RUSSELLVILLE -- Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., surged past Mark Davis of Mount Ida to win the Bassmaster Elite Series bass tournament Monday at Lake Dardanelle.
Kennedy, who is recovering from surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid tumor, caught five bass Monday weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces to give him a four-day total weight of 63-12.
Davis, who led going into the final round, caught five bass that weighed 13-15 for a total of 62-2.
It was Kennedy's first Elite Series victory in seven years, and his third overall. The $100,000 payday provided some solace after he narrowly lost the Bassmaster Classic in March to Jordan Lee at Lake Conroe near Houston.
"I thought I had the Classic won, and I had that one taken away from me," Kennedy said. "I wanted to win so badly. I used to win every other year, but it's been six or seven years.
"I had thyroid cancer -- major surgery -- less than two years ago. I've got to take a little pill to get by. I've been struggling lately, and to get it done is awesome."
Except for the second round, when he caught 14-3, Kennedy was consistent. He caught 16-10 in the first round, 16-6 in the third round and 16-9 in the fourth round. Davis said it would take a 16-pound average to win. Kennedy averaged 15.94 pounds.
Kennedy caught his best fish off a side pool off the main river near Ozark Lock & Dam. He said he found it during practice when he traveled to the far end of Lake Dardanelle to see whether the Ozark Dam tailwater was fishable. He said he loves to fish turbulent water, but the Ozark tailwater was too rough.
He went downstream a bit and fished an eddy behind a piling. He noticed water on the other side of a levee and found a way to get inside. No other angler found that spot, so Kennedy had it to himself for four days.
"Evidently it's a borrow pit," Kennedy said. "It's 20 to 30 feet deep in there. There were shad and gar everywhere."
Bass were on the edges of a couple of points near the entry where clear and muddy water mixed, Kennedy said, but the system depended on current pulling clear water out of the hole.
On Monday, the water rose and pushed muddy water back into the pool. Big fish moved off the points, and Kennedy said he had about 10 pounds to 11 pounds when he made the most important decision of the tournament.
"It just got worse and worse," Kennedy said. "I wanted to come back down here and fish a couple of places, but I decided to go around this pocket one more time."
Kennedy caught one more fish in the back of the pocket. It weighed 5-10.
"Every fish I caught this week came off a tree way out in deep water," Kennedy said. "I caught that big fish off a point in 2-3 feet of water. I don't know why she was there. Maybe the mud was pushing them in, but that was the only keeper fish I weighed off the back of that place all week."
For the first three days, the fish were so good that by the second round, Kennedy could be selective. When a fish bit, he said he pulled it to the surface to judge its size before setting the hook.
"I didn't need 2-pounders," Kennedy said. "I needed 3- and 3½-pounders."
Kennedy's technique was simple. He flipped a white, ¾-ounce jig into bushes and swam it out. If a fish didn't bite immediately, he quit reeling and let the jig fall.
"The fish are on a shad spawn," Kennedy said. "Swim that white jig on top of that stuff, and they'll absolutely smoke it. Pitch it in there high, swim it and then kill it. That ¾-ounce falls fast, and they have to react. It's the exact same deal I did in the Classic."
Kennedy, whose jersey contains no sponsor logos, said he used old "vintage" Kistler rods and green Shimano Curado reels. Modern Curados are silver. He also used 65-pound test braided line and 25-pound test flourocarbon leader.
Some tournaments are won by outfishing opponents, but Kennedy said he blundered into this victory.
"I got lucky with a spot, dude. That's all there is to it," Kennedy said. "I do well in these flood events. I don't know that I do well, but the other guys do worse."
Sports on 06/06/2017