Bolton Takes Over on Kentucky
Home cooking has the Paducah, Ky., pro ahead by 2 pounds (updated)
The name Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., has been synonymous with the name Kentucky Lake for the better part of 30 years. Today, the well-known local pro showed why, bringing in another 22-pound plus bag of bass for the second day in a row to take the lead in the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Mercury and hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau with a two-day total of 44 pounds, 13 ounces.
Two major obstacles have been an issue for FLW Tour pros this week: fishing pressure and lack of current. Bolton has found a way to clear both hurdles over the last two days by searching out smaller “clusters” of suspended bass in waters that are deeper than where most of the fishermen are wearing ruts into the ledges.
“When they get up high off the bottom here, I like it,” Bolton says. “When they’re on the bottom, a lot more people can catch them. But when they suspend up high due to lack of current and fishing pressure, they get a little trickier to fool.”
“The big schools are broken up now and they are moving around a lot,” he continues. “So I’m looking for smaller clusters of fish. Some pods might have 5 or 6 fish in them; others might have 15 to 25. And I only catch a few fish out of these smaller groups – this is not a case where I’m sitting in one place wearing them out.”
Bolton adds that looking out deeper has been a key for him.
“I don’t normally like to fish this deep; it takes too long for my bait to get to the bottom,” Bolton adds with a laugh. “But that’s what I feel I have to do to get off the beaten path and find those more isolated, suspended pods that are not as pressured.”
The leaders break down the day
Top 10 pros
1. Terry Bolton – Paducah, Ky. – 44-13 (10)
2. Jason Lambert – Pickwick Dam, Tenn. – 42-13 (10)
3. Bryan Thrift – Shelby, N.C. – 42-6 (10)
4. Brandon Hunter – Benton, Ky. – 41-14 (10)
5. Andy Morgan – Dayton, Tenn. – 39-14 (10)
6. Todd Hollowell – Fishers, Ind. – 38-10 (10)
7. Brad Knight – Lancing, Tenn. – 38-6 (10)
8. Walmart pro Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 38-2 (10)
9. Jacob Wheeler – Indianapolis, Ind. – 37-2 (10)
10. Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury – Springville, Ala. – 36-9 (10)