Kennedy staying in the timber

Steve Kennedy lived through a nightmare yesterday. But maybe it will be the key for him to make a dream come true today. The nightmare was the 8-pounder (at least) that Kennedy lost at the boat in the final hour on Day 2, when he finished one bass short of a limit. He starts the day in 3rd place, 5 pounds, 3 ounces behind leader Hank Cherry.

Kennedy, who finished second in the Classic at Lake Conroe in 2017, spent several hours in the offshore standing timber at Lake Ray Roberts. That’s where he lost the big one. He found some big fish there in practice, but the wind made the area unfishable on Day 1. He plans to spend almost all day there today. Unfortunately, he’s still missing fish. In Andy Crawford’s photo above, Kennedy got this bass close to the boat before it jumped and spit the jig. It’s some consolation that this bass wasn’t in the class that Kennedy needs to make a charge today.

“There’s just not big numbers of them, but those big females are absolutely out there, I’m convinced,” Kennedy said last night. “It’s not easy. But I believe if I get out there early enough and do it all day, I’m going to get 10 or 15 bites. Pitching a big jig at big trees out in the middle of nowhere. I may go bigger on my jig. I may go to one ounce – something that falls faster so I can cover more water.

“They’re reacting really well to baits. I may try to make them react with something that’s got more kick and a heavier weight.”

Kennedy said he may also try a big spoon, a big worm and a big crankbait today. He doesn’t have the lure dialed in, but he’s seemingly dialed in on his location for the remainder of the day.