Harold Knight Makes B.A.S.S. Top Five on Kentucky Lake
Harold Knight is most well known for being co-founder of Knight & Hale Game Calls, one of America’s premier hunting brands. But deep down, the inventor and promoter said he has always wanted to be a professional fisherman.
Last weekend, Knight was able to live that dream as he finished in fifth place in the B.A.S.S. Northern Tour event on Kentucky Lake. Knight weighed in a five-fish limit all three days of the tournament and finished with 46 pounds, 11 ounces. He earned $6,930 for his efforts and was less than three pounds away from winning the tournament (won by Jason Sain with 49-9).
“To me, it was a dream to get to fish in this tournament and compete against these guys,” said Knight, who spends more than 100 days a year hunting and filming his TV show “Knight & Hale’s Ultimate Hunting.”
“I feel real good about what I did. My goal was to catch a limit every day and average 15 pounds. If I did that, I felt like I could win it.”
Knight actually exceeded his pre-tournament goal by nearly two pounds, but fishing was phenomenal on Kentucky Lake. He said a dead fish weighed in during the first day and a couple of lost fish on Day 2 really hurt his chances of winning.
“I hooked that first fish in the tongue on the first day, and I knew it was going to be an iffy deal,” he said. “I almost gave him mouth to mouth. I didn’t lose any fish on the first and third days. But on the second day, I lost a nice fish on an XCalibur Jimmy (chrome/blue) that was a good 4-pounder.”
Knight said he ran his Triton boat about 120 to 130 miles each day to catch his fish. When he wasn’t running, he was definitely catching fish. He caught 60 on Day 1, 50 on Day 2 and 40 on Day 3. He said the fishing became a little tougher each day, but he was able to catch his limit by throwing a variety of lures.
In addition to the topwater pattern, Knight relied on jigs to catch his keepers. He utilized a BOOYAH Swim’n Jig (1/2-ounce, Black Blue) to catch many of his fish. He also used a BOOYAH ½-ounce Football Jig Head, which he complemented with a homemade skirt.
Line-wise, he used 17-pound Silver Thread Fluorocarbon on a G. Loomis rod.
“I will say this, that Silver Thread Fluorocarbon is the best that’s out there,” he said. “For me to do well in this tournament, my equipment had to work, and it did in every situation.”