California native, Skeet Reese, finished in fourth with a total four-day weight of 90 pounds, 7 ounces. Knowing he was fishing for second place, as Florida's Bobby Lane had the top spot sealed up by day three, Reese decided to fish shallower than most. He was fishing a variety of baits including the Lucky Craft RC 2.5.

"I weighed in a few fish on the RC crankbait, the one I threw on Lake Guntersville," Reese began. "I moved around a lot, running and gunning the whole time - three days of practice and all four days of the tournament. I covered a lot of water, and the area on the lake where I was fishing was more conducive to fishing shallow. I was trying to find the fish moving on top of breaks to feed."

Reese moved around a lot but revisited various locations throughout the day. Sometimes the fish would bite early in the morning while other times they waited until later in the afternoon. He fished main river channels, grass beds and shell beds in 4- to 10-feet of water.

Using a 7 1/2-foot glass rod and 10- to 12-pound fluorocarbon, Reese burned the 2.5 through his key areas. He also fished a few other baits including a worm.

With high expectations of himself, as well as the pressure of high expectations from others, Reese admitted he was disappointed that he couldn't quite grab on to second place on Kentucky Lake.

"I knew Bobby [Lane] had first [place] wrapped up, but I really wanted to finish second," Reese said. "That was my goal, but I didn't get it so I'm disappointed in that. But it was a great tournament, and it gave me great points. I am only about 15 points behind Kevin VanDam in the Angler of the Year race."

Reese and his fellow competitors are currently practicing for the tournament on the Mississippi River. Back-to-back tournaments can be tough, but this late in the season, all the anglers have kicked it into high gear.

Lucky Craft's Kelly Jordon finished in the top 10 with a three-day total of 85 pounds, 3 ounces. He bounced around all four days fishing deep ledges with the Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 and a spoon. The Texas resident moved around a lot during the tournament, making long casts with the D-20 and bouncing it off the bottom.

"The D-20 is a great bait," Jordon said of the Lucky Craft crankbait. "It goes deeper than any other bait out there. I can get it down there quicker, and the fish can find it better. That's key to catching them really well."

Despite losing some large fish in this tournament, Jordon still managed to bring in 18 pounds, 3 ounces on day one; 26 pounds, 5 ounces on day two; 19 pounds, 12 ounces on day three and 20 pounds, 15 ounces on day four to finish eighth.

Shad pattern colors were key for Jordon this week while using the D-20. He caught all his fish on Saturday on the crankbait using 10-pound fluorocarbon and a 7-foot medium-action rod. Grinding the bottom was key because it would cause the bait to deflect, and according to Jordon, the D-20 "does a great job of wandering around near the bottom."

Jordon isn't exactly looking forward to his next tournament on the Mississippi River but knows it is important nonetheless. He was looking forward to fishing grass, but with the flooded conditions right now, he isn't sure that will happen.

"It's another event, so I'm going to be ready, but I'm not sure what there is for me to look forward to just yet," Jordon admitted. "It's a big X factor right now, and none of us are too sure what to think. If it happens to be a grass bite, I'll be really happy about that, but we'll have to wait and see. If it's high and flooded, that won't work, and it'll be a completely different ball game for us."

Lucky Craft's Gerald Swindle finished ninth overall with a total four-day weight of 84 pounds, 6 ounces. After three successful days of practice near New Johnsonville, Swindle had his game plan mapped out and stuck with it all four days of the tournament.

"I learned how to fish the grass up there last time I was there for a Central Open tournament," Swindle said. "I knew it was going to be a cranking bite. I looked for shell beds in front of grass all week long and threw the Lucky Craft RC 2.5 DD every day. I caught almost all the fish I weighed in on that bait."

Swindle used the Sexy Chartreuse Shad and Copper Perch colors all week. Early in the mornings when it was cloudy, he'd use Sexy Chartreuse Shad, and when the sun came out, he'd switch to the Copper Perch. He was throwing the crankbait on a 7-foot, medium-heavy cranking rod with 10-pound fluorocarbon.

"I liked the fluorocarbon because it enabled me to rip the bait of the grass because it doesn't stretch," Swindle added.

Swindle weighed in more than 19 pounds a day to finish in ninth, and although he isn't completely happy unless he wins, he was satisfied with his tournament on Kentucky Lake.

"I generally always finish somewhere between 25th and 35th on this lake," Swindle said. "I usually do pretty well, but I usually never have the opportunity to make the big cut. This time around, I didn't have any prior help, and I made the cut fishing a lake that doesn't fit my strength."

Swindle feels good about the upcoming tournament on the mighty Mississippi.

"I've fished some pools way up north, and it should fish the same where we'll be this week," Swindle said. "The water is pretty muddy for this time of year, and the fish seem to be positioned on wood. I think it will fish small, and I plan to make a big run. This is my kind of tournament. I like it mentally, because it's going to be tough on everyone."

A 25th-place finish for Lucky Craft's Takahiro Omori felt more like a victory for the Texas resident, as he had to fish outside his comfort zone and head to deep water. After fishing deep in practice, Omori knew he would have to stay out during the tournament if he wanted a shot at it, so that's exactly what he did.

"I had to fish deep humps and points, and I was throwing the Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 in Aurora Black," Omori said. "I also threw a big worm and a Carolina Rig. I basically stayed in 15 feet of water to find big schools of fish on the main lake."

While fishing underwater points, ledges and areas with stumps or brush piles, Omori used the D-20 on a 7-foot cranking rod with 10- to 12-pound fluorocarbon. It was a good tournament for Omori as he weighed in 16 pounds, 9 ounces on day one, 22 pounds on day two and 17 pounds, 7 ounces on day three for a three-day total of 56 pounds.

"The first day, with 16 pounds, I wasn't in the top 50," Omori said. "The guys just caught them really well. Definitely more than I thought they would. On day two, I came back with 22 pounds and moved up. The big fish just showed up in my area that day. I probably caught more fish in this tournament than in any other tournament before. I had more than 100 fish the first day, probably 80 on day two and around 40 on Friday. That's a lot of bass in three days."

Fishing this time of year and fishing deep usually proves troublesome for Omori, but after finishing 25th, the Lucky Craft pro was pleased.

"This was a win for me," Omori said. "I feel really good about it. I'm sitting around 36th right now in the points, so I'm right on the border for the Classic."

Omori has a chance to move up in the points this weekend as he heads to the Mississippi River. He believes this body of water will suit his style of fishing and is hoping for the best; even though he has never been there.

"I'm going to practice hard for the next three days," Omori said. "I'll find something I can do well with, and practice will be key for me."

Casey Ashley fished ledges all week with the Lucky Craft Flat CB D-12 and finished 37th. He caught more than 200 fish a day and wore out two crankbaits before starting on two more. He fished the D-12 in Chartreuse Shad and Chartreuse Light Blue.

"That was my main bait the whole time," Ashley said of the D-12. "I was making long casts, fishing secondary ledges with hard places on the bottom. My best area had a break from 8 to 12 feet with a hard spot on the bottom, which was probably shell or rock. I made 50 straight casts and caught one every time, sometimes two at a time."

Ashley was throwing the D-12 on 10-pound fluorocarbon on a 7-foot medium rod. This year's tournament on Kentucky Lake was a lot better than 2008. Ashley was glad to have survived, and is happy it has been a year of redemption for him on several lakes he had trouble on in the past.

"I feel good about this tournament," Ashley said. "I caught 17 pounds a day for the most part, and that's about as good as I can do. I didn't lose any fish that would have helped me, and I had a blast catching so many fish each day."