I completed my Center Hill tournament in the Bassmaster Series operated by ABA this past Saturday May 12th. I was pretty happy with the outcome. I finished 4th place with 11.69lbs and just 3 lbs out of 1st place. I needed that kicker fish to win it. I had it on, a very nice Smallie but she came unbuttoned during the fight. I will try to go thru each day of pre fishing and then the race day events.
I arrived at Center Hill on Wednesday to start pre fishing. I already had a game plan in mind due to last year on a strong 7th place finish, the time of year and Center Hills suites my style of deep slow fishing. Jimmy Scott, my prefishing partner, Jerry Stroud, Kerby and I camped at Ragland Bottoms Campground for the event. We all met and headed out Wednesday morning. With Sunny Skies, no wind and clear water I expected finesse tactics to be the weapon of choice. I started out with a shakey head using a Sweet beaver but no takers in the 1st hour. I switched over to a Bitsy Bug in watermelon with a watermelon Zoom Small chunk jr trailer. I fished it slow and still no takers, I fished rock, wood, deep, shallow and bluffs. I pitched into a small thick patch of brush laying very shallow on the bank, I got hung up and started to swim the jig out when a 16" KY Spot slammed my jig. HMMM, I thought to myself. I pitched in again and nothing, my next pitch I swam back out and another 16" spot slammed my jig. I was on to something, swimming a jig over thick brush piles in shallow water. I worked Indian creek and had a limit in 30 minutes doing just that, swimming a jig. I moved out and starte searching new waters I had never fished before. I found 2 points down near the dam. The points had large chunk rock and on one side was a flat but the river side was more of a ledge. As the sun got up the fished moved to the ledge side of the points. I fished 4 more spots like that and caught 2 more limits of KY Spots, my best 5 would have gone 10 lbs I am guessing. I knew I needed a kicker fish however to win this tournament and it proved correct.
Day 2 - Thursay, again sunny and no wind. I went searching for big fish only, fished from Ragland to Hurricane bridge. I went into creek after creek, cut after cut looking for bedding bass and big fish. I went big today, big baits and fished for 5 bites. I did not manage much, only 3 fish that barely measured. However, I did find 4 toads on bed or guarding fry but could not get them to go on anything. I came to the conclusion that with the past full moon most of the fish were done bedding and probably guarding fry and I should probably focus on post spawn fish.
Day 3 - Friday, yup, sunny and no wind again. I decided I would just fish for the fun of it and try to find a few new areas I had never fished before. Wow did this prove to be a blessing in hiding. My 1st spot I chose was a nothing looking bank. It was a sand bar that came way out and dropped off sharply into the main river. I by passed that and went into a little cut and quickly caught 2 nice spots on wood with my trusty Bitsy Bug and watermelon craw. One thing I noticed was the abundance of bait fish and the minnows were glued to the bank for some reason. Literally thousands of bait fish everywhere but all on the bank or on the wood sticking up out of deep water. I wound up with a limit in that area of again about 9lbs, I knew I needed better. As I was leaving the spot I drove over the sand bar and in 20ft of water huge balls of bait fish with many large arches below them. I quickly marked them and stopped. I picked up a few lures with no luck and then I decided to throw big. I went with
Optimum Baits swim bait, a big 8" swim bait. On my 3rd cast, I counted down to 20 and started reeling in. I saw a huge bass following my swim bait. I cast out again and repeated and again a huge bass followed it in. I think the big bass were staged out there on the point and were moving up either in the evening or early morning. My next spot also produced another limit of 15-16 inch KY Spots. I fish in Mine Lick creek around some deep rock piles and large chunk rock and again bait fish everywhere on the banks. About 10 a.m. the bite just shut down. I moved from spot to spot looking and idling around looking for deep brush piles and rock. I fished some bluffs and saw several big fish on them. I came to a large rock slide around 11:30 and again caught good quality Spots but still no kicker fish. Each day seemed the fish bite from 7a.m. to 9 or so and then picked up again from 11:30 to 12:30. I called it a day at 2:00 and went back to the camper and started a game plan.
I made a mental plan of using a milk run style of fishing, almost old school run and gun I had used in Indiana when fishing in a Federation club. I would employ top water early and switch to my jig for the rest of the day. 1st spot would be what I found today in the main river, hoping the big fish I found suspended in 20ft of water would move up in the morning. Kicker fish 1st then a limit. 2nd spot would lead me to Mine Lick Creek, 3rd spot, Indian Creek and pick my points up down near the dam. However a huge thunderstorm moved in with buckets and buckets of rain. I was very worried this would blow my jig bite and turn the tournament into a power fishing style bite. As Jimmy, Jerry and the rest of us talked strategy, Jerry knew I was on fish but worried about the rain destroying my plans. He ensured me not to worry and fish my plan the fish would still be there and probably shallower than I had anticipated. He said to fish my style and things will work out. So I stuck with my plan.
By the way, I drew boat #1 and Derrick Harris from Old Hickory TN. It had to be a good sign.
Race Day: Cloudy skies, fog and humid. I thought the weather might move a big fish up shallow. 5:30 and away we go. I arrive at my 1st spot and fished it heavy with top water, spooks, pop-r, spinner baits, buzz baits and nothing to show. An hour goes by and now I am starting to worry my fish were gone. I did not see any bait fish, no activity, nothing. I said to heck with top water and power fishing. I went back to what got me here, my brush piles and large boulder chunk rock. My 1st fish was a 16" spot caught on a fluke in the brush I had targeted the day before. I picked up my jig and commenced to whacking KY Spots. I moved down the bank that I had already fish for over 1 hour and started getting bit. One problem, the bite was very very soft and before I knew it I had 3 keeper spots come un-buttoned. The fish fighting hard and doing allot of areal displays, much lick a smallie. I just wasn't letting them eat it long enough. I slowed down a bit and away I went. In the next 30 minutes I had my limit of KY Spots. I still needed heavier fish. I figured 15lbs would win this thing and I only had about 6-7 pounds, with 1 16" Spot and the rest were small 13 inchers. I flipped into a bush and away my jig ran, set the hook and knew it was a better fish. It was a nice 17" Largemouth, wow I had not caught one of them the whole trip. 2 casts later off a little rock pile came a slam and a nice 3.5lb Smallie. So I now have culled out 2 of my 13" fish. I am now guessing I have 8-9 lbs. I needed to get rid of these other 3 KY Spots. We moved to spot 2 in Mine Lick Creek. I finally convinced Derrick to tie on one of my jigs. He did and quickly had 2 Spots in the boat. He then lost a heart breaker of a Smallie. He had her coming up and she just came off near the boat, not a good hook set. I am guessing she would have gone over 5 or 6 lbs. Easily big fish and would have won him the non-boater side of the tournament. We did the run and gun approach and the fish just seemed to shut down. Not to worry I knew they would bite again around 11:30. 11:35 I hooked my next culling fish, another 16'ish spot in my jig. 15 minutes later on the same main lake point on the ledge side and in 20ft of water came 2 more just like it. I culled out my 3 short KY Spots and now had a sack I thought would get me top 5. I needed that kicker fish that has been eluding me all week. I had to go big. I rarely ever fish a jig over 1/4 oz and I just happened to have a 1/2 oz and a big Net Bait chunk in the box. We moved to Allen Jackson's point where I have caught big smallies in the past. My plan was to drag that point for a few hours and hope for the best. On one cast in I threw into 10ft of water and worked it to the ledge that dropped off into 30 foot of water. When it dropped off I was not really paying much attention and went to drag and nothing there, I just thought I fell off the ledge or something and then I felt the slightest tap, fish on. I set the hook, not very well but the fish was on. I knew it was a big fish immediately. The big Smallie came to the surface, tail walked a few times and bamm spit the jig. It was the the big fish I needed and the last bite I would get. I lost the tournament with that fish. If it was not for my very sensitive
All Pro Rod APX 7ft MH, I don't think I would have detected as many very soft bites today. All in all I caught 3 limits of fish and a few dinks.
The phone rang and my buddy Jimmy had broke down, lower unit gone out and he had 2 good fish. I went and picked him up and his partner to take to weigh in and then we passed another broken down boat, Mark Pack. I dropped Jimmy off and went and got Mark to weigh in his fish. I lost an hours worth of fishing but it was the sportsman type thing to do. I would hope someone would help me if I needed it.
I was 1st flight and ready to weigh-in, I had 5 fish, 5 alive for 11.69lbs for the lead in the 1st flight. I was feeling pretty good until David Gnewikow a FLW pro stepped to the scale. He had the big fish I needed, 5.1lb LM and 14lbs total. I finished in 4th place and a decent check to boot. I just thought if I would have had that 1 big bite, but you can't look back at if's, just move forward and think about your next tournament on KY Lake. It should be all about ledges, jigs, big worms and DT-16's, just the way I like it!
I moved from 10th in the year point standings to 4th overall. I made a strong push for the top-8 and National Championships in November. I am solidly in 4th and only 15 points out of the points lead. I wish I had some pics but things just moved too fast and with Jimmy's boat broke down we had a lot of things to get done.
Billy Harris
