Curt McGuire grabs EverStart Central lead on Kentucky Lake
By Jennifer Simmons - 17.Jun.2005
BENTON, Ky. – On day three of the EverStart Central event on Kentucky Lake, the bite cranked up and anglers brought in limit after limit, proving that the cooler morning air and the heavy fishing pressure of days one and two had little to no effect on the Kentucky-Barkley bass.
The tournament began with a hot bite but cooled off a bit on day two, leaving question marks as to how they’d bite today for the top 10 pros and co-anglers who advanced to day three. As it turned out, nine of the top 10 pros brought in a limit of five, and the leader, Curt McGuire of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., brought in an eye-popping stringer weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces.
Going into the final day, McGuire holds a slim 12-ounce lead over No. 2 Larry Frasier of Owensboro, who appears to be a looming threat with a hot spot full of bass that he abandoned early this morning after fleshing out a limit.
But McGuire is very familiar with Kentucky-Barkley, and he says the key to his success this week was a solid practice uncluttered by dock talk and local advice.
“I came up here, went practicing and didn’t talk to anybody,” McGuire said. “By the time the tournament started, I had 23 or 24 spots, and I’ve just been running through them every day.”
McGuire said he fished 12 or 13 of those areas today and claims he caught them on every spot he went to.
“I probably caught 13 or 14 keepers,” he said. “I lost one really big one, but I had a good day.”
McGuire has been catching his fish this week on a football jig, a 10-inch ribbontail worm and a Fat Free Shad. The difference today was that he was able to get bigger bites compared to what he’s been weighing in over the course of the week.
“I’ve been just catching 3-pounders,” he said. “Today I didn’t have as many fish, but I had a couple of good ones. I’m fishing a lot of stuff way south, and I’ll probably have a lot of company tomorrow.”
A tournament taking off from the Tennessee side of the lakes is scheduled to begin tomorrow, which will undoubtedly put pressure on the anglers fishing the south end of Kentucky-Barkley.
BENTON, Ky. – On day three of the EverStart Central event on Kentucky Lake, the bite cranked up and anglers brought in limit after limit, proving that the cooler morning air and the heavy fishing pressure of days one and two had little to no effect on the Kentucky-Barkley bass.
 Curt McGuire hauled in 18 pounds, 8 ounces of Kentucky Lake bass on day three to lead the Pro Division. (Photo by Jennifer Simmons) |
Going into the final day, McGuire holds a slim 12-ounce lead over No. 2 Larry Frasier of Owensboro, who appears to be a looming threat with a hot spot full of bass that he abandoned early this morning after fleshing out a limit.
But McGuire is very familiar with Kentucky-Barkley, and he says the key to his success this week was a solid practice uncluttered by dock talk and local advice.
“I came up here, went practicing and didn’t talk to anybody,” McGuire said. “By the time the tournament started, I had 23 or 24 spots, and I’ve just been running through them every day.”
McGuire said he fished 12 or 13 of those areas today and claims he caught them on every spot he went to.
“I probably caught 13 or 14 keepers,” he said. “I lost one really big one, but I had a good day.”
McGuire has been catching his fish this week on a football jig, a 10-inch ribbontail worm and a Fat Free Shad. The difference today was that he was able to get bigger bites compared to what he’s been weighing in over the course of the week.
“I’ve been just catching 3-pounders,” he said. “Today I didn’t have as many fish, but I had a couple of good ones. I’m fishing a lot of stuff way south, and I’ll probably have a lot of company tomorrow.”
A tournament taking off from the Tennessee side of the lakes is scheduled to begin tomorrow, which will undoubtedly put pressure on the anglers fishing the south end of Kentucky-Barkley.