Auburn, Calif. – When the Bassmaster Elite Series kicked off at Kentucky Lake last week, 2010 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Points Leader Skeet Reese was looking to rebound from his disappointing out of the money finish at Clarks Hill Reservoir; unfortunately, it didn't happen.
Reese, who had experienced one of the best opening runs in Bassmaster history with five consecutive top five finishes, including wins at Smith Mountain Lake and Lake Guntersville , failed to make the cut to day three for the second consecutive tournament. Reese finished in 48 th place, one place out of the cut, heading into the final event of the regular season schedule in Oklahoma .
Despite the outcome, the 40-year-old pro maintains a 62-point lead in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with three events left to fish. “I really expected to do well at Kentucky Lake ,” said Reese. “But, I made a couple of decisions that turned out to be not the best and things didn't work out, but oh well; that's fishing.”
The decision he is referring to is that he expected the fish to be in a depth zone that they had typically been in at previous stops. However, unlike previous trips to Kentucky Lake , the fish seemed to move. “I've generally done pretty well in five to fifteen feet of water on top of the ledges,” said Reese. “In hindsight, they didn't pull current like I usual, and those fish were out in 15 to 25 feet of water instead.”
What Reese had found during his practice was something he had prepared himself for in his pre-tournament strategizing. He had worked with Lucky Craft; one of his title sponsors, to have baits specially customized for his program. “Lucky Craft brought in chartreuse and blue RC 3.5 DD crankbaits for the tournament,” he said. “I planned on doing some real damage with that plug, but it didn't work out that way.”
Despite missing the giant concentrations of bass that some of the other contenders located, Reese still felt he was around enough fish to do well. “There were some good fish where I was fishing,” he said. “But, it didn't work out.”
He spent much of his tournament trying to force the crankbait bite, but ended up having to turn to another program. “I caught most of my fish on a 3/8-ounce football jig with a three-inch green pumpkin Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw as a trailer,” he said. “I was stroking the jig off the bottom and letting it fall back down.”
Reese bagged 14 pounds, 3 ounces on day one, and 15 pounds, 8 ounces on day two for a total weight 29 pounds, 11 ounces. Following the event, Reese traveled to Oklahoma for the Sooner Run, the final event on the 2010 Elite Series regular season schedule. Following that event, he will take part in ICAST, the fishing industry tradeshow, then on to the final two events of the season in pursuit of his second Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
