The weather hasn’t really been much of a factor this week either. Unlike the first four tournaments of the season where the weather was anything but nice, this week it’s rained a little, been cloudy some, and the wind has blown on and off – not that’s it mattered much. 

The goal of the week – regardless of wind, weather, or current – has been timing. At Kentucky Lake, if you’re early or late by even a little, you’ve missed the quality bite entirely. Catching fish hasn’t been much of a challenge though. In fact, multiple anglers have reported throughout the week of boating over 100 bass. 

The problem has been that of the 100 bass boated, only a small percentage would keep, and of that number even fewer were in the four- and five-pound class that’s required to be any kind of real threat. That’s the irony, or the really “non-normal” part of it all as self-described “bank beater” Bobby Lane got off the bank and is seemingly going to the bank as a result. 

Over the first two days of the tournament his 54-7 stood as almost untouchable given that he left the launch site with just over a four-pound margin of error. However, as The BASS ZONE reported in our 9:30 AM broadcast, the cushion he’d created would likely not be warranted as he’d already tanked an estimated 27 pounds.

Once again, Bobby chose to bring his bag to the scales early and posted a final tally of 26-3 on the day, moving his three-day total up to 80-10 – the proverbial “runaway” is now in effect! 

Continuing to climb, but still almost 9 pounds behind Lane in second place was Skeet Reese with 23-5 on the day, and 71-14 overall. Reese, as the closest possible threat to catching the leader, will have to have an eye-popping final day…or some kind of divine intervention to catch the fast-moving Floridian.

Ending the third day in third was Kevin VanDam, who brought 21-3 to the scales Friday giving him 71-7 in total combined weight. Russ Lane sat in fourth place at the end of the day with a total weight of 67-15 after bringing 20-11 to the scales.

Byron Velvick was in fifth place with 66-10 overall, thanks largely to his opening day weight, as his back-to-back 19-pound bags (today’s going 19-13) have been less than he’d hoped for. Britt Myers stormed into Saturday’s Top 12 to round out the Super Six with 66-6 after sacking up 24-7 Friday.

Bobby Lane is on Guard Duty
With the lead and an eight-pound cushion, Bobby Lane is loving life big time right now. The only thing that’s keeping him up at night is the spectacular spot he’s found and keeping it safe. As a result, he’s set up shop there in order to keep a close eye on things. 

“I think I took two naps out there today,” he said. “One was about 20 minutes, and the other was about 45 minutes. I’ve just been camping out there making sure that no one else moved up on my spot.”

He’s able to catch them almost at will. “I picked up a rod at 1:30 because I was so bored,” he said. “I made three casts and caught a three-pounder and a two-and-a-half pounder. They’re there, and they don’t seem to be leaving.”

Bobby has already proven that a 30-pound bag is possible off his spot, and pointed out that he could’ve had that much again today had he not lost a crucial seven-pounder. “It would’ve helped, no doubt,” he said. 

“It’s really just an unbelievable deal how many fish are there.”

As The Legend reported during our morning On The Water broadcast, from the surface Bobby’s area is as “do nothing” as it gets. What makes the ledge unique is the distance fish have to travel, and as a result new fish are coming all day, everyday.

Even with the week he’s had so far, anything is possible so Bobby is taking nothing for granted. “I’m going to go out in the morning and just pound it,” he said. “I’ve got some other spots, so I guess if I haven’t caught anything by 1:00 I’ll go hit them.

“I’m really confident though that I can go in there in the morning and catch what I’m going to need to win.”

Reese’s Big Fish are Solo
With a slight edge over Kevin VanDam in the tournament heading into the final day, the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year race only intensified Friday. Unfortunately for Skeet, the bite did not. “They’re definitely getting beat up,” he said. 

“I’ve been moving around a lot anyway, but today it seemed like I had to move even more to stay with the school.”

Without a single spot to call his own, Skeet has continually pointed out that he’s merely the quarterback in his own person run-and-gun offense. “I’ve haven’t changing anything that I’m doing from one day to the next,” he said. “I’m just running, and running, and running, and running.” 

A crankbait and a Berkley 12-inch worm have been his weapons of choice – with the crankbait being his big-fish magnet. “I will say that my bigger fish have been on the crankbait, and they’ve all been by themselves,” he said. “I’ll pull up and make a couple of casts and catch that one lone fish. The other spots are just schools where you’re culling ounces for ounces.”

Reese explained that since most everyone was rotating in and around the same areas, your timing has to be flawless. “A lot of what we’re fishing is community stuff, so it all comes down to timing,” he said. “If you get there and they’ve moved up you can catch a ton of fish. You have to catch that first one to trigger the school, and then it’s one fish after the other.”

Tomorrow has a big question mark beside it right now for Skeet, though he’s certain he’ll have plenty of company. “I don’t know what the fishing is going to be like, but I know I’ve had a lot of people watching me so far,” he said. 

“The bottom line is that I’ve made it to the Top 12 again, so the Angler of the Year race is that much closer.”

KVD Playing Traffic Cop
Coming in to the Triumph, Kevin VanDam was the odds-on favorite to win…but then, when is he not? He’s had a great week, but like Skeet pointed out, the fishing is getting tough. “It was a really challenging day,” he said. 

“I tried to manage my fish for tomorrow, but I’m just running out of spots. 

When you’re trying to make up ground on a runaway leader, there’s no time to seek out new water. As such, you’re pretty much left to dance with the partner you came with. “You can’t take the time to practice now,” VanDam pointed out. 

“What I have been doing, because these fish are moving around so much, is relocating them everyday. That’s given me a little better understanding of their travel routes, but I wouldn’t call it practicing. I’ve been moving around a lot out of necessity.”

Beyond fish management, VanDam explained that the crowd-control issues have continued to worsen as the week has wore on. “The spot that I had the first day was unbelievable, but the locals have already decimated it,” he said. 

“When they see fish getting caught like that, the urge is awfully strong to go try and catch them too. I can’t catch them on it anymore because there’s always someone there.

VanDam explained that the fishing is not going to get any better on Saturday, and neither will the crowds of onlookers. “It’s going to be tough tomorrow and Saturday,” he said. “I’m kind of used to it here though, so at least I know what to expect.”

Russ Lane Going for the Points
Russ Lane has said more than once this year that this could be a make or break season. After the ’08 campaign, where he saw many of his lucrative sponsors dry up he’s fishing basically from his own pocket. High finishes help not only the wallet, but also draw him one step closer to the coveted Classic berth he’s craving. 

“These Top 12 bonus points are everything with the way the points system is,” he said. “Coming into these last three tournaments, I needed to have at least one Top 10, so I’m just thrilled with how my week’s gone.”

Russ has been running a subtle pattern all week, but after three days of applied pressure he’s beginning to see the signs. “I didn’t get quite as many bites today as I did yesterday, and yesterday was a little slower than the day before,” he said. “These fish are just getting wore out, so it’s not surprising.”

Russ has been fishing around other competitors all week, so it was only a matter of time before some figured out what he was doing – intentionally or not. “A few other guys figured out what I’ve been doing, so I had a little company with me on some of the places,” he said. 

“Hopefully that will clear out a little tomorrow and I’ll have it to myself.”

Bobby has such a big lead right now that winning is pretty much out of reach, but I’m still going to go out tomorrow and fish like I’m going to win. At this point in the year it’s all about the points.

Velvick Disappointed on the Day
“It’s all about ‘should’ve, could’ve, would’ve’ for me today,” he said. “I’m really pretty disappointed with the last couple of days.”

Like Thursday, lost fish are the difference between a “so-so” and a nice bag. “I should’ve had another four- or five-pounder,” he said. “That would’ve allowed me to get rid of the little two-and-a-half-pounder that I had to weigh in. That killed me.

“There’s no reason for me to be losing fish like this. I’m losing them on the crankbait, and then I’m losing them on the worm. It makes no sense!”

Velvick pointed out that the odd bite he’s experience might have something to do with how the current “backs up” in the stretch of river he’s fishing. “Because of the wind, I’m fighting the negative situation with the current,” he said. 

“I’m having to keep mixing everything up. It’s just a matter of going back and forth enough times to get them to eat.”

With the win all but out of reach, Velvick is still confident that he has a good chance of moving up the leader board Saturday. “I’ve got a lot of places that I’m wanting to check tomorrow,” he said. “I haven’t been moving around nearly enough, I know I haven’t, so tomorrow I’m going to hit everything I have.”

Myers Yanks 24+ Pounds for the Big Move
Britt Myers was among the days big movers climbing into the Top 12 from 18th place. He did it thanks to a 24-pound stringer, but concedes he’s has plenty of opportunities this week to arrive at the top of the leader board before Friday. “Today was a great day,” he said. 

“I’ve had a shot everyday, but couldn’t get the right bites. Today everything came together.”

Like most in the field, Britt has been running from spot to spot, but it’s one of his favorite ways to fish so he’s been right at home. “I’ve just been moving around, and moving around,” he explained. 

“This is my kind of fishing and I love to do it. You pull up and you catch a few and then move to the next one. Today though, I pulled up to a spot and it was full of five-pounders, which certainly helped the cause.”

The spot Myers pulled nearly 25 pounds from was one that he’d had in his rotation all week; however, as a result of only half as many anglers fishing Friday it had a chance to cool. “I have fished it all week, but so have a lot of other guys,” he said. 

“Because some of them didn’t make it back, I think it allowed the spot to replenish a little bit.”

While Myers may be at home fishing on Kentucky Lake, he admitted that it hasn’t always been too kind. “I thought this tournament was going to be like last year where I dumped a big fish or two everyday and wound up in 19th place,” he said. “It started out that way for me, but today I landed everything I hooked. That’s what it takes right there.”

Britt pulled no chances when asked about what his plans for the final day would be: “I’m going back to where I caught the 25 pounds today…It’s as simple as that!”

DAY THREE STANDINGS