~~The Kentucky West Division returned to Barren River Lake this weekend for the third event of the season.  Barren River is a tiny bit low even after all of the recent rain, while most of the bass have spawned, a few still haven’t yet and some were still guarding fry. Many were in an early post-spawn pattern and ready to eat. This week was unseasonably cool leaving the surface temperature of the water over 10 degrees cooler in some places in the major tributaries than it was a week ago. Everyone wondered how the bass would respond.  Anglers reported mixed results in practice, but enough quality fish were caught by some to make expectations high for the tournament.  But first, 65 anglers, family members, and friends gathered together for the Friday night meeting that Fishers of Men has made famous.

The division was welcomed out to the First Free Will Baptist Church again for a terrific time of fellowship.  Joel and Melanie Franks, along with some helpers from the church prepared a traditional southern style fish fry and had enough for everybody to eat their fill and then some.  Following the fish, fries, hushpuppies, beans, and slaw, anglers were treated to three varieties of cake for dessert. 

After the meal, everybody settled back into their seats to hear Joel share from the book of Matthew. He talked about how we all need to make sure that we know that we are going to heaven when we die. Following the message, 7 people rededicated their lives to the Lord! 

Saturday morning dawned clear and unseasonably cold as the early morning temperature hovered around 40 degrees.  By the tournament’s end, the mercury would top out at 57 degrees.  In between, rain fell on most of the lake for several hours, but it didn’t dampen the bite. 28 out of 35 teams were able to bring in 5 fish limits and many reported catching dozens of bass on the day.

Long time Fishers of Men anglers Alfred Goldsberry and Steve Curtsinger brought in the heaviest stringer of the day. They were able to junk fish their way to a 17.39 pound bag of largemouth bass. Curtsinger and Goldsberry reported catching fish on jigs, Carolina-rigged plastics, and a few key fish on a 3X Elaztech Finesse Worm rigged on a Shaky Head. Along with their win, they received first place in the Bonus Bucks. They were rewarded with $1,685.00 and plaques provided by Awards, Inc. in Glasgow for their win.

Following up their victory in the last Kentucky West tournament, the father and son team of Kenny and Josh Hardin finished with a strong second place weight of 16.89 pounds. The Hardins reported catching their fish on points and inside the coves on Attack Pak Salty Sink Worms rigged on a Shaky Head. Kenny attributed part of their success to the Dixie Custom Rods that were built for that purpose. They earned $584.00 on the day.

Ken Freeman and Steve Haysley continued to climb in the points standings with a third place finish. They were able to bring 15.48 pounds to the scales using jigs tipped with Strike King Rage Craws and Strike King Finesse Worms on Shaky Heads. Freeman reported fishing the mid-depth range to catch their fish. Including their second place in the Bonus Bucks, they received $577.50 on the day.

Richard Bowling and Jarrod Simpson continued their consistent season with a fourth place finish that would vault them into the lead in the points race. They caught their 14.67 pounds of bass on Shaky Head worms fished in the smaller cuts. They also reported that fishing around wood as one of their keys to success. They received $310.00 for their efforts.

Rounding out the top five was the team of Rick Brammer and Jim Oliver. Brammer and Oliver reported catching one fish on the early shad spawn pattern on a spinnerbait. They then slowed down to catch their limit that was anchored by a 5 pounder using Shaky Head worms in the mid-depth points and bluffs.

Come on out to Kentucky Lake on June 3rd and join us for the fourth 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 Pittsburg Marine, A.F. Crow and Sons Funeral Home, Mark Miller Marine, Barren Outdoors, Grayson County Baptist Association, LHI Lighting Sales Incorporated, Awards Inc., Fishidy, L&M Custom Bass Snacks, Piccola Manufacturing, Barren County Business Supplies, and Coon Creek Custom Baits.

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	21485		5	4.51	17.39	0	17.39	200
2	21491	Kenny Hardin Josh Hardin	5	0	16.89	0	16.89	199
3	21486	Ken Freeman Steve Haysley	5	0	15.48	0	15.48	198
4	21478	Richard Bowling Jarrod Simpson	5	3.17	14.67	0	14.67	197
5	21475		5	5.03	14.52	0	14.52	196
6	21429	Steve Denton Lloyd Easterly	5	0	13.88	0	13.88	195
7	21435		5	4.58	13.85	0	13.85	144
8	21472	Jerry Hogue Steve Prewitt	5	0	13.51	0	13.51	193
9	21482	Jared Elmore Ricky Elmore	5	5.15	13.35	0	13.35	192
10	21489		5	0	13.02	0	13.02	191
11	21432	Lee Bishop Mike Miller	5	0	12.83	0	12.83	190
12	21175	Greg Gibson Ted Myers	5	0	12.71	0	12.71	189
13	21488		5	0	12.41	0	12.41	188
14	21431	Chris Ring	5	0	12.31	0	12.31	187
15	21434	David King Brian King	5	4.83	12.26	0	12.26	186
16	21474	David Lowe John Rediess	5	0	11.92	0	11.92	185
17	21490		5	0	11.78	0	11.78	184
18	21481	Trey Rigsby Andy Spencer	5	0	11.68	0	11.68	133
19	21477	Timmy Gaddie Clint Childress	5	0	11.66	0	11.66	182
20	21476	Michael Shelton Troy Shelton	5	0	11.61	0	11.61	181
21	21480	Kyle Lear	5	0	10.72	0	10.72	180
22	21483		5	0	10.5	0	10.5	179
23	21180	Jack Jones	5	0	10.49	0	10.49	178
24	21870		5	0	10.37	0	10.37	177
25	21181	Cory Holman	5	0	10.28	0	10.28	176
26	21430	Edwin Jerriel Jim Hatfield	5	0	10.24	0	10.24	175
27	21182		5	0	9.29	0	9.29	174
28	21867		4	0	8.84	0	8.84	173
29	21730		5	0	8.24	0	8.24	172
30	21727		4	0	8.1	0	8.1	171
31	21487	Bob Floro Mike Floro	4	0	6.77	0	6.77	170
32	21433	Cory Jones	3	0	4.85	0	4.85	169
33	21733		2	0	3.61	0	3.61	118
34	21484	Eldon Newcomb	2	0	3.06	0	3.06	167
35	21176	Jeff Boone Eddie Goode	0	0	0	0	0	116
Elmore & Elmore - 5.15 lb big bass Oliver & Brammer - 14.52 lbs Bowling & Simpson - 14.67 lbs. Haysley & Freeman - 15.48 lbs Hardin & Hardin - 16.89 lbs Curtsinger & Goldsberry - 17.39 lbs