The only real change from the “norm” of Kentucky Lake is that historically they Elites have launched nearer to the dam, whereas this year the morning kick-off and weigh-in festivities are in Paris – a first for the Elites. This won’t prove to be anything other than a shorter commute to most anglers though, as many anglers pointed out during The BASS ZONE’s preview. 

In fact the launch site is, for all intent and purpose, a bonus as many anglers herald Paris – and the mid-lake area in general – as being among the most productive waters on the lake. 

The other purported hitch in this week’s drama was that Kentucky Lake’s ledge bite was “off” as a lack of current had the fish scattered. Thus, conventional wisdom held that the ledges might become secondary to skinnier water. Either way, with less productive water to spread the field many held that fishing in a crowd would, once again, become a pivotal player in the event’s overall script.

Apparently the central character never got the script revisions, or chose to simply go ad hoc because nearly everyone caught ‘em on the first day. Lakeland, Florida’s Bobby Lane stormed out of the gates with a five-bass tournament limit weighing 29 pounds, 14 ounces to claim top honors Wednesday.

Kevin VanDam sits in second place after weighing 28 pounds, 11 ounces Wednesday, and just a half-pound behind him in third place, with 27 pounds, 6 ounces, is Byron Velvick. Russ Lane ended the first day in fourth place with 26 pounds, 2 ounces, while Rick Morris ended the day in fifth with 26 pounds even.

Rounding out the Super Six was Skeet Reese, with 25-15. Kevin Wirth and Marty Stone round out the Top 50 after each weighing in a limit going 17-12. 

Bobby Lane Quit Early
Bobby Lane would be the first to tell you that Kentucky Lake has historically been difficult for him to get figured out. That being said, he’s onto something this week. “I got on a pretty good deal,” he said. 

“I’d found a lot of short fish in practice, but just slowed down tremendously today and was able to get the quality bites I’d been looking for all week.”

Lane pointed out that he had two or three spots during practice that were holding scores of fish, but not the quality he would need to compete. Wednesday he only had to make two or three casts off of each of them for the majority of his weight.

“I quite fishing around noon today,” he said. “The eighth fish that I culled was a six-pounder for a three-and-a-half, so I just decided that with as much tournament as we have left I wasn’t going to waste my fish.”

Instead, he spent the rest of the day practicing and looking for offshore spots – something he’s not done in previous trips to Kentucky Lake, which have all ended on the wrong side of good. “I’ve finally decided to get my butt of the bank and fish the way that you’re supposed to here,” he revealed. 

“I’m from Florida, so naturally I’m a bank-beater. It took all that I’ve had to not go to the bank, but I’ve really put my time in this week (offshore). Hopefully I can fish three more days and bring this one home.”

VanDam Finds Quality 
There’s a grass-roots movement going on around Paris, TN to rename Kentucky Lake in honor of Kevin VanDam given the success he’s had here in the two previous Elite Series events. However, with a mediocre practice, where he was catching a lot of small fish, KVD wasn’t sure of his chances this week. 

“I just never caught any real quality,” he said. “I’ve got a number of spots that you can just sit there all day and catch fish after fish without ever seeing a keeper. Fortunately I hit a few of them when there were some bigger fish there.”

Like Bobby Lane, VanDam quite a little early and came in around 2:40. “I had two (fish) that were a little over four pounds, and I just didn’t want to continue catching four-pounders that I would have to throw back and might wind up needing them tomorrow,” he explained. 

“That may come back to bite me because these fish are moving around so much right now.”

VanDam pointed out that, to him, Kentucky Lake is fishing different than it has in the past. “In my opinion, it was a lot better last year,” he said. “There was just a lot more quality last year. I don’t know if the little ones are just beating the bigger fish to the bait or what.”

Spectator traffic is already starting to hamper the current TTAOY points leader, and he knows that it’s only going to get more intense. “I know how the spectator traffic can get here,” he said. “In fact, I experienced it today. I wound up having to sort of pull a fast one to get away from them at one point.”

Though he’s in second place, VanDam is a realist and knows that there’s still a lot of tournament to go. “I had a real good first day, but it’s a four day tournament,” he pointed out. “I know how it’s going to get out there – especially by Saturday.”

Velvick’s Bad Luck Turns Good
Byron Velvick pointed out that, based on the majority of his day, he’s thinking of taking out some additional insurance just in case Thursday’s luck gets worse. “The first two hours I was on the water, I was just a basket case,” he revealed. 

“Today was one of those days that if lightening didn’t strike me it was a miracle. I mean everything imaginable happened to me today.”

Ultimately, Velvick explained that he “decided to come in early before I actually did get struck by lightening.” Despite the on-the-water misfortune, he was able to boat enough to be in the hunt. “It was a great day despite everything the ‘dumb and dumber’ routine that I was having.”

Practice was solid for Velvick, and he was confident that, even in spit of a little bad luck, he would still turn in a solid performance. “I haven’t even spent any real time in the areas that found during practice,” he said. 

Velvick pointed out that he spread his day between a multitude of ledges he’d located during practice “catching a couple and leaving” to try and determine the travel paths his fish are taking. “I’m actually still trying to figure out what’s really there.”

With another day of practice now under his belt, and sitting in the third-place chair, tomorrow’s plans are to do more of the same. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can do by spending some serious time on a few of my better spots,” he said. “It should be a lot of fun tomorrow.”

Russ Lane Finds the Overlooked
Trying to fight his way out of a slump, Alabama pro Russ Lane is on pace this week to be back in form heading down the stretch. Fortunately, his fish-catching skills are better than his estimation skills. “Them fish are really in good shape,” he said. 

“I really thought that I only had 22 or 23 pounds, but those are the sort of surprises you like to have right there.”

Russ pointed out that he had a “very good practice,” and that he was able to keep three of his best spots untouched en route to his fourth-place finish to the first day. “This lake is just on fire,” he said. “It’s about as good as Guntersville right now. I’m just fired up about this one.”

Though he’s in a crowd of other fishermen, Lane revealed that’s he’s found some untapped stretches of ledge that are holding serious quality. “I’ve got a bunch of people in my area, but I’ve found three or four subtle areas that no one else has found,” he said. 

“As they started pulling water, it got a little better. Them pulling water is the key, but it’s going to be the key for everybody.”

If the current doesn’t materialize, Lane has a back-up plan: “I think I’ve figured out a little shallow deal that I can catch a decent limit, hopefully, if they don’t pull water,” he said. “I really hope that I don’t have to go to that, but I certainly will if it looks like I don’t have a choice.”

Russ pointed out that he’s catching 10 short fish for every keeper he boats, and only hopes that he can keep the momentum Thursday. “As long as I can catch five that are over three-and-a-half pounds, that’s all I’m looking for,” he said. 

“It’s really all about timing and hitting the right spot at the right time, and just wading through a lot of little ones.”

Morris In the Zone
It’s rare that Rick Morris is at a loss for words. Wednesday, however, was just such an occasion. “I don’t really know what to say…it was just an awesome day,” he said. “I started out with a lot of keepers, and then I caught one really big one about 8:00. From there I just culled, and culled, and culled.”

Morris explained that he was able to boat another “really good one” around 11:00 that pushed his weight closer to his finally tally, but had to cover a “ton of water” for the five bass he brought to the scales. “You just had to keep moving and changing baits,” he said. 

“Sometimes they’d want a jig, and sometimes it was a big crankbait.”

Morris revealed that he’s making the long run to the southern end of the lake. “I’m not fishing way, way south, but it’s definitely a long run south of here,” he said. 

As for the tournament’s second day, Morris has not doubt that it will be another strong day. “They’re definitely going to catch them again tomorrow,” he said. “As for me, I could catch 16 or 17 pounds, or I could bring in another 26-pound bag. 

“I was really fortunate today that I didn’t lose any of those big bites today because that’s what you’ve got to have.”

Reese is In and Out
Second in TTAOY points coming in the week, Skeet Reese knows that he has to make every cast count, and he needed the kind of day he had Wednesday for sure. “I had the best day that I’ve ever had on Kentucky Lake,” he said. “I probably threw back two 20-pound bags.”

Having caught “a ton” of keepers, the Classic Champion said that he only lost one key bite. “I jumped off a big one on a crankbait,” he said. “That would’ve put me at about the 27-pound mark which would’ve been phenomenal.”

Unlike many anglers who opted to camp out on certain key areas, Skeet explained that his approach to the day was more run-and-gun. “I had to run through a lot of areas just catching one here and one there,” he said. 

“I’ve got a lot of water, but whether I can keep duplicating it, I can’t say.”

Reese was reluctant to prognosticate on Thursday’s outlook much beyond pointing out that there are plenty of fish in Kentucky Lake to catch. “The fish are just moving around so much that it’s hard to say for sure what the weights will look like for tomorrow,” he said. 

“There’s been a lot of fish in transition this week, so day by day there’s more showing up where they’re supposed to be.”

DAY ONE STANDINGS