Long Looking For Hungry Fish On Ledges In Flw Tour Major On Kentucky Lake
Although it may seem like it at times, fish don’t stop eating when they move out into deeper water for the summer. It just gets harder to find the fish that want to eat when it counts – like during tournament hours.
That is the problem FLW pro Brent Long of Cornelius, N.C., found this week on Kentucky Lake while practicing for the FLW Tour Major this Thursday through Saturday.
“The fish out on the ledges seem to be biting later in the day for me. When I am catching them is after tournament hours so the ones I’ve found so far won’t do me any good,” he said. “So, I am mixing it up, fishing some shallow and some out deep and hoping for the best.”
Long said he had heard some guys have found concentrations of bass out deep and be believes the tournament will be won out on the ledges.
“There are schools of fish out there – I just have not found them yet,” said Long who is a strong shallow water power fishing angler. “I like fishing shallow dirty water, flipping and pitching jigs, but so far I am catching a few shallow and a few out deep on the ledges.”
Long said the lake is about a foot lower than normal summer pool, but it has come up a little as a result of recent rains, but that does not seem to have had much effect on the fish.
“I’ve always done good on Kentucky Lake and it is one of my favorite lakes to fish,” he said. “I just don’t feel as comfortable after two days of practice as I normally am here.”
He has fished several major tournaments on the lake in the past and done well. In his first FLW major on Kentucky Lake last June he finished 31st and took home a check for $9,930.
This is his fifth year fishing the FLW Majors and he has two tournament wins with total FLW earnings of $365,251. His wins came in June 2010 on Lake Guntersville and this past April on Table Rock in Missouri.
He has 11 top 10 places in FLW competitions and he earned a check in one other FLW Major this year, finishing in 50th place on the Potomac River a month ago. So far, he has pocketed $134,810 in 2012.
His career really took off in 2010 when he qualified for his second Bassmaster Classic through the Bassmaster Federation, made the BFL All American – and won that first FLW Tour event on Lake Guntersville.
Now Long pretty much confines his tournament fishing to the FLW Majors.
“I have twin stepdaughters who will be 14 years old in about two weeks and they play a lot of sports, so I spend a lot of time with them when I am home,” said Long who is a general contractor.
Although the remodeling side of his business is doing well, Long is not building many houses in this down economy, so he’d love to earn a good check on Kentucky Lake this week – if he can just find a way to get those fish on the deep ledges to bite at the right time.
FLW Tour Major
Jun 7-10, 2012
Kentucky-Barkley Lakes
Kentucky Dam Marina
