Kentucky Lake Day 4 Coverage
It's Lambert’s day and we’re headed to weigh-in
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2:12 p.m.: It's Lambert’s day and we’re headed to weigh-in
Drama is great, but incredible performances aren’t bad either. Jason Lambert came into the day with a slim lead (by Kentucky Lake standards) and he’s put the pedal down today. Just minutes ago, Lambert caught a pair of 4-pounders that wouldn’t cull and then tossed a 6-pounder in the ‘well. He’s on fire (25+ flame emojis) right now.
With big fish throughout the field, you’re gonna want to see this weigh-in.
Weigh-in details
Watch the final weigh-in live at FLWFishing.com starting at 4 p.m. CT or come down and watch in-person at Kentucky Dam State Park at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N., Gilbertsville, Ky., 42044.
1:25 p.m.: We’re going to see some sacks
Jason Lambert has done it again. With another cull, the Tennessee pro thinks he’s up to 25 pounds. It was also the first time he culled a 4-pounder. Dude has just crushed it the last two days. It’s all one bait, but plenty of different ledges.
This afternoon, Jacob Wheeler has really turned it on. The past 20 minutes or so, Wheeler has been catching on about every cast and has culled up over 20 pounds by a bit. At the same time, Brad Knight has crossed the 20-pound mark.
Heck, we even ran into Mark Rose getting gas at the Paris Landing Marina and it turns out that his flurry kept going so well that he's got about 22 pounds. Sounds like we're gonna see at least six bags over 20 pounds at weigh-in.
1:00 p.m.: Lambert has culled again and Hunter is getting to work
Brandon Hunter has finally found some willing fish. After getting his second keeper of the day, he’s caught three more to get his total to near 17 pounds. It’s a start, but Jason Lambert isn’t sitting still. While Hunter has been getting his limit, Lambert has culled again, likely putting him right around 23 pounds.
12:45 p.m.: Hunter might be back in the running
After tons and tons and tons of graphing, Brandon Hunter finally stopped on a place that he’s checked three times today. He hopped up, fired his swimbait up there and caught a 4-pounder on his first cast. A little later, he picke dup a spoon and caught a 3+ to go with it. He’s got a long way to go, but if Lambert does come in with less than about 23 pounds, a big afternoon and a win is certainly a possibility.
12:35 p.m.: Look out for Rampey
“Some donkeys done moved up here!”
Jayme Rampey had a heck of a start, quickly catching a limit with a few good ones, but he’s really got it going recently. After a move down south of Paris, Rampey has found something special. Since his earlier 6-pounder, Rampey has caught another just like it. It’s all happening on the drop-shot, which is pretty incredible in itself, and he’s now got around 25 pounds in the boat. He isn’t in any danger of winning, but he definitely will be moving way up.
11:55 a.m.: Culling across the board, Lambert with another big one
Something happened on the lake. In the last 10 minutes or so there has been a big flurry of action. Jayme Rampey just got into a flurry that included a 6-pounder to push him past 20 pounds. At the same time, Mark Rose filled his limit and then lost two on the next two casts. Way down south near New Johnsonville, Jacob Wheeler is also culling, having put down the drop-shot and grabbed a hair jig for a pair of good fish to get him around 15 pounds. After that, he caught a giant 7+ that has him near 19 pounds.
The most important development is yet another big move by Jason Lambert. He’s sitting on a school with about a hundred bass in it and after catching a keeper that culled, he caught another big one that’s near 5 pounds and has him up into the low 20s now. We’ll get a more accurate estimate in a bit, but Brandon Hunter sure needs to pour it on this afternoon if he wants a win at home.
Canterbury's hot morning
Morning update with Rose
11:20 a.m.: Lambert is trying to put it on ice
Shortly before the midday weight estimates were posted, Jason Lambert busted another near 5-pounder to cull a small fish and get himself to about 20 pounds. This morning, he said he wanted to have 20 before he went south of the Paris Landing bridge, and he’s accomplished that goal in style.
Despite how well it's going for Lambert, Brandon Hunter might not be out of luck yet. He's got one good fish, and Kentucky Lake is a great place to get right in a hurry.
11:15 a.m.: Midday weight updates
They're very unofficial, but here's the scoop on things stand so far today. Jason Lambert's most recent kicker is reflected in the weights.
1. Jason Lambert – 20 pounds (5)
2. Brandon Hunter – 5 pounds (1)
3. Bryan Thrift – 9 pounds (4)
4. Terry Bolton – 12 pounds (5)
5. Mark Rose – 9 pounds (3)
6. Andy Morgan – 11 pounds (5)
7. Jayme Rampey – 14 pounds (5)
8. Jacob Wheeler – 11 pounds (5)
9. Scott Canterbury – 22 pounds (5)
10. Brad Knight – 19 pounds (5)
10:40 a.m.: Lambert is culling
Since our last report, Jason Lambert has done a whole lot of idling and not a lot of fishing. From takeoff, he worked down nearly to the Paris bridge before finally settling on a spot to fish. Real quick, he caught a small fish that culled himself up a bit, but that’s been it.
On his current school, he’s rotating through five or six different baits, which is a lot more than usual.
10:15 a.m.: Bolton making progress, Knight making a move
After losing a potential keeper, Terry Bolton caught himself another for his third bass of the day. Every fish counts, but he needs a lot more than keepers to regain the lead.
Down south, Brad Knight is catching pretty good. He’s got a limit worth about 18 pounds in the boat and is looking for more. There’s virtually no chance that he can win, but he could certainly move up a long way with another big one like he caught on day one. Nearby, Andy Morgan has a limit as well.
Brandon Hunter crushing on day three
9:35 a.m.: Brandon Hunter has struck a blow
It’s a heavyweight duel between Brandon hunter and Jason Lambert today and Hunter finally got going on his end. After idling and then setting up on a spot three times, he managed to coax a 5-pounder to chomp on a worm and then busted a short fish right after that. A few more big fish and he’ll be right up with Lambert’s pace again.
Lambert's 5-pounder
9:25 a.m.: The scoop on Hammerbury
Scott Canterbury is off to his best start of the tournament and it’s all come off one spot. He’s mixing between a swimbait, a worm and a long-lining a crankbait to get to them, so they must be down pretty deep. Canterbury didn’t want to have to throw a drop-shot today, and it looks like he won’t at the rate of things.
9:10 a.m.: Lambert has his limit
Lambert filled his limit out with a 2-pounder. Now, he’s got three small fish, a 5-pounder and a bass that is probably close to 7 pounds. He’s thinking he has about 15 pounds, and that might well be a little low.
8:55 a.m.: Lambert is pouring it on
"Over 6 … well over 6 … biggest I've caught this week."
Those were the words of Jason Lambert after boating a giant shortly after catching a small keeper. Shortly after that he caught his fourth keeper. It looks like Lambert isn’t going to let anything stop him today. With two big ones in the boat already, he’s really putting the hurt on the rest of the field and catching the size that’s needed to win on Kentucky Lake.
8:45 a.m.: Brandon Hunter’s arsenal
It’s been pretty slow this morning for everyone besides Scott Canterbury and Jayme Rampey, but it could light up at anytime.
Today, and throughout the tournament, Brandon Hunter has relied on a mix of baits in opposition to Lambert’s “one rod Todd” policy. Hunter’s arsenal is mostly a swimbait and a crankbait, but he’s also occasionally stroking a jig or casting a hair jig. Of course today, Hunter is relying on his Mercury more than anyhting, as he's hopping all over the north end of the lake looking for the right school.
8:20 a.m.: The moving is starting
Jason Lambert is on to his fifth stop now. His first didn’t produce anything, and his didn’t fish on his third stop, but he fished for a bit on his fourth stop and then left it to a local. He's a little excited, because he says that the fish he caught this morning were on a place that hasn't had any fish on it yet. That could signal that the bass are moving on out in big numbers today.
Bolton is also hopping around now, and he’s started his creek program a little as well, moving from place to place in some of the creeks on the LBL side of the lake. So far, he’s just got the one.
Of note, Scott Canterbury has another 4-pounder now and Andy Morgan just caught his first fish of the day.
7:57 a.m.: It’s heating up
While Jason Lambert is still on the one big one and Brandon Hunter has blanked so far, things seem to be heating up across the board.
Hanging in fourth, Terry Bolton is on the board with a 2-pounder. In third, Bryan thrift is still on three, but he just lost a good one and is doing a lot better than he has any other morning this week.
Scott Canterbury just caught a real big one (over 5 pounds) and Mark Rose also struck with a 4-pounder for his second keeper. Down south, Brad Knight has four already for about 10 pounds.
7:45 a.m.: Lambert is on the board in the right way
After catching a short and then losing a big smallmouth, Jason Lambert cracked a 5-pounder on the next cast. So far, his second spot of the day is paying off in the right way. It’ll probably take about 26 pounds for Lambert to really feel sure of a win, but a 5-pounder is a heck of a way to get the day going.
7:30 a.m.: Some catches to go around
Jayme Rampey is having the best morning so far and is already culling into the low teens. Unlike some of the others, he’s fishing a pretty shallow ledge that’s maybe 5-feet deep on top and using almost solely a spinning rod.
Jason Lambert has moved on toward the south with no fish. Usually, he’s had a limit of his staring spot before moving. Brandon Hunter is also on the hunt, having graphed a few spots without stopping to fish.
Elsewhere, Bryan Thrift has started catching and has three for about 7 pounds total. Mark Rose has one keeper. Jacob Wheeler has two small keepers.
7:05 a.m.: Rampey strikes first
Jayme Rampey is the first on the board with a 4-pounder, a 2-pounder and a squeaker. He's just about catching them every cast. He’s fishing near Kenlake, and while that’s a good start, he began the day more than 10 pounds behind the leaders.
As for the leaders, they’ve broken up some. Thrift has left the starting spot and Terry Bolton moved in. So far, nothing has happened there, but it didn’t really start to fire until about 7:45 on day three.
Fishless, Brandon Hunter is on to his second spot now. He never fished his primary area on day three, so that’s probably where he’s headed.
6:48 a.m.: Hunter and Lambert are starting like usual
There aren’t any fish to report yet, but things seem to have started off just like usual. Jason Lambert and Bryan Thrift are fishing shoulder-to-shoulder on their starting spot, and Brandon Hunter has gotten to his place and is attempting to fire them up.
Hunter seems confident that the fish are where they were yesterday, but he’s yet to fire them up. Today, the local favorite already has about 15 boats following him. So, no pressure.
6:30 a.m.: The top 10 are ready to go and it’s going to be a scorcher in every sense of the word
Kentucky Lake is known for phenomenal ledge fishing, and it’s produced yet again this week. Despite fish setting up a little different than usual, only two members of the top 10 have failed to bring in a 20-pound bag at some point in the tournament and both Jason Lambert and Brandon Hunter are arguably on pace to break 90 pounds.
It looks like the final day of the Walmart FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake by Mercury and hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau will be a two-man race between leader Jason Lambert, who has 68 pounds, 2 ounces, and Brandon Hunter, who has sacked up 66 pounds, 10 ounces through three days of competition. With only the top 10 on the water today, the pros should have nearly any ledge in the lake available to them and that could lead to some huge bags. If any of the leaders stumble, there’s no doubt that someone will be charging hard from behind.
The final factor to consider is how much current the TVA pulls through the Kentucky Dam. Currently, the TVA is running about 25,000 CFS, which is comparable to the morning of day three, when the bite was so hot for so many. With any luck, it’ll be running even more today. Every extra bit of current helps to position the bass on the ledges and trigger the feedbag. If the TVA does really pull water today, that could make for a very exciting weigh-in.
Current or no, it’s a battle today. Hunter and Lambert are two of the best ledge fishermen in the business and the rest of the top 10 aren’t slouches either.
Lambert and Hunter recap day three
Conditions
Current temperature: 70 degrees
Forecast high: 96 degrees
Sky: cloudy
Precipitation: 20 percent chance of rain
Wind: WNW 5 mph
Weigh-in Details
Watch the final weigh-in live at FLWFishing.com starting at 4 p.m. CT or come down and watch in-person at Kentucky Dam State Park at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N., Gilbertsville, Ky., 42044.
Click here for complete tournament details.