Quick Bites: FLW Kentucky Lake, Day 1

FLW Kentucky Lake, Bailey bolts into fourth, the lake of 2,000 games, and the five-fish blues

Coming in fourth for the pros was Lee Bailey Jr. of Amston, Conn., with a limit weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Photo by Jeff Schroeder.

May 12, 2004 • Patrick Baker

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Kentucky Lake, Benton, Ky.

Opening round, Wednesday

FLW Kentucky Lake: On a bolt and a prayer … Lee Bailey Jr. raised a proud fist Wednesday after weighing his 17-pound, 14-ounce sack of bass that ultimately put him in fourth place heading into day two. However, the expression “up a creek without a paddle” jumped out of the common vernacular and into the real world for the Amston, Conn., pro, nearly stealing his moment of triumph. “There’s a story to those, too,” he told the crowded tent of bass-fishing fans. “I caught these fish at 11 o’clock.” Not too long after landing the impressive fish, Bailey said he noticed his boat “felt a little funny” so he looked back at the motor, which was sitting crooked. “I had one bolt holding my motor on.” He said he and his co-angler, Charles Pearson of Auburn, Ala., went to the marina at Turkey Creek, but nobody was available to fix the problem professionally. Pearson said he prayed they’d make it back to FLW Kentucky Lake in time. In a situation that would make TV’s MacGyver proud, some men in the area were able to provide a quick fix by stabilizing the motor with a bolt from the dock allowing Bailey to head back to weigh-in at about 3 p.m. “It ain’t a pretty ride from there to here in an hour with two bolts holding your motor on,” he said. But the fourth-place finish at the FLW Kentucky Lake was a beautiful way to end the day.