GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division event on Kentucky Lake went about as you’d expect, with tons of smallmouth hitting the scale. The leaderboard is also filled with many familiar names, both locally and nationally, and Drew Morgan is on top of them all. A student at Murray State, Morgan wrangled up 23 pounds, 13 ounces on Day 1 to take the lead.
In second, Jake Lawrence tallied 21-13, and Matteo Turano slid into third with 21-7. The top 11 are all over 19 pounds, so there’s definitely some room for things to shake up.
On the co-angler side, Chris McClellan boxed five for 16-5 to lead, and Matt Luken and John Lovin are in second and third with around 14 pounds.
1. Morgan wallops ‘em on Day 1
A two-time Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine winner on Kentucky Lake, Morgan is obviously one to watch on the big Tennessee River reservoir. Today, he got out to a 2-pound lead over Lawrence and has more than that between himself and some of the best on the Tennessee River. The rest of the Top 10 has more than 30 wins with MLF to their credit, and most are under 30 years old, so Morgan is currently beating out a truly spectacular field of modern talent.
“I started out on the north end and started my three hours (with forward-facing sonar) early,” he said. “As soon as I turned it on, first cast, I caught a 5-pounder. I had a lot of fish marked on bed. I didn’t really run through a lot of fish; it seems like they’re moving. A lot of fish pulled out – or, I don’t know where they went.”
A fifth-year engineering major at Murray State, Morgan didn’t get a ton of practice. But he’s also fishing at home. Catching all spawning bass on Day 1, he weighed four smallmouth and one largemouth.
“I think 20 pounds is doable, without a doubt,” he said of Day 2. “It’s just going to be covering enough water in three hours to make that happen. There’s a lot of running in between, so it eats up a lot of that time. I don’t have a lot of fish marked in one area.”
2. King of Kentucky Lake in striking distance
Lawrence has largely dominated the spring on Kentucky Lake in recent years, and though the competition has obviously caught up to him, he still showed out on Day 1. It could be great timing, as he’s mired in a slump on the Bass Pro Tour and due for some positive returns. Still, like Morgan, Lawrence doesn’t think this event is going to be plug-and-play every day.
“The last couple that I fished here, everything was super stable,” he said. “I didn’t say it out loud, but I kind of already knew where a lot of those fish were, and I felt really confident they were still going to be there. This one is a little different. I’m not nervous about tomorrow, but I don’t know exactly how it is going to go.”
Catching all spawning fish on Day 1, Lawrence did most of his damage on one flat.
“I was really disappointed. I checked my core areas Easter afternoon, before everybody got here,” he said. “Sunday, you could have won it on one flat and never had to make a cast outside of your ‘Scope period. That is not the case anymore. They shrunk today. I probably caught 18 or 20 and only had three real good ones.
“The big ones aren’t everywhere right now,” he added. “Two weeks ago, even this past weekend, there were quite a few. What’s interesting is the bed fish in the bays have fry, about 90% of them. All the ones on the river, I don’t think I’ve seen a speck of fry yet. I don’t think they’re going to completely vacate, but I’m a little nervous.”
One plus side is that once he turned his sonar off, Lawrence was able to rack up some keeper largemouth – nothing that helped today, but possibly fish to help him ride out a miss or two in his next two ‘Scope periods.
“They were all on the same deal,” he said. “I still don’t feel great about it, but I know what I’m going to do all day tomorrow after my ‘Scope period. But hopefully, I have another 21, 22 pounds and I don’t have to worry about it.”
3. Turano right in the mix
Also over the 21-pound mark on Day 1, Turano is fishing his home waters and basically running a wheelhouse pattern this week. So, the reigning BFL All-American champ is a dangerous man in this event.
Running a good ways south to get the day going, Turano did all his damage in his three hours with modern sonar.
“I definitely had to work for them today; it was a hard three hours,” he said. “I made a long run this morning, and I knew all my stuff was kind of in the wind, so I decided to ‘Scope first thing. When I got to my spot, it wasn’t lights-out like I expected it would be; it was a little tougher to get them to bite. I think I caught seven or eight keepers in my ‘Scope period, and every time I would catch them, it would be about a 4-pounder.”
According to Turano, he wasn’t as efficient as he wanted to be – the wind challenged him, and the fish didn’t bite easy. But he’s still content to run it back, at least on Day 2.
“There’s a couple schools I’ve been checking, but I didn’t weigh anything off them today – everything I weighed today, they were all spawning,” he said. “I definitely have a lot of fish I marked on beds, but I honestly feel the bed fishing is getting tougher and tougher each day. So, I might have to switch things up by Day 3. I’ve got some banks and a couple dragging spots and a couple school spots, but most of what I’ll probably catch will be ‘Scope fish.”
Turano said a 5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow and a Ned rig with a 3-inch Roboworm Ned Worm got the job done.
Top 10 pros
1. Drew Morgan – 23 – 13 (5)
2. Jake Lawrence – 21 – 13 (5)
3. Matteo Turano – 21 – 7 (5)
4. Kaden Mueck – 20 – 13 (5)
5. Levi Kohl – 20 – 11 (5)
6. Adam Bartusek – 20 – 0 (5)
7. Connor O’Connor – 19 – 14 (5)
8. Banks Shaw – 19 – 13 (5)
9. Brody Campbell – 19 – 8 (5)
10. Drew Gill – 19 – 6 (5)