proceeded to fill their limit by targeting a
tule line along the bank and submerged
grass clumps. When Kendrick added a 6-
pounder on a weightless Zoom Trick
Worm, they knew they had potential to
win, but they needed to cull one small
fish. A stop at the well-known Frank’s
Tract community hole near takeoff did
the trick as they upgraded to the winning
weight of 16 pounds, 1 ounce.
“Sticking to our guns,” says Hanna,
giving the reason for the key to the
team’s success. “We said ‘we’re going to
catch them this way, and we have to be
patient with it and work it as slow as pos-
sible and wait for the bite.’ We didn’t rush
anything, so that was pretty solid.”
T
CEntRAL ConFEREnCE – KEntUCKy LAKE/LAKE bARKLEy – MAy 2o
he YETI FLW College Fishing Central Conference tour-
nament on Kentucky Lake landed right on “transition
time” at the famed Tennessee River reservoir. Some
fish were still hanging around flooded bushes in the shal-
lows, and others were just starting to make their way to the
lake’s river ledges. The winning stringer of 19 pounds, 4
ounces, which was caught by Zach Baker (left) and Micah
Chessor of Murray State University, wound up coming from
a deep drop-off in the mouth of Pisgah Creek, a large arm
on the north end of the lake. The spot is a postspawn stag-
ing area and a stopping-off point for fish on their way to the
main lake.
JULY 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
“I scanned for probably three or four straight days, just
idling, and there was nothing on that secondary channel
where they usually are,” says Chessor. “All I was seeing out
there were white bass.
“At Pisgah, they get out there first, too. Everybody knows
about it. It’s a community hole. I scanned it Monday, and it
was stacked. But I didn’t think we’d get to fish it.”
Chessor reports that several anglers fished the spot in
the days leading up to the tournament – with modern elec-
tronics, none of the best holes stay secret long – and he
kept close tabs on the pressure and the school. On tourna-
ment day, he and Baker lucked out and were able to get on
the spot first. Knowing from practice that
quality fish were in the school, the
anglers committed to staying there most
of the day, and didn’t leave it until 1 p.m.
Throughout the day, several boats
moved in and fished the same spot, but
the Racer anglers had the drop on the fish.
In practice, Chessor had good luck with a
big Castaic flutter spoon. When the bass
stopped biting the spoon, the fish would
still eat a Roboworm (morning dawn) on a
drop-shot. The finesse worm became the
go-to option on tournament day.
“We just couldn’t get them fired
Saturday. It was tough,” says Chessor.
“We had 19 pounds, but we worked our
butts off for it.”
Of course, a 6 1/2-pound kicker that
ate a Keitech 5.8-inch Swing Impact Fat
swimbait helped matters, as did a final
cull fish caught from another community
hole in front of Sledd Creek. ■
101