Knight Slays Giant For Day-1 Lead at Kentucky

By BassFan Staff

Just think what'll happen if the big ones start biting.

The Kentucky Lake FLW Tour kicked off today and the results were impressive – on paper. Fourteen pros (and one co-angler) cracked the 20-pound mark, but the leaders said it was far from easy.

They say the massive schools of bass that Kentucky Lake’s fabled ledges are famous for holding this time of year just aren’t there (yet) and some of the schools that are around contain fish that, for unexplainable reasons, are unfazed by the assortment of lures being thrown at them. They simply won’t bite.

It wasn’t an easy day for Brad Knight, the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion, but he was the beneficiary of a giant kicker that helped him take the lead after day 1 with 23-06.

“I got lucky and caught a 8 1/2-pounder,” said Knight. “Those make you look like you know what you’re doing.”

The Top 10 reads like a roster for an invitation-only ledge-fishing event as several of the top offshore anglers are within 2 pounds of Knight. Shinichi Fukae, who's known more for his finesse prowess but has two career Top-10s at Kentucky Lake, caught 23-03 and sits in 2nd.

Randy Haynes, one of the favorites this week, caught a 22-15 bag that has him in 3rd. Brandon Hunter, who hails from Benton, Ky., and guides on the lake, is 4th with 22-11. Mark Rose, another offshore guru, is one ounce back in 5th with 22-10, a mere 12 ounces behind Knight.

On a lake that has a healthy population of 6-pound fish or bigger, the close nature of day 1 could be a sign that this post-spawn shootout could come down to ounces.

Here's a look at the Top 10 after day 1 of competition, with deficit margin from Knight indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Brad Knight: 23-06
2. Shin Fukae: 23-03 (0-03)
3. Randy Haynes: 22-15 (0-07)
4. Brandon Hunter: 22-11 (0-11)
5. Mark Rose: 22-10 (0-12)
6. Matt Arey: 22-09 (0-13)
7 (tie). Bryan Thrift: 22-05 (1-01)
7 (tie). Michael Neal: 22-05 (1-01)
9. Terry Bolton: 22-01 (1-05)
10. Ramie Colson: 21-06 (2-00)

The top two contenders for Angler of the Year had rough starts and will need to rebound considerably Friday if they hope to maintain their positions in the standings. Points leader Jeff Sprague is 86th after sacking 12-14 while John Cox, who came in just 2 points behind Sprague, is 117th after catching 10-12 (four fish).

Jeff Gustafson, who was 3rd in the AOY race, is off to a solid start with a 15-09 stringer that has him in 39th.

There was no significant uptick in current flow today and that may be contributing to the lockjaw some fish demonstrated. The generation schedule for Friday calls for an average of 21,900 cubic feet per second, which would be in line with today’s generation.

The weather is due to remain hot with temperatures climbing into the 90s with a west-southwest breeze of 5 to 10 mph.

The field will be reduced to the Top 20 pros after Friday and the Top 10 following Saturday will advance to Sunday, when the winner will be determined by highest cumulative weight.

Knight In His Comfort Zone

> Day 1: 5, 23-06

Knight hasn’t had to worry about accumulating points to qualify for this year’s Forrest Wood Cup this season. As the defending champ, he’s guaranteed a spot. He admits it’s affected how he’s fished at some tournaments this season and it was part of the reason he fished the way he did today.

“I’m definitely fishing the way I like to fish,” Knight said. “I’m just cranking Strike King plugs and it’s something I’m really comfortable doing. I like to think I understand what happens on the Tennessee River, but I can get hard-headed at times and that’s what I’m doing here.

“Having the Cup made, I’m not sure I’d have caught what I caught today if I were fishing for points.”

He was in an earlier flight and he was able to box a limit fairly early and relax. From there, he visited 15 to 20 spots, searching for upgrades.

“Some are spots where I’ll make just a few casts while others I’ll fish for 100 yards and move on,” he said.

He had some company from other competitors at some of his areas, but no conflicts arose.

“Everybody’s getting along fine,” he said. “I’m trying to run more of a pattern than a spot deal and that’s helping.”

When he set the hook on his kicker, there were a couple hair-raising moments as his co-angler attempted to net it.

“We finally wrangled it in and I think I’d held my breath for so long I was ready to pass out,” he said. “I was glad to have it. It was a game-changer. That’s the whole deal here. I didn’t do anything magical or special. I just got fortunate and caught one of those fish from heaven.”

He’s anxious to see what Friday brings when he has a longer day on the water. He said the afternoon produced some good results during practice.

“I could catch 7 pounds as easily as I could catch 20,” he said. “They're swimming toward me so maybe I can get on a fresh deal where they’re ganged up and I happen to run across them. That’s what I’m hedging my bets on.”

2nd: Fukae Had to Slow Down

> Day 1: 5, 23-03

Fukae figures he fished for a total of 3 hours during practice. That meant there was a bit of uncertainty coming into today about how big the fish were that he found and what might trigger them to bite.

He employed a big crankbait and spoon and got off to a solid start.

“I was confused this morning because they didn’t bite,” he said. “When I fished slower, they started biting.

“It took time, but they ate it. You just need to be patient and confident that the fish are still there.”

He’s a little concerned about tomorrow as he had two local anglers move in on his area today. He does have a couple other spots to go to if that area doesn’t produce.

“The fish are moving,” he said. “Some days, you can go out here and catch 20 pounds in 30 minutes or just 10 pounds all day.”

3rd: Haynes Set to ‘Go for Broke’

> Day 1: 5, 22-15

Haynes didn’t do a whole lot of practicing this week, at least on the areas he intended to target during the tournament. He purposefully avoided key sections out of fear that competitors may see him and potentially fish that area themselves.

“Practice just started for me today,” he said. “I didn’t look at a lot of stuff because of the way fishing is these days. I got caught in a couple places and they went straight out there and started looking. It happened at Pickwick, too. It’s aggravating, but that’s the way fishing has gotten.”

He had his limit by 9 a.m. and upgraded throughout the day.

“It was fishing pretty tough,” he said. “I feel very fortunate to catch what I did today. I ran all over the lake twice to catch what I caught. I didn’t come out of the gates too good. I picked up the pace and got one here and there.

“It’s a timing deal. I’m trying to hit places people aren’t sitting on for 2 or 3 hours. I got in a bad rotation early on today and it got better as the day went on.”

He doesn’t think he’ll make many changes to his strategy going into Friday. He’s basically out of the hunt to make the Cup so he’s going for the win this week.

“The main thing is to get that 12-pound limit,” he said. “That’s when I’ll turn on my Raymarines and start looking and throw my Z-Boss 25 and go for broke. It’s all or nothing after I catch my limit.”

4th: Hunter Moved Around

> Day 1: 5, 22-11

For Hunter, today was far from easy. He said the lake is “fishing really funny right now,” due in part to a bunch of fish that are showing up on sonar, but not biting.

“You’ll pull up on a place that has what you think are first-casters and they won’t eat,” he said. “It’s really strange. I think it’s just a timing thing. It’s fishing a lot like it does in July and August.”

He had to vacate his starting spot after a couple competitors attempted to fish the same area.

“I don’t fish like that,” he said. “I can’t handle that. Sometimes, it bites me in the butt, but I can’t stand it.”

He moved around, but couldn’t get to waypoints he had as they were already occupied. Eventually, he settled on a couple spots that produced his weight.

“They’re off the beaten path sort of spots,” he added.

He landed 12 keepers today and hopes to keep the momentum going Friday as he bids to make his first Top-20 cut on Tour.

“I’ve had a terrible year this season, but it’s nice to be able to sleep in my own bed,” he said. “I just pretend it’s a day of guiding and try to enjoy it. It’s not working out for me with all the stress of being at home, but it definitely feels good to do well with all of the hometown support.”

5th: Rose Happy Where He’s At

> Day 1: 5, 22-10

The only thing Rose would’ve changed about today was to have a 6- or 7-pound kicker in his bag. He was pleased with his haul and he’s hopeful those bigger fish will join the fray on Friday.

“I’d like to have had more, but I could’ve had less,” he said. “It went about the way I thought it could go if everything went right.”

He sacked a 14-pound limit this morning, then rotated through some smaller groups of fish, looking for upgrades. The strategy paid off as he avoided heavily-pressured areas and caught several key fish that pushed his total past 22 1/2 pounds.

“(Catching that early limit) loosens me up because throughout the rest of the day, I was fishing the river on 5- or 6-fish places,” he said. “I was able to go fish for single fish after that. I slowly culled up throughout the day.

“It’s not easy. What I’m doing is real specific on the cast because they’re not big schools. If I’m able to catch another good bag and make the weekend, more of the lake could open up.”

6th: Arey Made Up for Mishap

> Day 1: 5, 22-09

Despite being in the Top 10, Matt Arey was frustrated with himself today. He lost what he thinks was a 6-pounder after nearly having it in the net. If he’d have landed it, he likely would be the day-1 leader.

“That’s part of fishing,” he said. “I screwed up. I had it on and it never surged, but when I got it to the net, I could see it had one back hook in the bottom lip. I think it saw the net and then it surged under the boat and came off. It was my fault. I was being stupid.”

Aside from that mishap, he was satisfied with the rest of his day. A crankbait and jig were his best producers today. He also caught a 4-pounder on a dropshot.

“I can’t complain,” he said. “My practice was so-so. They’re really close to where they were on Tuesday. They’re just really hard to trigger.”

He cut his day short when he noticed a couple of his bigger fish showed signs of stress in the livewell.

“I know ounces will be key this week so I came in 45 minutes early,” he said.

146th: Frustrating Day for Redington

> Day 1: 3, 7-05

Tom Redington has a strong track record at Kentucky Lake – he won the FLW Series event there last year and finished 6th in the Tour event in 2014. So it stands to reason why he was so frustrated after today when he caught just three keepers for 7-05.

“It was a weird deal,” he said. “I marked fish in historic areas where I’ve caught them in the past, but I couldn’t trigger them to eat. That’s the whole art of ledge-fishing – you see them on the graph, then pick up any bait and you’re bound to catch them.”

That wasn’t the case at all today.

“When I’d catch them, the few that I caught they’d be small and there were no follow-ups,” he added. “I couldn’t fire them up.”

He was around areas where some of the leaders are fishing so he’s hoping to have a better day Friday.

“The fish aren’t everywhere this year,” he noted. “Most times, when you’re having a tough day, you run around and don’t see them. I was able to get on the fish I wanted to get on. I just couldn’t get them to eat.”

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 162 anglers, 127 limits, 12 fours, 9 threes, 8 twos, 3 ones, 3 zeroes.

> Jon Henry, a former FLW Series winner at Lake Guntersville where he’s a fishing guide, is competing as a co-angler this week. Henry finished chemotherapy treatment earlier this year after being diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer. He caught 10-02 today.

> Jacob Wheeler had a good day with 21-02, which has him in 11th, but his co-angler, Mark Horton, had a better day. Horton caught 21-05 out of the back of Wheeler’s boat and is the co-angler leader after day 1.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., June 10 – Sunny - 97°/69°
- Wind: From the WSW at 5 to 10 mph

> Sat., June 11 – Sunny - 98°/72°
- Wind: From the WSW at 5 to 10 mph

> Sun., June 12 – Mostly Sunny - 97°/72°
- Wind: From the W at 5 to 10 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Brad Knight -- Lancing, Tn -- 23-6 (5)

2. Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Tx -- 23-3 (5)

3. Randy Haynes -- Counce, Tn -- 22-15 (5)

4. Brandon Hunter -- Benton, Ky -- 22-11 (5)

5. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 22-10 (5)

6. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 22-6 (5)

7. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 22-5 (5)

8. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 22-5 (5)

9. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 22-1 (5)

10. Ramie Colson Jr -- Cadiz, Ky -- 21-6 (5)

11. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, In -- 21-2 (5)

12. Barry Wilson -- Birmingham, Al -- 20-6 (5)

13. Todd Hollowell -- Fishers, In -- 20-5 (5)

14. Brandon McMillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 20-3 (5)

15. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 19-15 (5)

16. Jayme Rampey -- Liberty, SC -- 19-3 (5)

17. Alex Davis -- Albertville, Al -- 18-15 (5)

18. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 18-10 (5)

19. Jason Lambert -- Pickwick Dam, Tn -- 18-9 (5)

20. Glenn Chappelear -- Acworth, Ga -- 18-4 (5)

21. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 18-0 (5)

22. Tim Frederick -- Leesburg, Fl -- 17-14 (5)

23. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 17-9 (5)

24. Luke Dunkin -- Lawrenceburg, Tn -- 17-7 (5)

25. Troy Gibson -- Mountain Home, Ar -- 16-14 (5)

26. Travis Fox -- Rogers, Ar -- 16-12 (5)

27. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 16-11 (5)

28. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 16-10 (5)

29. Buddy Gross -- Ringgold, Ga -- 16-8 (5)

30. Clayton Batts -- Macon, Ga -- 16-6 (5)

31. Jay Kendrick -- Grant, Al -- 16-4 (5)

32. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 15-15 (5)

33. Kurt Mitchell -- Milford, De -- 15-14 (5)

34. Nick Gainey -- Charleston, SC -- 15-13 (5)

35. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15-11 (5)

36. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 15-11 (5)

37. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 15-11 (5)

38. Shane Lehew -- Mooresville, NC -- 15-11 (5)

39. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, On -- 15-9 (5)

40. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 15-6 (5)

41. Rodney Thomason -- Maumelle, Ar -- 15-5 (5)

42. Pete Ponds -- Madison, Ms -- 15-5 (5)

43. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 15-4 (5)

44. Jay Yelas -- Corvallis, Or -- 15-4 (5)

45. John Voyles -- Petersburg, In -- 15-2 (5)

46. Jason Meninger -- Gainesville, Ga -- 15-2 (5)

47. Michael Wooley -- Collierville, Tn -- 15-1 (5)

48. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 14-15 (5)

49. William(Billy) Shelton Iii -- La Crosse, Va -- 14-10 (5)

50. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Ok -- 14-10 (5)

51. Chris Whitson -- Louisville, Tn -- 14-8 (5)

52. Keith Amerson -- Selmer, Tn -- 14-8 (5)

53. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, La -- 14-8 (5)

54. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 14-7 (5)

55. Craig Livesay -- Johnson City, Tn -- 14-7 (5)

56. Jason Johnson -- Gainesville, Ga -- 14-6 (5)

57. Bill Day -- Frankfort, Ky -- 14-6 (5)

58. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, On -- 14-5 (5)

59. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 14-4 (5)

60. Randy Blaukat -- Joplin, Mo -- 14-4 (5)

61. Rusty Trancygier -- Hahira, Ga -- 14-3 (5)

62. Shawn Gordon -- Russellville, Ar -- 14-1 (5)

63. Charlie Ingram -- Centerville, Tn -- 14-1 (5)

64. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, Al -- 14-0 (5)

65. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- London, Ky -- 13-15 (5)

66. Scott Suggs -- Alexander, Ar -- 13-14 (5)

67. Christopher Brasher -- Longview, Tx -- 13-13 (5)

68. Rex Huff -- Corbin, Ky -- 13-12 (4)

69. Matthew Stefan -- Junction City, Wi -- 13-12 (5)

70. Marc Evans -- Angola, In -- 13-11 (5)

71. Shawn Murphy -- Nicholasville, Ky -- 13-10 (5)

72. Daryl Biron -- South Windsor, Ct -- 13-9 (5)

73. Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, SC -- 13-9 (5)

74. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 13-8 (5)

75. Kyle Monti -- Okeechobee, Fl -- 13-8 (5)

76. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 13-8 (5)

77. Matt Wittekiend -- Angleton, Tx -- 13-7 (5)

78. Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, Wi -- 13-6 (5)

79. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Tx -- 13-5 (5)

80. Bob Morin -- Seymour, Tn -- 13-5 (5)

81. Tony Davis -- Williston, Fl -- 13-3 (5)

82. Cody Kelley -- Conway, Ar -- 13-3 (4)

83. Jim Jones -- Big Bend, Wi -- 13-2 (5)

84. Scott Wiley -- Bay Minette, Al -- 13-2 (5)

85. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 13-1 (5)

86. Jeff Sprague -- Point, Tx -- 12-14 (5)

87. Richie Eaves -- Nauvoo, Il -- 12-14 (5)

88. Kevin Johnson -- Surprise, Az -- 12-10 (5)

89. Charlie Evans -- Berea, Ky -- 12-10 (5)

90. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 12-10 (5)

91. Shane Melton -- Kokomo, In -- 12-10 (5)

92. David Smith -- Del City, Ok -- 12-9 (5)

93. Joshua Weaver -- Macon, Ga -- 12-9 (5)

94. Dan Morehead -- Paducah, Ky -- 12-8 (5)

95. Gene Eisenmann -- Frisco, Tx -- 12-7 (5)

96. Tommy Dickerson -- Orange, Tx -- 12-7 (3)

97. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 12-5 (5)

98. Andrew Upshaw -- Sapulpa, Ok -- 12-5 (5)

99. Jimmy Houston -- Cookson, Ok -- 12-4 (5)

100. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, Tx -- 12-4 (5)

101. James Watson -- Nixa, Mo -- 12-3 (5)

102. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 12-3 (5)

103. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 12-3 (5)

104. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 11-14 (5)

105. Tracy Adams -- Wilkesboro, NC -- 11-14 (5)

106. Jerry Lawler -- Athens, Al -- 11-13 (5)

107. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 11-10 (4)

108. Troy Morrow -- Eastanollee, Ga -- 11-9 (5)

109. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 11-9 (5)

110. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 11-9 (5)

111. Greg Bohannan -- Bentonville, Ar -- 11-7 (5)

112. Dalton Cooksey -- New Concord, Ky -- 11-7 (5)

113. Kerry Milner -- Bono, Ar -- 11-5 (5)

114. Charlie Weyer -- West Hills, Ca -- 11-3 (5)

115. Gary Yamamoto -- Palestine, Tx -- 10-13 (5)

116. Drew Montgomery -- Maiden, NC -- 10-13 (5)

117. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 10-12 (4)

118. Stephen Patek -- Dallas, Tx -- 10-12 (5)

119. Austin Terry -- San Angelo, Tx -- 10-12 (4)

120. Jim Dillard -- West Monroe, La -- 10-10 (5)

121. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 10-9 (4)

122. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, Tx -- 10-8 (5)

123. Brian Latimer -- Belton, SC -- 10-8 (5)

124. Sven Hilland -- Sanford, Fl -- 10-6 (3)

125. Jason Abram -- Piney Flats, Tn -- 10-6 (5)

126. John Devere -- Berea, Ky -- 10-4 (5)

127. Jimmy Reese -- Witter Springs, Ca -- 10-3 (5)

128. Peter Thliveros -- Saint Augustine, Fl -- 10-2 (5)

129. Mark Daniels Jr -- Tuskegee, Al -- 10-1 (5)

130. Capt Blake Smith -- Lakeland, Fl -- 10-1 (5)

131. Bill McDonald -- Greenwood, In -- 10-1 (4)

132. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, Fl -- 9-15 (5)

133. Powell Kemp -- Scotland Neck, NC -- 9-14 (5)

134. Clark Reehm -- Huntington, Tx -- 9-13 (3)

135. Jonathan Newton -- Rogersville, Al -- 9-9 (5)

136. Eric Jackson -- Walling, Tn -- 9-3 (2)

137. Mike Boyles -- Kimberling City, Mo -- 8-13 (4)

138. Jimmy Brewer -- Marshall, Tx -- 8-12 (4)

139. Michael Hall -- Annandale, Va -- 8-11 (5)

140. Terry Segraves -- Kissimmee, Fl -- 8-10 (3)

141. Chris Neau -- New Orleans, La -- 8-10 (4)

142. Joe Holland -- Jefferson, Me -- 8-7 (4)

143. Blake Nick -- Adger, Al -- 8-7 (5)

144. Bill Terrell -- Memphis, Tn -- 8-2 (4)

145. Curtis Richardson -- Belleville, On -- 8-2 (3)

146. Tom Redington -- Royse City, Tx -- 7-5 (3)

147. Andy Young -- Mound, Mn -- 7-3 (3)

148. Timmy Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 5-9 (3)

149. Tim Malone -- Gatlinburg, Tn -- 5-8 (2)

150. Tim McDonald -- Prestonsburg, Ky -- 5-5 (2)

151. Kyle Mabrey -- McCalla, Al -- 5-1 (3)

152. George Kapiton -- Inverness, Fl -- 4-15 (2)

153. Richard Lowitzki -- Hampshire, Il -- 4-2 (2)

154. Harry Moore -- Valley, Al -- 4-0 (2)

155. Troy Broussard -- Beaumont, Tx -- 4-0 (2)

156. Braxton Setzer -- Montgomery, Al -- 3-14 (1)

157. Shirley Crain -- Fort Smith, Ar -- 3-1 (2)

158. James Stricklin Jr -- Fort Smith, Ar -- 2-6 (1)

159. Chase Brooks -- Iraan, Tx -- 2-2 (1)

160. Ryan Chandler -- Hebron, In -- 0-0 (0)

161. Larry Schroeder -- Clayton, Oh -- 0-0 (0)

162. Jordan Osborne -- Longview, Tx -- 0-0 (0)