Kentucky Lake in Review
Two Events to Go
Paris , Tenn. – It takes a lot to admit that someone could be less than enthusiastic with a top 5 finish during a tournament in the Bassmaster Elite Series. However, when you are a former Angler of the Year and the reigning Bassmaster Classic Champion, you set lofty goals, and every competition day, every moment for that matter is focused on attaining those goals. When you expect excellence of yourself that is the only outcome you will accept.
“I hate to admit it, but I'm actually a little disappointed in my finish,” said 2009 Bassmaster Classic Champion Skeet Reese of his 4 th place finish at the SpongeTech Tennessee Triumph at Kentucky Lake . “If I look at it as a standalone event, it would be fine, but I really wanted to make up ground in the Angler of the Year Race.”
Reese, the 39-year-old pro from Auburn , Calif. started the 6 th event on the Elite Series schedule only five points behind leader Kevin VanDam, and although he posted his fourth Elite 12 finish of the season, his third in a row, VanDam's margin grew to 15 points. “I set the Angler of the Year as a goal at the start of each season, and after winning the Classic, it became even more important to me; I want to win them both in the same season.
Reese was in contention to finish 2 nd at Kentucky Lake throughout the event, “Nobody was going to catch Bobby [Lane], he had too much of a lead, and won wire to wire,” Reese said. “That being said, I wanted to place 2 nd and enter the next tournament [The River Rumble on the Mississippi River in Iowa ] tied with Kevin; it didn't happen.”
As he had at Guntersville, Reese spent much of his time on Kentucky Lake 's ledges to post his 90-pound, 7-ounce weight. While he was throwing crankbaits primarily, he also mixed in a plastic worm. “I threw the same Lucky Craft RC2.5 in Splatterback Shad that I was using at Guntersville,” Reese reported. “But I also threw a Powder Blue Back / Chartreuse Strike King Series 5 and a new Berkley Powerbait 12” Power Worm when the crankbait wouldn't get a bite.”
For the crankbaits Reese used his Abu Garcia Skeet Reese Revo and a fiberglass rod, he tied the RC 2.5 to 12-pound-test Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon, and the same line in 10-pound-test for the Series 5. For the big worm, he also used his signature black and yellow Revo spooled with 12-pound-test 100% Fluorocarbon on a 7'6” medium-heavy graphite rod with a ½-ounce Japanese tungsten bullet weight.
“The crankbaits each suited my areas, the RC was perfect when the fish were on the shallow ledges, while the Series 5 was the right depth, color and action for deeper ledges, and I used the worm to trigger bites when they wouldn't hit the crankbait,” Reese said. “You had to work to get the school fired up, but when you did, you could catch them in a hurry, that's what I tried to do.”
He also said that everyone seemed to struggle a bit on Saturday's final round. “They stopped pulling water through the dams, and that really changed the bite, but that's fishing on a river that is full of locks and dams, it happens on these TVA Lakes all the time.
As for the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year Race, Reese said he is excited to once again be locking horns with VanDam. “Anytime you are going head to head with Kevin, you're playing at the highest levels of the sport,” said Reese. “Look at his record, he is the best our sport has and I am going toe to toe with him. This ‘rivalry' as friendly as it is, has made both of us step up our games. I'm pushing him, and he's pushing me; it's like watching Tiger [Woods] and Phil [Mickelson] on the PGA Tour, they make each other better, it's a lot of fun; I just hope I come out on top.”
