> What: Bassmaster Eastern Open
> Where Cherokee Lake (Jefferson County, Tenn.)
> When: Thursday through Saturday (Oct. 29-31)
>At stake: A top prize of $35,000
> What they’re saying: “The lake is (several) feet higher than normal for this time of year, and obviously, the more water you have, the more places fish can be in,” said Bassmaster Elite Series competitor David Mullins. “That makes it tougher this time of year because it doesn’t condense them as much as it would when the water’s lower. The fish are probably more scattered out than they are in a normal year. I would rather fish in really low water than really high water. It gives the fish fewer options to be on (various spots). In the last seven or eight years, the smallmouth population here has tripled. We used to never fish for smallmouth at this lake and now there are so many, it’s hard to beat them when the conditions are right. I would normally say all smallmouth would win (in the fall), but with the water being warm and high, I think you’ll see more mixed bags come into play. You can catch smallmouth here until it gets hot in the summer and then it seems that they disappear until the water gets cold again.”
> Previous high-level event at Cherokee Lake (Bassmaster Elite Series): Feb. 9-12, 2017
> Winner: Jacob Wheeler (69-13, 4 days)
> Click here to read about Wheeler's Winning Pattern.
Some of the information above was taken from a B.A.S.S. press release.
