“I’m just as proud of the two that I caught today as the 24 (pounds) that I had on Thursday,” said Morris, who also won a T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional Championship tournament on Lake Barkley in 2010. “It was tough out there today. My nerves are shot. It was a half-hour boat ride back and I thought for sure I had blown it. It hasn’t even sunk in that I won yet – maybe it will tomorrow.”
Morris said that he fished the same 75-yard stretch all three days of competition – a big flat that had a ditch against the bank, near the mouth of the Little River in Lake Barkley. He said that his key bait for the week was a 3/8-ounce Stan Sloan spinnerbait with a chartreuse skirt, Colorado and willow-leaf blade and a white Zoom Fat Albert Grubl trailer.
“I was making the same cast and getting tired of looking at it,” Morris joked. “I think the key was two main things – the water color was dirtier back in my area and the temperature was 3 to 4 degrees warmer.
“I worried myself sick all day long, so to get the win today is crazy,” Morris went on to say. “I won a BFL regional event here and that was special, but this one feels a little better because the competition was so tough. I had a great week and it’s a tournament I will remember for a long time.”
The top 10 pros on Kentucky and Barkley lakes finished:
1st: Jake Morris, McKee, Ky., 10 bass, 44-2, $39,608
2nd: Steve Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 12 bass, 37-4, $15,548
3rd: Shawn Kowal, Linn Creek, Mo., 12 bass, 36-9, $11,982
4th: Jimmy Washam, Covington, Tenn., nine bass, 35-11, $9,902
5th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 11 bass, 35-6, $8,912
6th: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., eight bass, 30-5, $7,922
7th: Brad Cook, Afton, Okla., nine bass, 30-3, $7,131
8th: Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., eight bass, 28-15, $5,941
9th: William Campbell, Middlesboro, Ky., nine bass, 28-8, $4,951
10th: Travis Wilson, La Harpe, Ill., seven bass, 23-6, $3,961
Steven Hatala of Harrison Township, Michigan, weighed an 8-pound, 11-ounce, largemouth Thursday – the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Hatala earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $294. Troy Bickers of Carrollton, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 115-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of five bass weighing 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Kentucky and Barkley lakes finished:
1st: Troy Bickers, Carrollton, Ky., five bass, 20-14, Ranger Z175 w/ 115-horsepower outboard
2nd: Chad Allison, Carl Junction, Mo., seven bass, 20-7, $5,069
3rd: Kit Lueg, Olathe, Kan., six bass, 19-10, $4,125
4th: Christopher Stites Sr., Lebanon, Tenn., six bass, 19-5, $3,478
5th: Bill Fussell, Thibodaux, La., four bass, 17-8, $2,981
6th: Craig Hulsey, Park Hills, Mo., five bass, 17-3, $2,484
7th: Kennith George, Edmond, Okla., five bass, 14-15, $2,038
8th: Kevin Mahlke, Wentzville, Mo., four bass, 14-14, $1,739
9th: Steve Madar, Starkville, Miss., four bass, 14-11, $1,491
10th: Howard Poitevint, Bainbridge, Ga., three bass, 14-2, $1,492
Bickers caught a fish weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces, out of the back of the boat Friday – the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – to win the Co-angler Big Bass award of $196.