This week on Kentucky Afield.

We're in the boat on Kentucky Lake and bass fishing with the state champions Muhlenberg County.

Then we'll show you a technique that you can use to put yourself in position to catch more fish.

It's all next on Kentucky Afield.

Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

Becoming a state champion at any sport or activity takes hard work and practice, and bass fishing is no exception.

We're out here this morning on Kentucky Lake and I'm with a familiar face, Cody Napier.

Cody, how are you doing this morning?

Doing great, man.

You█re with Muhlenberg High School, you█re the bass fishing coach.

And we've done shows you guys before.

You guys have truly created a dynasty down in Muhlenberg High School when it comes to bass fishing.

You've won another state championship this year, haven't you?

Yeah, it was, again, another blessed year God has blessed us with and just thankful for another season that, uh, these boys pulled it off.

Yeah.

So this is your 11th year as coach at Muhlenberg County High School.

How many state championships have you guys got in that time?

This is our fifth one.

Fifth.

Tell me a little bit about the two guys that won the state championship this year.

Yeah, so Brock Vincent, Dade Vincent, which they're not brothers or they're not related, but they always say a brother from another mother.

These two boys has put probably the work in more than anybody I've ever seen putting the time in on the water in the offseason, practicing, preparing these guys has worked hard and deserve to win, you know, and to be where they're at today.

Yes baby!

Yes!

give me some!

Give me some, baby.

Man!

Yes.

I couldn't be more proud of these boys and the hard work and time they put in.

It's made my job a lot easier to coach them.

You can tell one they're passionate about fishing, but they don't mind trying new things and picking up different rods and making different casts or a different approach toward fish.

And really, that's what it takes to be good.

Anything you do in life, you've got to practice it.

And that's what we do with Muhlenberg County.

We spend time in the spring season during the week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We█ll go up Lake Malone, put the trolling motor down, say, “All right, we're going to spend time flipping or we're going to be spending the time cranking or spinner biting, flipping,” whatever it is.

And that's all we do for 2 hours or two and a half hours.

And it puts time on the water.

And these kids are preparing for, you know, the regional and state championship.

And hopefully, Lord willing, we'll try to put some fish in a boat today and again, just thankful for the community and, you know, all our sponsors that helped get this this thing going.

I'm just appreciative and thankful for that.

Well, congratulations on another state title and I'm excited to get to meet these guys and hopefully see them catch a couple fish today.

Got one?

There he is.

Largemouth.

Oh, yeah.

Good Largemouth.

Good one.

That's a good fish.

There.

What that hit, a swim bait?

Yep.

Now that fish there would be a keeper.

The day of the tournament.

Mm.

How many over 15 inch fish did you think you caught on day one?

Think we had over 21 keepers before 10:00.

That's a nice fish.

What do you think that one there weighs?

He█ll go close to 3 pounds probably.

Yeah right at 3 pounds.

All right.

Nice job.

We're making some lure changes here.

I'm actually going to put a crank bait on.

Tell me a little bit about how you got into fishing.

I really started at a young age like everybody else.

I bluegill fished in every creek, pond, puddle, everything I could find.

I love fishing in it.

And it just grew into something bigger and better.

And about 9, 10, I was really brought into the bass fishing, you know, tournaments, the bigger lakes, and it just took off from there.

Now, had you done any tournament style fishing prior to high school?

I had not fish tournament until my freshman year, no.

Tournament fishing is just so different.

Yeah, it is.

There's a there's a lot of lot more preparation than just going out to have fun.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, hey, you got a fish being hooked.

Oh, come off right there behind you.

So you guys have kind of you have a special friendship.

Were you friends prior to being on the bass fishing team together?

Actually, I had not talked to him before we got on bass team.

In the first meeting we all sat in there, sat down.

I sat next to him and, well, it's been downhill ever since.

So you guys get along really well?

Yeah, we.

We do just about everything together.

Well, let's go catch a few more fish.

All right?

Largemouth.

No?

Smallmouth.

Little small mouth.

I'll tell you what a lot of people overlook Kentucky Lake for small mouths.

It'd be a little short for tournament day wouldn█t it?

There's a bunch of them in here, though.

Oh, yeah.

Yup.

Good one?

Yeah.

Not bad.

Man, that was like the first cast on the spot.

Uh, yeah, I got a net.

Yeah that is a good fish.

Striper.

Look at him.

What?

What do you know?

You do have a good one.

That is really cool.

Not exactly what we're going for, but, man, those are always fun to catch.

Brock, have you caught many of those down here before?

Never got one.

Never?

Never.

Well, can't say that any more.

No.

I'll tell you what.

Those things are really fun.

Really, really fun to catch, they fight don█t they?

I've never caught one of these.

Sweet.

Yeah, I got one.

Good one?

I don█t know.

It don█t feel good.

Yeah he█s still on there.

Oh, it's a walleye, a sauger.

You've caught two of the best tasting fish.

Look at this.

I got one too.

Got one?

What█s the chances we got two sauger?

Oh, yeah.

We'll take that.

Look at that.

Look at that.

Well, want to trade poles?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Two of my favorite eating fish is what you got on right there and a striper.

There you go keeper Largemouth.

Well now we've got a couple pretty good fish and throwing really big crank baits.

Look at there, a sauger.

Very nice That's a good sauger too.

That's a good one.

That█s a really, really good sauger.

Ya█ll eat those?

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

I'll tell you right now, that is as good as it gets right there.

Stick your finger in there.

Yeah.

People see us throwing Sauger back and striper back they'd be like, “Those boys must not eat.” Good bass.

Good bass.

There you go.

He hit it twice.

There you go, got yourself a four pounder.

Sometimes the best way to coach is show them how to do it.

There we go.

That's a nice fish.

Way to go, man.

That's the best one of the day.

That's a good one.

That's a good one.

Got a good fish?

We got them on now.

Look at that.

Big old small mouth, baby.

That is great.

Hey, you know what?

This is a perfect example of tournament fishing.

We've been fishing around- We've been catching some fish.

That█s right.

Literally back to back.

You guys would have, what, eight, eight and a half, 8 pounds?

It can happen that fast.

That last two or 3 minutes of tournament day.

A lot fo tournaments have been won right then.

He tells all the time.

He says, “I've won more tournaments on my last cast than I had my first.” Yeah, that's a really good fish.

Oh, fish on.

It is a smallmouth.

Fat too.

There you go.

Look how short and fat that thing is.

So fat.

Congratulations on being the state champion.

You and your partner won the high school bass fishing state Championship for Muhlenberg County.

So how long you been fishing now?

For over four years.

Over four years.

For the school.

Okay.

So were you fishing before?

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Who got you into fishing?

My grandpa.

Your grandpa, okay.

What do you like about high school bass fishing?

I really love, like, tournament fishing , you know, just, you know, just competition.

Yeah, in general.

And then also doing, you know, getting able to go on the weekends, doing what I love more than anything else.

I love being on the water.

So you and dade, you kind of became friends through fishing, right?

Oh, absolutely.

I wonder I mean, well, you guys have the same friends circles before?

You think you█d ever become good friends had it not been for fishing?

The fishing has 100% made us a whole lot closer.

Yeah.

And, you know, we spend a whole lot more time together.

Well, I tell you what, I always enjoy coming down here and fishing with, you know, the state champions.

It seems like quite often it's a high school team from Muhlenberg County.

You guys are doing something right.

Yeah.

So keep up the good work.

And, you know, hopefully, hopefully you'll still remain a part of the Millburn County community.

And you know what?

Maybe one day you'll be a boat captain.

Yeah, I'll definitely give back to the team, 100%.

Well, hey, it's been a blast being out with you guys, and I've had a good time meeting you guys and fishing with you.

No problem.

Thank you for coming.

Located in Pulaski County is Rock Castle River Wildlife Management Area.

This WMA is nearly 3000 acres and offers excellent hunting and fishing opportunities.

This property consists of mostly wooded areas with some open fields and a handful ponds.

You'll be excited to hear that this WMA is open under statewide regulations for all game species, but there is no ATV camping, horseback riding or rock climbing allowed on the property.

For those upland bird and rabbit hunters, you must check in and out at a kiosk using a hanging tag.

Remember that wildlife management area users must abide by the Kentucky Hunting, trapping and fishing regulations.

Also, keep in mind that regulations on WMA█s often differ from statewide regulations, so be sure to review the hunting guide or website for the specific WMA that you are hunting.

And for more information about this WMA or the latest regulations or restrictions that pertain to it, visit our Web site at FW.KY.GOV or call 1800 8581549.

Are you looking for more casting distance and strength from your fishing line?

Well, here's an option you may want to look into.

Well, I am super excited to be hitting the water today.

Today's fishing trip, like most fishing trips, a lot of time starts right here.

And that is the planning stage of the fishing trip.

Right now is where I'm kind of thinking about where we're going fishing, what gear and equipment we're going to need and what type of tackle we're going to be throwing.

Another important thing to consider is fishing line.

Man there's a whole host of different types of fishing lines out there, different colors, different pound weights, different materials.

Really you've got three or four different materials that the vast majority of the fishing lines are made from.

And each one has its own unique reason that you'd want to own it or use it for fishing.

First off, you've got monofilament line.

It's been around forever.

If you've fished a few times in your life, you probably have used Monofilament Line.

It is absolutely great for pan fishing and if you're pulling a bait that's moving through the water where you'd want it to have a little bit of stretch and a little bit of give.

Great for throwing a crank bait.

Great for throwing something like a spinner bait.

Something that you want a little bit of give.

A lot of times that's what you use a monofilament line.

It also is pretty forgiving.

Secondly, now you have fluorocarbon.

Fluorocarbon is something that was introduced years ago for saltwater but has become super popular with freshwater fishermen.

Now, what's different about a fluorocarbon line?

Fluorocarbon line is almost completely invisible.

It does not absorb any water and it doesn't hardly stretch.

Fluorocarbon line, If you go to set the hook you rear back and you hit one with fluorocarbon line.

It's not hardly stretching, very little stretch right to the bait that increases your hook ups.

But fluorocarbon can be a little harder to use.

It has a little more memory, kinks a little bit crimps in there.

If you get a knot and try to pick it out, it's not as forgiving.

And then you've got braid.

Braided fishing line It's something that most fishermen use some form or fashion of braid.

And the reason they use it, it is so incredibly strong.

And the pound test, meaning the weight, the load that it will hold for the diameter of the line, is really, really, really, really strong.

Meaning you can make a real long cast.

It is abrasion resistant, almost no stretch like fluorocarbon.

Even more so when you set the hook, man, they are on there.

So it gives you a lot of things to think about when you go fishing next time to try to decide what the best fishing line for you, or there's an option to use a combination of two.

And that is something that I'm starting to see a whole lot more out in the fishing world, especially with professional fishermen or guides.

I see them using a combination of braided fishing line to a leader, and that leader could be mono or fluorocarbon.

And I'll tell you what, that's something that's getting more and more and more popular.

One of my good fishing buddies uses this technique a lot.

I would consider him an expert at this.

And we're going to catch up with him.

We're going to learn a little bit more about this trend of throwing a braided fishing line to a leader and find out exactly why it works well for him and find out if it might be something that works well for you as well.

We're out here today at Taylorsville Lake fishing with my good buddy Bill.

Now, Bill, I've noticed for a couple of years now, a lot of times we've got fishing in most applications.

I see you throwing a braided line to a leader.

Tell me exactly why you do that and what type of knot do you like to tie to a join the two lines together?

It took me a while to find the right knot and the right combination.

But it saves you.

Saves you line.

Braid can last a year.

Turn it over, last another year.

You may go through one quality spool of fluorocarbon a year.

You can literally flip the bell on this, take a new reel, run it in the eyelets and literally real it off of one reel right onto the next.

And what you've done is you've taken the outside line that you've been casting and throwing.

You've reeled it on to the back of the spool, and now you're casting the line that was on the bottom.

And it's never been used.

Never.

It's never been used.

So you can literally get two years pretty easily out of a good thing of braided line?

Oh, easy, easy.

And you can use just instead of using multiple spools a very costly fluorocarbon one spool a year a 200 yards spool can last you a year.

Yeah.

Oh, it's unbelievable.

Plus, you don't have the breakage.

If you were to use straight braid.

Straight braid is not real abrasion resistance, but with fluorocarbon leaders, fluorocarbon is very abrasion resistant and you get the same feel probably better feel out of the braid to fluorocarbon as you would monofilament or straight fluorocarbon.

So you're getting much longer casts much longer, much better hooks.

Yes.

Let's go ahead and rig a couple up and show me exactly how you do the FG knot.

First, I start out my braid, basically put it around my pinky finger like that, and I take my fluorocarbon and I tie the knot in the end of it because it slips out of my hands all the time as I pull up.

on this side of the line face the side of the fluorocarbon wants to face you.

You go over to over and under one side, over and under the next side, and do that 20 times.

This side to this side.

This just keeps switching sides.

Okay.

And on the sun line site, you can see the line, the knot actually in slow motion.

So I have four wraps right there.

five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

I do 23 wraps on that.

So 16 to 20 some low twenties and I'll lay the fluorocarbon parallel to the braid.

Take my tag end, put it over away from the body, over both lines and just cinch it down, cinch it down against my wraps.

Do it a second time.

In the sun line schematic It says five or six cinches, I just do 2.

Okay.

And then I grab my line, I wet it and I'll pull it tight.

I want to set the knot you set it almost to the breaking point and you grab your fluorocarbon end right when it comes out of the wraps and cut it as close as possible.

Take your tag end and go over your braid twice.

It's like that.

I grab my mouth, I pull all three lines, and then I cut my tag end.

I cut it about a eighth to a quarter inch.

It doesn't hurt nothing.

They used to just cut it even.

But there's a little slippage in your not so little tag and gives you a little buffer.

You know, basically it'll slip just so far and that's it.

And it won't bother you.

It'll fray a little bit, but it won't bother the cast any.

How much you're going to go from your connection point, how much you're going to use.

Okay, I'll bring it all the way.

About halfway between the last eye in the spool about right there, that connection point.

Then I'll grab the fluorocarbon, I'll bring it right below my spool, my reel, and I'll cut it.

And she's ready to go.

On many of these line manufacturers, they'll recommend different knots on this one.

It actually says the Albright Knot.

Now, Albright Knot works really well.

One of the things I've noticed about the Albright Knot is that it has a little thicker knot than the FG knot that your tying.

What does that little bit thicker knot do to you?

The thicker the knot the more is going to hit your guides.

By doing this particular knot you get a little less resistance going through there less resistance.

I mean, I have tried all kind of knots.

I've tried the Albright knot, whatever you feel is best for you and you tying you have confidence in is in knots you should use.

This just works for me, period.

Well, let's go catch a fish.

Let's do it.

Oh, here he is.

The second that thing hit the water.

The second you threw out there.

Yeah.

Son of a gun.

You need a net?

No he's little.

White bass.

Now, I'll tell you what.

That thing jumped way out there.

Had to make a real, real long cast.

It's one thing.

Braid's really good for is long cast, I was able to get the cast right to it.

Man it smacked it as soon as it hit.

This fish here is a little small.

We're going to throw this one back in, not quite big enough.

Oh, what do you got there?

A small one.

He's real small.

Is that a... That's a crappie!

You got you a crappie?

Hey.

Yeah, there you go.

I don't believe it was going to be long enough, but you know what?

A pretty little crappie though.

White crappie, can't beat that.

One or two years, right?

Yeah, that's only got about one or two, one or two.

There they are!

They're busting out there.

They're busting.

See em, see em, see em, see em?

Oh, yeah.

They're busting.

There you go.

Oh, there he is.

Got him?

Yeah.

That's a little better than the first one I caught, oh yeah he's better.

He's just coming at me when he's doing that.

Oh yeah, he's a better fish.

You need a net?

I think we will, that's got a lot of trebles in it.

Yeah.

There you go.

Yeah.

There we go, got it.

Nice.

That's a pretty good one there, though.

It's probably 13, 14 inch fish.

Yeah.

Well Bill, I have to say, I've seen you tie this knot several times and I've seen you catch a lot of fish on it.

It works extremely well, I am convinced.

Yeah, Chad it works for me and I hope it works for a lot of other people.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun.

And this week's Ones that didn't get away.

Check out this small mouth buffalo that was caught on Lake Cumberland by Josh Hughes.

This fish was caught on a floating worm.

Nice job.

Ashley Cain caught this nice largemouth bass at Peabody WMA.

This fish weighed over four and a half pounds.

Congratulations.

Check out this beautiful bluegill that was caught by trimming a gumtree at Cave Hollow Bay and Noland Lake.

Nice job.

Sadie Montgomery caught this nice largemouth bass while fishing with her mom, Brittany and her sister, Kaylee.

They were fishing in a private farm pond in Boyle County.

Nice job.

Here we have Ron Clay toes with a nice 15 inch crappie that was caught on Cave Run Lake.

Nice job.

Here's Caitlin Rhys with a nice brook trout that was caught and released on the Cumberland River.

Nice job.

Here we have a couple old friends of mine.

Here's Darryl Swift with a nice smallmouth bass and his son, Jason Swift, while fishing at Lake Cumberland.

Nice job.

Now, here's a pretty unique fish.

Here's Ezra Casey with a nice bowfin that he caught in Panther Creek.

Nice job.

Check out this beautiful 40 inch striper that was caught by Austin Bussell.

This fish was caught at Lake Cumberland while fishing was striper king Guide service.

Nice job.

Check out this beautiful largemouth bass that was caught by Regina Horton at a private lake in Corinth, Kentucky.

This fish was caught while using a Whopper proper.

Nice job.

Now that summer is here and the kids are out of school.

Take advantage of some of our beautiful state parks and wildlife management areas.

And remember hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

And I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.

Do you like to fish in Kentucky?

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You can even save your fishing license.

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What are you waiting for?

Download it from your app store and go plan your next fishing adventure.

Right now, let's go.

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