Bruising from bucketmouths
McGuire secures near 7-pound lead heading into final day
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Curt McGuire wasn’t trying to be rude at the weigh-in on day two of the American Fishing Series Central Division event on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. McGuire, the day one leader from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., sacked another five-bass limit today weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces and secured a near 7-pound lead heading into the final day of competition. It’s no surprise that folks wanted to shake his hand, but McGuire simply couldn’t do that (despite being a heck of a nice guy). His palm was bruised, bleeding and too sore from two days of unhooking big bass to shake anyone’s hand. 
Though much of the field has been fishing the readily available shallow cover in the high water the last two days, McGuire has been moving out and hitting a variety of offshore targets with a variety of lures. “I’m catching them on a little bit of everything,” the pro said. “Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs-they’re hitting everything. Today, I was done at 9 a.m. in my primary spots. I had a 5-pounder and a 15-incher on the same cast. That cast was my last one before I picked up and went looking for back-up areas the rest of the day.”
Pickwick pro holds on to second
Behind McGuire is pro Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn. Haynes followed up his day-one limit of 20 pounds, 7 ounces with a near duplicate catch of 20 pounds, 3 ounces for a total weight of 40-10 heading into the final day. Like McGuire, Haynes, who is always among the best competitors on Pickwick Lake, the next reservoir in line on the Tennessee River south of Kentucky Lake, has been fishing ledges and other offshore structure. Most of his fish have come off crankbaits. “I’ve probably caught 100 fish in the last two days, but the bite was a little slower today,” Haynes said.
Haynes was among the several anglers who said the bite on day two was a little slower than day one, but a few more fish were actually weighed today in both the pro and co-angler divisions. Pros weighed a total of 537 bass for 1,541 pounds, 10 ounces. The co-anglers weighed 389 bass for 1,058 pounds, 4 ounces.
Murphy, Terry and Colson round out top five
Shawn Murphy of Nicholasville, Ky., finished day two in the third-place slot. He caught a limit on day one weighing 17 pounds even, but followed it up today with a 19-pound, 3-ounce bag. Murphy has been fishing shallow for the most part, relying on a presentation of flipping trees and scouring a few shallow drops. 
Two well-known Kentucky Lake locals round out the top five. Mike Terry of Troy, Tenn., is in fourth with a two-day catch of 35 pounds, 11 ounces. Ramie Colson Jr. made a considerable push today after following up yesterday’s 14-pound, 14-ounce catch with a 20-pound, 4-ounce bag, landing him in the fifth-place slot.
Keller maintains Co-angler Division lead
Yesterday’s leader in the Co-angler Division, James Keller of Bettendorf, Iowa, caught a limit weighing 23 pounds, 4 ounces-the second-heaviest catch of the tournament in either division. Today, Keller followed that up with another solid limit, this one weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces. Keller has a 4-pound, 4-ounce lead over second-place co-angler Andrew Luxon of Richmond, Ky. 
“Yesterday I was catching fish on swimbaits; today, I’ve been flipping all day,” Keller said. “Both of my pros have been amazing, and very helpful. I couldn’t have gotten here without them.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jim Hippensteel of Rochester, Ind., with 10 bass weighing 30 pounds; Brian Brecka of Alma, Wis., with 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces; and Ben Due of Mauston, Wis., with 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 2 ounces.
Matthew Jones of Spokane, Mo., earned the day two Big Bass Award in the Pro Division with an 8-pound, 10-ounce largemouth. Greg Stewart of Ferguson, Mo., earned the Big Bass Award in the Co-angler Division on day two with a 7-pound, 7-ouncer. 
The final 10 pros and co-anglers will launch from Buckhorn Bay Park tomorrow morning at 6. The final weigh-in will be held at Country Chevrolet in Benton, Ky., and will begin at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.