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FANTASY: Kentucky Lake Pundit Picks

By: Rob Russow  (archive)
ESPNOutdoors.com

Pundit picks for upcoming tournament

Amazingly, for the first time all year, pundits were original and interesting in their choices for the upcoming tournament on Kentucky Lake. Maybe, GPS Pirates even the playing field or maybe it is just hard to predict which Elite Series angler will find the magic ledge that holds the winning concentration of fish or maybe the long season has them reaching deep into their bag of tricks for something outside the ordinary.

As usual, ledges should produce the majority of the big catches during the SpongeTech Tennessee Triumph. A few weeks ago, that might not have been the case, as high water had some heft weights coming from the flooded bushes. Recently, the lake dropped to summer level and the fish obligingly moved to where they have made Kentucky Lake famous. There will still be some fish caught shallow, but the bigger fish feeding on the ledges will most likely be the dominant pattern amongst the top-12 contenders.

The only real favorite chosen by our pundits was Skeet Reese, picked three times by our five pundits. Reese is a strong post-spawn angler, especially with a crankin' stick in hand. Only five points behind KVD for the lead in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, expect another strong showing by the man in yellow. After Skeet, Matt Herren, Kevin VanDam and Kevin Wirth all share the spotlight with two picks each. VanDam and Wirth both are annual contenders on Kentucky Lake and Herren looks to put up a strong showing after collapsing at Guntersville in his backyard.

The rest of the picks look like a battle of shallow versus deep. Paul Elias, John Murray, Timmy Horton and Jami Fralick top the list of deep-water anglers, while Denny Brauer, Tommy Biffle and Dean Rojas all received picks for their shallow-water prowess.

Here's a look at who our pundits like at Lake Guntersville:

Mark Zona
TV Personality

Paul Elias — Do I expect the record holder to shatter dreams here? You bet! He's trained in Karate and can make other men cry when throwing a crankbait.

Rick Clunn — Another student of Martial arts and deadly when bass hit the ledges. He will be the sensay here — I think that's what they call it…

John Murray — The number one nicest man on the Elite Series has to eventually win one. He's just to damn good not too! If anyone deserves a win it's this guy — I'm pulling for him.

Aaron Martens — Talk about sweet revenge at G-ville, ya bud! I got that funny feeling he isn't done yet. Dirty bird.

Skeet, KVD, Ike, Horton or Wirth — If you're a fantasy Stallion, like myself, and don't have these guys on your roster, you should be punished like Zambrano beating a gatorade machine.


Tommy Sanders
Host, The Bassmasters

Kevin VanDam — The fact that a one-celled organism could make this pick doesn't make me any less committed to it. Or any less proud.

Mark Menendez — One mediocre finish, one bad one, and the rest of the time on fire this year. The ultimate homer pick this week.

Todd Faircloth — Will keep pushing until he is right in the thick of it in Alabama at the end of the season. No reason he couldn't win this one.

Peter Thliveros — Pete has been off his feed so far this year, but we've seen it before: get him on some fish for three or four hot days in early summer and he will catch all of them.

Skeet Reese — Bookending my picks with another selection that could easily have been made by a mollusk. But how much more stupid would it be to leave him out?


Kyle Carter
ESPN Outdoors Editor

Mike Iaconelli — This, in my mind, is make it or break it week for Ike on team Carter. In two tournaments on Kentucky Lake, he's finished 63rd and 39th. By his standards, he's sucked. But dude is on a roll. He's like butter, but better. Maybe that butter-honey mix you get at some of the fancy steak joints. Now that's a good roll. Point is, in his last 10 tournaments, he has eight top 10s. Point is, this train is moving too fast to jump off now.

Skeet Reese — It's that time of the season for everyone. For you, fantasy player — depending where you are in your league — it's time to drop KVD and make a move. Quit being a little girl about it and drop him. The guy leading your league — you know, probably your stepfather who knew you'd suck at this like you do at fishing — he'll have KVD this week. No doubt about it. And he'll be sitting on him, afraid to move — afraid to be bold. Well here's a fantasy fishing secret: if you're losing and you play the same team as "dad" the rest of the year, you'll lose. And here's a secret: KVD doesn't fish well from the lead — I ate lunch for free last week because I knew that (thanks, Rob). And here's a secret: last time KVD had the TTBAOY title in the bag with a few tournaments to go, Skeet won it all. So make the switch — have some respect for yourself. Get in the front of the boat and quit casting the same place your stepdad just caught a fish.

Mike McClelland — I've been waiting for McClelland to break out all year and it looks like he might have finally done it with a seventh-place finish in the Marine Formula STA-BIL Southern Challenge. He finished fourth on Kentucky Lake last year and he's not comfortably inside the Classic cut. McClelland is a closer and he'll finish well this week.

Matt Herren — You've got to have him. Apparently the guy doesn't like fishing with his name in the headlines, and he might have burned you last tournament. Well, finishing 83rd on your "home lake" effectively removes the name from the headline (see Clark Reehm: Dardanelle) and now Herren can just fish, and catch them like he has all year. There hasn't been a better fantasy value all season, and there's no reason to think that will change now. Herren gives you the room you need to get Reese, McClelland and Ike on your team.

Kevin Wirth — Wirth is quietly having a good season, he's a Kentucky guy, he rode the derby, and he drinks the whisky. I hesitate, slightly, with this pick because if there's ever a tournament in which home lake is no advantage, this might be it. Just ask the guys selling waypoints from last year's tournament.


Alan Clemons
ESPN Outdoors contributor

Kevin VanDam — There's just no way you can overlook his success on the lake and the Tennessee River (even with boat traffic), people chasing him for the TTBAOY title and his demanding drive to succeed.

Skeet Reese — Perhaps the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion senses another title in his grasp. It's possible, and he's poised going into the final three events, to make a run at his second Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. After a break from the previous tournament three weeks ago he should be ready.

Alton Jones — So this is the third guy in the current TTBAOY standings and that may seem a bit easy to pick them 1-2-3, but Jones is confident and sits in a prime position to move up the standings. He's no stranger to deep-water ledge tactics, either.

Tommy Biffle — If there's a hidey hole off somewhere in a creek where no one else thinks anything will be worth checking, Biffle may find it. Launching from the lower end of Kentucky Lake puts him in in an area with several options.

Denny Brauer — Ditto for him in the same scenario as Biffle — they may even spot each other a time or two on the water.


Rob Russow
ESPN Outdoors pundit upstart

Matt Herren — Herren had a cream-pie-in-your-face moment at Guntersville when he caught us all with our fingers in the cookie jar and decided not to play ball. I'm guessing he's not happy and whether he decides to go shallow or go deep, he will catch them.

Timmy Horton — All I can see burned into my memory is Horton catching two fish at the same time using his deep-diving crankbait. This guy made a serious push last year at snatching the crown from KVD and should be an easy solid pick to do well again. Horton didn't exactly help us fantasy managers on Guntersville and this will be his chance to get revenge on the Tennessee River.

Jami Fralick — A little South Dakota love here — Fralick has done well at Kentucky Lake deep cranking and that should be the winning scenario once again. Where he learned to fish ledges in S.D., I really don't know, but I do know that the goofy kid from over 'dere sure can whoop them on a hot Kentucky summer day.

Kevin Wirth — Wirth and Kentucky go together like peanut butter and apples. He's been very close to victory here in the past, foiled only by Morizo Shimizu's heroics. Count on Wirth, who sits in 24th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, to pull through with a big finish that could have him challenging for a post-season berth.

Dean Rojas — Well, my last four picks have all been deep-water anglers, so I'm going to play it safe and throw in a shallow-water specialist. So what? They dropped the lake four feet a week ago. So what? If there are any fish to be found shallow, you can bet that Rojas' Kermit will bring them up to the surface. Hopefully, launching in Paris will provide Dean with plenty of fertile water to skip his signature frog.




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