~~The Kentucky West Division arrived for the second event of the season this weekend at Green River Lake outside of Campbellsville, Kentucky.  Anglers from all over Kentucky gathered to search water for the plentiful largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass.  Warm temperatures over the last few weeks had many fish in a spawning pattern and hopes were high as many huge bass were seen on their beds. There were still lots of fish in the typical pre-spawn patterns as well, though the bite had gotten tough because of water level fluctuations. This presented a difficult challenge for everyone, but before the tournament, we would all gather for the pre-tournament meeting for plentiful delicious food, wonderful fellowship, and a great message.

75 anglers and friends were welcomed by the South Campbellsville Baptist Church for a wonderful meal of fried chicken with tables filled with homemade vegetables and a myriad of desserts to tempt everyone.  Following the meal, Tom Jones, women’s soccer coach at nearby Campbellsville University and church member, delivered an inspiring message looking at the trial and death of Jesus Christ from the perspective of the Father. Knowing how much it cost Him, He still gave His only Son for us! After the challenging message, five people prayed to recommit their lives to Christ!

40 teams blasted off at safe light in search of enough bass to claim the victory.  Saturday morning dawned clear and mild, but the weatherman promised high winds as the day progressed. Though fishing conditions were difficult, but several teams were able to cobble together a limit, and several big bass crossed the scales.

Leading the field with a winning weight of 19.59 pounds was the father and son team of Kenny Hardin and Josh Hardin. Hardin and Hardin used Attack Pak Salty Sinking Worms and Hawgsnatcher Craws to land their limit. They also credited their rod builders at Dixie Custom Rods with the precision casts that they had to make to catch those spawning females. Both of their plastics were treated with Juiced Up Baits scent as they used their lures to aggravate five quality largemouths from their beds. They found their bass in the back of a creek and worked for up to an hour for each bite. Hardin and Hardin cashed in to the tune of $1,540.00, and took home two beautiful plaques provided by Awards, Inc. in Glasgow, Kentucky.

After a runner up finish at the National Championship that earned them a new Basscat Margay with a 150 Mercury, Dustin Bishop and Kyle Lear earned $1004 with another runner-up finish and first place in the Bonus Bucks.   Bishop and Lear reported using Bubblegum colored Strike King Super Finesse Worms to land 18.36 pounds of bass. They, too, were catching their fish in coves that were spawning.

Finishing third was the team of Jason Corbin and David Upchurch. Corbin and Upchurch flipped soft plastics and jigs in the backs of the main lake pockets to catch bedded bass. They were able to bring a limit weighing 17.99 pounds to the scales. Along with second place in the Bonus Bucks, they received $653.00 for their efforts.

Another father-son team, Ricky Elmore and Jared Elmore, finished fourth on the day. The Elmores fished gravel banks with Carolina-rigged lizards and shaky head worms. They caught 17.08 pounds of pre-spawn bass from the main lake to take fourth place. Jared reported only getting 5 bites all day, but they were able to capitalize on each one to earn $359.00.

Coming in fifth was team of Lee Bishop and Mike Miller. Bishop and Miller used Alabama rigs tricked out with 3.5” L&M Custom Bass Snacks Swimbaits. They earned $393.00 on the day with their third place in the Bonus Bucks.

Cory Jones had to fish alone today, but that didn’t stop him from weighing in the big bass of the day – a 6.80 pound giant. Jones caught the lunker on a Strike King tube. He earned $200.00 as well as a leather bound copy of the Bible with a commemorative plate engraved by our sponsors at Pittsburg Marine.

Come on out to Barren River Lake on May 6th and join us for the third event of the season!  Fishing should be great and good times will be available to all!  Call Joel Franks at 270-579-4085 for details.

Fishers of Men would like to thank all of our fine sponsors; BassCat Boats, Mercury, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Strike King Lure Company, Kings Home, Power-Pole, Raymarine, Duckett Fishing, ORCA Coolers, Buckeye Lures, T&H Marine, Gator Guards, Solar Bat, Kistler Rods, HydroWave, Enigma, KidCasters, Fishouflage, Costa, Jacobs Glass, Rayjus Sportswear, Rod ArmorZ, and Rejuvenade.

We would like to thank our local sponsors Barren Outdoors, A.F. Crow Funeral Home, Mark Miller Marine, Fishidy, Grayson County Baptist Association, Pittsburg Marine, LHI Lighting Sales Incorporated, L&M Custom Bass Snacks, Piccola Mfg., Barren County Business Supply, Awards Inc., MVD Motor Vibration Dampeners, and Coon Creek Custom Baits. 

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	21491	Kenny Hardin Josh Hardin	5	0	19.59	0	19.59	200
2	21480	Kyle Lear	5	0	18.36	0	18.36	199
3	21729	Jason Corbin David Upchurch	5	5.55	17.99	0	17.99	148
4	21482	Jared Elmore Ricky Elmore	5	5.03	17.08	0	17.08	197
5	21432	Lee Bishop Mike Miller	5	0	16.78	0	16.78	196
6	21430	Edwin Jerriel Jim Hatfield	5	4.04	16.23	0	16.23	195
7	21732		5	6.49	15.71	0	15.71	194
8	21476	Michael Shelton Troy Shelton	5	4.88	15.53	0	15.53	193
9	21473	Robby Hendrickson Matt Mattingly	5	0	13.91	0	13.91	192
10	21477	Timmy Gaddie Clint Childress	5	0	13.23	0	13.23	191
11	21478	Richard Bowling Jarrod Simpson	5	0	11.91	0	11.91	190
12	21485		5	4.97	11.9	0	11.9	189
13	21489		5	0	11.86	0	11.86	188
14	21486	Ken Freeman Steve Haysley	5	0	12.36	0.5	11.86	188
15	21175	Greg Gibson Ted Myers	4	0	11.78	0	11.78	186
16	21176	Jeff Boone Eddie Goode	5	0	11.54	0	11.54	185
17	21488		2	5.53	11.04	0	11.04	184
18	21479		4	0	10.36	0	10.36	183
19	21433	Cory Jones	2	6.8	8.35	0	8.35	182
20	21181	Cory Holman	2	0	7.32	0	7.32	181
21	21481	Trey Rigsby Andy Spencer	4	0	7.09	0	7.09	130
22	21487	Bob Floro Mike Floro	4	0	6.91	0	6.91	179
23	21177	Chris Wash Jody Wash	3	0	6.73	0	6.73	128
24	21733		2	5.3	6.6	0	6.6	177
25	21484	Eldon Newcomb	5	0	6.41	0	6.41	176
26	21483		4	0	6.03	0	6.03	175
27	21180	Jack Jones	2	0	5.38	0	5.38	174
28	21434	David King Brian King	2	0	4.84	0	4.84	173
29	21435		2	0	4.79	0	4.79	172
30	21475		2	0	4.66	0	4.66	171
31	21431	Chris Ring	1	0	4.25	0	4.25	170
32	21182		1	0	4.01	0	4.01	169
33	21490		2	0	3.65	0	3.65	168
34	21727		1	0	2.7	0	2.7	167
35	21178	Dacelle Peckler Darren Peckler	3	0	2.53	0	2.53	166
36	21429	Steve Denton Lloyd Easterly	1	0	2.36	0	2.36	165
37	21730		0	0	0	0	0	164
38	21472	Jerry Hogue Steve Prewitt	0	0	0	0	0	164
39	21474	David Lowe John Rediess	0	0	0	0	0	164
40	21728		0	0	0	0	0	114
Hardin and Hardin - 19.59 lbs. Bishop and Lear - 18.36 lbs Director Joel Franks standing in for Ricky Elmore and Jared Elmore - 17.08 lbs Cory Jones - 6.80 lb. big bass Jerriel and Hatfield with Possum helping out - 16.23 lbs.