howell

> 5, 18-01

Howell said when the Elite Series visited Kentucky Lake four times in a 5-year stretch between 2006-10, he often fished Barkley because the ledge-fishing at Kentucky hadn’t yet exploded like it has in recent years. That meant his familiarity with the lake was considerably better than many of his competitors today.

“I remember back in ’06, I fished Barkley during that entire tournament,” he said. “Back then, we went out of Gilbertsville, which is up by the dam so Barkley was right there.”

Today, he worked over a hump he’d found years ago and peppered it with crankbaits, worms and a hair jig.

“I did have a good comfort level today,” he said. “I had confidence in that area down there. That little spot’s been good every time I’ve been there. I don’t think it’s a good multiple-day place, but it’s perfect for a single-day deal like today.”

He described the spot as a hump in 10 to 12 feet of water with deeper water on all sides.

“First thing this morning, I made a long cast to it with a hair jig because I was trying to ease up on it and I didn’t want to idle over it,” he said. “I caught one the first cast. I threw at it a couple more times, then went to a Livingston Deep Impact 18 crankbait and caught a couple 3-pounders on that.”

He noticed, though, that after a couple bites on a particular bait, the action would slow down. When he’d switch to a different bait, the activity levels would pick up.

“After I’d catch two or three, then they quit and I had to change baits,” he added.

In addition to the crankbait and hair jig, he also threw a 3/4-oz. magnum shakey head jig with an 8/0 hook in it. He paired with that a couple different Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits worms – the 12-inch curly tail and the 7 1/2-inch Kut Tail Worm.

He’ll pick up Saturday about 4 pounds back of 50th-place Matt Reed, so he’s hoping to gain some ground in the standings and also in the AOY points.

“I have a good chance to move up if I catch one of those bags in the mid-20s,” he said. “I had a massive school that I found last day of practice, but they disappeared. I wish they’d show back up tomorrow.”



B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

James Niggemeyer used a helpful tip from a competitor to catch his two biggest fish today.

2nd: Tip From Crochet Aids Niggemeyer

> 5, 16-11

Niggemeyer has been fishing shallow at Kentucky Lake and getting plenty of bites, but just not the quality fish others are catching offshore. He opted to target wood with a square-bill crankbait at Barkley today and while that produced some keepers, it was a little tip he got from Cliff Crochet that helped put his best fish in the boat.

“I had caught three on the Strike King 2.5 and I came around a corner and saw Cliff with his Power-Poles down,” Niggemeyer said. “Cliff and I are good friends and we were trading stories about the day. He asked if I had any Rage Craws and I said I had one pack of six so I gave him three and kept three. He put it on his jig and showed me how he was fishing it.

“I knew my cranking fish were on really specific stuff so I figured I’d put the jig into my program and that’s how I caught my two biggest fish – on a Hack Attack jig with a Rage Craw trailer. Those two fish were half of my weight. It made a huge difference.”

He said he had probably 3 hours of total experience on Barkley prior to today, but he quickly took a liking to it.

“I love it,” he said. “I know it’s got a history of being a great shallow fishery so I decided to just fish shallow and I loved it. I thought it was awesome. I’d love to have another event there in the future.”

He was pretty pumped about earning a $10,000 check (at least) after catching 22-03 through 2 days at Kentucky.

“I’m very happy about that,” he said. “I want to get back in this event. I didn’t have tough days. I caught a bunch, but no quality. I’m excited to get back out there, but I need to rethink some things and get on some better quality fish.”

3rd: Short Psyched to Have Five

> 5, 16-08

Even it he hadn’t made the Top 10 today, Short was stoked to just catch a limit following 2 days on Kentucky that yielded one fish.

“It felt good just to have a damn limit,” he said. “I was ecstatic when that fifth one got in the boat. What’s so crazy is it’s the same type of stuff that I’ve been pounding the poo poo out of on Kentucky Lake. It makes no sense.”

He said he targeted a shallow bar on the southern end of the lake after getting a helpful hint from Ott DeFoe on Wednesday after Short zeroed.

B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito
Photo: B.A.S.S./Seigo Saito

Kevin Short caught more weight on one cast today than he had in 2 full days at Kentucky Lake.

“After I came in with nothing, I figured I probably need to ask somebody something about Barkley, just to get a general idea,” he said. “I knew Ott was camping a few spots down from me so I went to him and asked, “If you had to fish Barkley on Friday, what would you? He told me to run all the way to the dam and look on the map for four or five shallow islands on the river channel. He said throw a crankbait in 10 feet or less.

“I found one of those islands and went all the way around it and never had a bite. I thought maybe they’re not as shallow, so I looked at the map again and saw an underwater bar just down stream from these islands.”

He made one pass and caught a 3-pounder on his third cast, exceeding his weight from 2 full days at Kentucky Lake.

“The river channel was on one side and that was 40 feet (deep),” he said. “The other side was 20, but up on top it was 12. Everything I caught was when I got the bait down on that 12-foot strip. It was pretty narrow, but that’s where they were.”

4th: Pipkens Caught ‘Em Deep and Shallow

> 5, 16-01

Like Short, Pipkens said it just felt good to catch some fish today. Now, he hopes it translates to better results tomorrow.

“I feel like I’m around the right fish (on Kentucky),” he said. “I need to go catch them tomorrow to earn some points.”

He was in 114th after day 2 and will need catch more than 10 pounds in order to get into the Top 100 and earn points toward the Angler of the Year race.

He caught a limit flipping a Damiki Knockout this morning and picked up a couple keepers on a spinnerbait.

“After that, I went back down the lake to get on another spot, but there was a still another boat on it,” he said. “I left and did some other stuff and came back to it when it was available. I caught a 4-pounder on a swimbait, then with 15 minutes to go, I saw a fish break chasing shad. I threw back in there with a spoon and caught a 3 1/2-pounder.”

As for his strategy tomorrow, he’s been fishing the same places as others who are doing well, but he’s not going to concede anything.

“I’m going to try to not get in anybody’s way, but I want to try to get on the places where I’ve had some bites,” he said.

5th: Clunn ‘Going to School’

> 5, 15-14

Clunn also fished some areas today that he had success on in previous visits.

“I think it’s been more than 7 years since I’ve been to any of those spots,” he said. “The lake’s a little higher now and that changes some of the spots, but I finally got one of them to start working out. I fished five or six of them and one finally paid off, but that’s ledge-fishing. You can pull up on them and they can be in the mood to eat.”

After cycling through his first spots, he didn’t catch the majority of his weight until just before check in.

Tomorrow, he’s going to do his best to stay out of the way of other competitors and work on some techniques that will be helpful later on this season. He’s in 94th place and has virtually no shot at contending for a Top-12 position.

“I’m going to fish stuff that has no boats on it and on Kentucky Lake, if it doesn’t have a boat on it, there’s usually a reason,” he said. “I’m going to fish a dropshot a lot. It’s something I’m not very strong at and I know a couple of our remaining tournaments will be dropshot-heavy so maybe I can teach myself how to get better at it. Basically, my plan for tomorrow is to go to school.”

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 74 anglers, 26 limits, 7 fours, 6 threes, 1 one, 34 zeroes.

Weather Forecast

> 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 3 Results

1. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 5, 18-01 -- 0

2. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 16-11 -- 0

3. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 16-08 -- 0

4. Chad Pipkens -- Holt, MI -- 5, 16-01 -- 0

5. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 15-14 -- 0

6. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5, 15-04 -- 0

7. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 5, 14-13 -- 0

8. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 5, 13-11 -- 0

9. Chad Wiley -- Pineville, LA -- 5, 13-08 -- 0

10. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 5, 13-00 -- 0

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not compete Saturday.

11. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, TX -- 3, 12-13 -- 0

12. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, TX -- 5, 12-11 -- 0

13. Shaw Grigsby Jr. Gainesville, FL -- 5, 12-09 -- 0

14. Gary Clouse -- La Vergne, TN -- 5, 12-08 -- 0

15. Randy Allen -- Shreveport, LA -- 5, 12-07 -- 0

16. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 12-07 -- 0

17. Koby Kreiger -- Bokeelia, FL -- 5, 12-00 -- 0

18. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 4, 12-00 -- 0

19. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 5, 11-14 -- 0

20. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 5, 11-08 -- 0

21. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 11-06 -- 0

22. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 11-05 -- 0

23. Logan Sherrer -- Karnack, TX -- 5, 10-09 -- 0

24. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 4, 10-09 -- 0

25. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 10-06 -- 0

26. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 4, 10-05 -- 0

27. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 3, 10-04 -- 0

28. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 4, 10-03 -- 0

29. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 5, 09-14 -- 0

30. Jared Miller -- Norman, OK -- 5, 09-08 -- 0

31. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 3, 09-08 -- 0

32. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 5, 09-01 -- 0

33. Kevin Hawk -- Guntersville, AL -- 3, 09-01 -- 0

34. Troy Broussard -- Beaumont, TX -- 3, 09-00 -- 0

35. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 4, 08-10 -- 0

36. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 4, 08-08 -- 0

37. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 4, 07-13 -- 0

38. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 3, 07-10 -- 0

39. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville, IL -- 5, 07-07 -- 0

40. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 1, 06-07 -- 0

41. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Scott Barnett -- Mansfield, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Hank Cherry Jr -- Maiden, NC -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland TX AUSTRALIA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Kevin Ledoux -- Choctaw, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Stephen Longobardi -- Northford, CT -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Joseph Sancho -- New Windsor, NY -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Casey Scanlon -- Lanexa, KS -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. David Smith -- Del City, OK -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Jesse Tacoronte -- Orlando, FL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Nate Wellman -- Newaygo, MI -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Craig Workman -- Fort Worth, TX -- 0, 00-00 -- 0

41. Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, CA -- 0, 00-00 -- 0