"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company Tournament: Wal-Mart BFL Regional Kentucky Lake Angler: Terrance Narveson - 1st place - Winner of a Ranger/Evinrude Combo Practice: I got to spend a couple days on the lake with Bryce Smith and we started the first day by 68 bridge and ran up the river toward Paris. Our first stop was in the Blood River. Shallow fishing was our first approach and we able to catch a few there but only one keeper. We moved around this area and were unable to locate any kind of pattern, but we did find a lot of fish in the backs of coves that had grass. I could only catch one keeper but there was a lot of fish around. We decided that it might be wise to start looking for fish on the drops because reports were coming back about guys whacking them on the ledges. After the move, we tried the ledge stuff and had no luck. I noticed a rip rap bank that had good water around it and breakers on the point. We moved in and with my new Excaliber bone/orange rattle trap and I began to put on a clinic. It was fish after fish and a random good keeper to go with the lot. We had a blast. Second day of practice was trying to look over ledges and points before we had to go to the meeting. I did set the hook on one fish and it was a good keeper. We were throwing a common Kentucky Lake ledge lure. Jewel football jigs! When they hit that bait there is no denying what is on you line. All morning it was run and gun from point to point and ledge to ledge. We located three more places that had fish and Bryce felt good about what he found. Day 1: I drew Charlie Crisp "a sort of local" that fishes the lake all the time but does not live close to the lake. We made a very short run to a long point that came way out into a small pocket. I was thowing my RC 1.5 to start things out but we had no luck. We made another short run to a ledge where he has caught fish before and on almost my first I had a hit on a Carolina-Rig and my trusty old A&M Lures Green Pumpkin 5" lizard. I set the hook on the fish and it felt real good but then I could not move it. I was hung in the brush pile and could not get it out. The fish came off and I had to break off. Luckily, I had another rod fixed up with another rig and my next cast up there I caught a 3lb black. What way to start the morning!!! From there it was slam em' city as we both caught fish like mad but there was only an occasional keeper here and there. We ran back and forth from the shallow point to the ledge almost the rest of the day. I finished the day with 3 keepers for 7.01 lbs and sat in 12th place. Day 2 After meeting my partner the day before (Brian Roush) I was nervous about what he told me. "We are running wayyyyyy down the lake past Paris" I think I was more nervous about the possibilities of something happening and the time lost in the long run. Anyway, I was game for it because it was flipping and frogging in the matted grass. This is probably one of my favorite ways to fish and I did not get a chance to do this in practice so my nerves were amped up. We show up that morning only to see nothing but fog. Ended up having a 1 hour delay and still we had an hour run at least, that is as long as we could find our way through the patchy fog that was still down the lake. We got lost on the way down in a big thick patch and had to wait until it lifted to go any further. Luckily, we were close to Moors Marina and we hit the rock bank outside the marina and I caught my first keeper. The fog lifted and we were on our way. It was now past 10:30 and we had really only fished about 35 minutes. The first patch of grass did not produce any keepers, but we did have a few blow ups but were unable to catch them. The next spot was a long grass bed right by the river. It looked great but I was unable to get any good bites. Brian did get his first keeper there. It was a little after noon and I knew we had to get on them soon to have a chance to move on. We moved to the last spot of the day. We came to a big mat. So thick you couldn't punch through most of it, but there was this patch that was semi open with thinner grass. It took approximately 7 casts between the both of us and I had 3 more keepers and Brian had 1 more. We gave it a rest for about 10 minutes and came back to see if anything else had moved in. I was throwing like a mad man trying to get one to come up. All of a sudden I had a blow up. I threw back in there and he got it again this time I stuck him - but it came off. I threw up there the third time and no strike on that spot. Thinking I screwed up, I stopped working my frog and just took a deep breath. All of a sudden he came back up and grabbed it again. I stuck him for the second time and again lost the fish. Now I was really mad. All I needed was one more fish and I would have a great sack. A few more casts with my Spro Frog and no takers. I then picked my Flipping Stick up and flipped a Double Wide beaver in the hole - wham he got it and I finally got that fish in the boat. I was so excited that I told Brian we just needed to run back to the ramp and check in to be sure we would make it on time. It was 1:20 and we were on our way back. I ended up bringing in 14.06lbs and took the lead. I had made the top 12 and will get to fish the final day. Day 3 I was paired with a local legend David Young who has won many tournaments on this lake. So knowing that I was going out with one of the best people on the water made me feel good, until I talked to him and he said he was not on many fish and we stood a good chance not to catch much. Again tournament morning was foggy, but not as bad and we got a little earlier start then the day before. David was running shallow flats with grass on it around mid lake. Today I was fishing nothing but topwater. My choice was a Reaction Innovations Vixen and a Hog Caller Buzzbait. This was a long and drawn out day because we did not have very many bites. Our first fish each ended up being a double. I had a keeper on my Buzzbait and as David was running to get the net when his spook was crushed. I yelled to him that he just had a fish take off with his spook and he was able to get that fish in as well. Well I guess it went down hill from there. We did end up having a few more bites and got on to a school of fish later in the afternoon but we could not keep the fish hooked up long enough to get into the boat. I had two fish and did not feel like it was going to be enough to win. Only the weigh-in will tell. Weigh-in time: I had a chance to talk to a few of the other guys, and after talking to Leland Davis I knew it was going to be close. He caught three and I only had two, but I did have a 3lb lead over him. That proved to be the deciding factor as I barely beat out Leland for the top spot and the boat. I ended up winning a Ranger 198VX fully rigged with a 200hp Evinrude E-Tec. I am so excited about the boat and can't wait to get everything taken care of and on the water. I wanted to thank my boaters for a great time on the water. I left Kentucky Lake with more then a boat. I left it knowing I made three great friends as well. Terrance |
