Chick Fight: Quality's There, But Timing's A Key

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

There aren't many lakes in America to which the phrase "any cast can result in a 10-pounder" legitimately applies.

Chickamauga Lake, which rarely garners the attention as some other lakes along the Tennessee River, is now on that select list, thanks to the convergence of several factors that have allowed the lake to blossom into a bass-fishing jewel. The prodigious stringers that came out of the lake this spring during the pre-spawn have some thinking the Tennessee state record largemouth (currently 14-08, 1954) will be pulled from its waters in the not-too-distant future.

Since the early 2000s, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has conducted a stocking program at Chickamauga that introduced Florida-strain bass to the lake. Couple that with the resurgence of aquatic vegetation throughout the lake and a more-than-ample supply of forage and anglers have themselves a playground where a 20-pound stringer is considered just an average day's work.

"Earlier this year, I caught some of the healthiest pre-spawn largemouth I've ever seen," said Rogne Brown, a longtime bass guide at Chickamauga and other TVA lakes who set the BFL single-day weight record at Chick in March with a 40-14 stringer. "I was catching 6-pounders with 3-pound mouths. We caught 18- to 20-inch fish that weighed 6 pounds. It was incredible."

Some big sacks are expected to show up this week as the FLW Tour concludes its season at Dayton, Tenn., along the banks of Chickamauga, but heavy rains recently that caused flooding upstream at Watts Bar Lake and Fort Loudon have amped up the current flow through Chickamauga to the point where the bass have scattered out a bit from their normal locales for late June.

Typically at this time of year, anglers can bank on finding schools of fish bunched up on main-river bars and ledges, much like other TVA lakes. But this week, coming off the rare super moon of last weekend, the fish aren't gathered as tightly as some would expect them to be. If the current flow slacks off – it dipped overnight Monday and should continue to taper down provided no more rain falls – it should allow some of the fish to school up again to become easier to target, but that's not a guarantee.

At the same time, the numbers of schools just doesn't equate to places like Kentucky Lake or other TVA lakes, which means Chickamauga is going to fish small and decision making will be paramount, especially with an Angler of the Year award and Forrest Wood Cup berths hanging in the balance for many pros. It's expected that boats will be bunched up on certain areas, which makes boat draw an influential element this week. Draw a late number on day 1 and some may be forced to activate Plan B right out of the gate or wait it out until others fold.

Still others might take advantage of Watts Bar being available as locking between lakes will be permitted for the tournament. It's safe to say the stage is set for a dramatic finish to the season.

The forecast is calling for some potentially volatile weather through the weekend with temperatures approaching 90 degrees. It's likely the field will see a thunderstorm or two during the course of the event.

In September 2010, Mark Rose won an Eastern FLW Series event at Chickamauga with 56-15 and 7 months later, Cliff Pirch caught more than 77 pounds to win the Tour event there in mid-April 2011, when the water levels fluctuated dramatically. Pirch won't be back to defend his title, as he moved over to the Elite Series this season, but it's expected to take at least 75 pounds and probably more to hoist the trophy this week.

Before getting into more about the bite, here's the lowdown on the lake itself.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake Name: Lake Chickamauga
> Type of Water: TVA impoundment
> Surface Acres (full pool): 36,240 acres
> Primary structure/cover: Ledges, humps, sunken islands, docks, brush piles, points, grass flats
> Primary forage: Gizzard shad, threadfin shad, various shiners, juvenile panfish
> Average depth: 18 feet
> Species: Largemouths, spotted bass, smallmouths
> Minimum length: 12" spots, 15" largemouths, 18" smallmouths (1 per angler)
> Reputation: Decline in vegetation knocked it down a few rungs years ago, but it has come back with a vengeance. The pre-spawn bite this year was legendary and there's plenty of big-fish potential. It's not as big as other TVA lakes and schools aren't as numerous and will likely fish small this week.
> Weather: Expected to be hot with chance of thunderstorms all the way through Sunday.
> Water temp: mid 70s to low 80s
> Water visibility/color: 2 to 3 feet in most places, clearer toward dam
> Water level: Full pool
> Fish in: 12 to 30 feet
> Fish phase: Post-spawn/summer
> Primary patterns: Crankbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits, Carolina rigs, big worms, some topwater
> Winning weight: 80 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 20 after 2 days): 35 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3.5 for Chickamauga
> Biggest factors: Patience. Who can wait them out the longest and fish with blinders on?
> Biggest decision: When to leave a spot and lose your place in a rotation for another school that may have just been fished out.
> Wildcard: Watts Bar Lake. While most believe Chick will produce the winning fish, someone could gamble and get away from the crowds upstream.

Current Affairs

So what happens to the fish at Chickamauga when the current flow is as strong as it's been this week? Typical heavy flow coming out of the Watts Bar Dam is in the neighborhood of 35,000 cubic feet per second. From 2 a.m. Sunday until 1 p.m. Monday, it held in the 47,000-cfs range before dipping down to 38,000 late Monday night.

It came down even more Tuesday, but it remains to be seen how quickly the fish will re-adjust. According to Brown, such strong current can shift the fish around and break them up into smaller groups. He thinks it might even bring the shallow grass into play.

"Things are a little different this year," he said. "We've had so much rain. The flood gates have been open and they're pulling two to three times more current than normal. That's put some fish in the grass and made some ledges not as good as they usually are. If it stays this way, there's a chance it could be won out of the grass, but the ledge bite normally at this time of year is outstanding. Right now, though, it's not what it normally is."

That sentiment was echoed by a number of pros who struggled to find much in the way of fishable schools out deep in practice.

"There are so many 3- to 4-pounders out there, somebody's going to catch them every day," Brown insisted.

If the fish don't gather back up on the bars and ledges, an alternative could be to find some green stuff. In the late 1980s, the lake had a fair amount of milfoil and coontail, but the TVA did a massive spray that killed virtually every piece of vegetation in the lake.

"Nothing would grow in the lake, period," Brown said. "It's like they dropped a bomb in it."

A few years ago, the coontail, a native grass, started sprouting up again and over the past 3 years, hydrilla has started to take off, Brown added.

"The grass hasn't spread through the whole lake and even some of the hydrilla flats are going to fish small," he said. "With all of the current and rain, you're not going to have as many ledges that are holding fish. It's going to fish smaller the normal even without all of the rain."

Race To The Top

This week marks the end of the road – and all the accompanying drama – for those anglers pursuing the coveted AOY title. A lot of the chatter coming into the finale is that it's Andy Morgan's title to lose, which is a logical statement considering he'll be sleeping in his own bed this week as Chickamauga is his home lake.

But Morgan's lead over 2nd-place and 2010 AOY Bryan Thrift is just 9 points, so there will be no breezing to victory as Thrift is coming off consecutive runner-up placements at Lake Eufaula and Grand Lake.

If both Morgan and Thrift flat-out stumble, which is unlikely, it'll open the door for the next wave of contenders. Jacob Powroznik (3rd, 19 points behind Morgan) would love to seize the AOY crown after placing 2nd last year. Brent Ehrler relinquished his lead at Grand Lake and dropped to 4th, but his 23-point deficit is not insurmountable. Stetson Blaylock is enjoying a career year and sits in 5th, 32 points behind Morgan.

It'll be interesting to watch how day 1 unfolds for all of the AOY contenders and whether they alter strategies on day 2 in the interest of points.

Up For The Cup?

A bit further down the standings ledger is a group of anglers anxious and presumably a bit nervous for the season finale to get under way. They're the guys who will be watching the standings each night to see if they've done enough to clinch a berth in the Forrest Wood Cup. Some might've generated spreadsheets of the different scenarios that need to play out for them to make it.

As it stands right now, rookie James Biggs, in 39th place with 724 points, would be the last qualifier based on points after factoring in double qualifiers. The group between 40th and 50th includes some heavy hitters who don't figure on going quietly. Here’s how 40th through 50th looks in the standings:

40. Scott Suggs: 722 points
41. Scott Martin: 722
42. Dave Lefebre: 715 (Cup-qualified through FLW Tour Opens in 2012)
43. Todd Hollowell: 713
44. Jim Moynagh: 705
45. Fred Roumbanis: 703
46. Brent Long: 699
47. Ramie Colson, Jr.: 696
48. Peter Thliveros: 695
49. Clent Davis: 694
50. Chad Grigsby: 687

Suggs and Martin are former Cup winners who've had up-and-down seasons so far, while Hollowell is trying to recover from a 90th at Grand Lake. Moynagh, who was in the mix for AOY a year ago, followed consecutive finishes in the 90s with a 17th at Grand to get back on the Cup bubble.

Roumbanis will look to carry the momentum from his 4th-place finish at the Mississippi River Elite Series over to Chick as he seeks to clinch his first Cup berth. Long is a two-time Tour winner (one was at Guntersville) who needs to shake off a 113th at Grand. Colson is trying to lock up his first Cup berth since 2009 while Thliveros is looking to crack the Top 40 for the first time this season.

Davis, last year's Rookie of the Year, has alternated money finishes with bombs all year and following a 93rd at Grand, he appears due for a check this week. Grigsby started fast with a 9th at Okeechobee and 32nd at Smith Lake, but two placements in the 100s (Beaver and Grand) has him in a dog fight for his fifth career Cup berth.

Notes from the Field

Following are practice notes from a few of the anglers who'll be competing this week.

Brent Ehrler
"It hasn't been great. I've caught some fish, but it's not too exciting. It always seems to be that way for me. The thing I don't like right now is – and it's been this way all season – is the weather and everything is so messed up. It seems like we can't show up for a tournament and go 'the fish are doing this and I'm going to do this and try to do well.' From the start, the fish have been up and out and up again and out again and all over the place. It's no different here. There's so much current, it's hard to find them right now. It's always something. It's ripping so fast, it's ridiculous. There's a not a lot of fish out and there should be. If it were a normal situation, there would be for sure.

"Last week, I fished Kentucky Lake just for fun and there were schools everywhere. I told myself I'd catch them deep here, but there's just not a lot of schools and tons of crowds. I guarantee every fish I found deep has been found by somebody else. Long story short, I'm just a little confused right now. I came here thinking I'd be able to catch some 3- to 5-pounders just running around fishing, but I haven't done that yet. I don't see myself catching a 20-pound stringer right now. They'll be caught, but it won't be me right now."

David Dudley
"The quality of fishing here is going to keep the weights up. This lake is awesome. I'm going to be fishing both deep and shallow because I hate, hate, hate structure tournaments with a passion. It's really one of my favorite things to do, but for the tournament scene, I hate it. I can't tell you how much I hate it. My blood pressure goes up every time we go somewhere like this in the summer. Everyone's worried that other people have found the same stuff and you worry about boat draw. You could be someone who’s really good with your electronics and say there's 30 schools on this lake and you've found 20 of them. That doesn't mean a hill of beans if you draw boat 150. I just don't think it showcases an angler's skill. It just means he got boat number 20.

"I think the weights will be really high because of the quality of fishing here. It's like Guntersville a few years ago. I think it'll take 85 pounds to win. It's got some grass, but I haven't see any matted grass. It might have some up the river, but I didn't go all the way up."

Andy Morgan
"I'm struggling. I haven't figured a whole lot out and that's about what I thought was going to happen. It's not going to be easy at all. Chick's not a very big place. (Watts Bar) was on my mind and that might be a sneaky little place to go, but I didn't do my homework up there and I didn't go and I'm kind of regretting it now. That's a possible sleeper spot. It's not near the fishery that Chickamauga is, but the advantage is not many people will be there.

"Chickamauga is becoming the new Old Hickory, which is the shadows of Nashville. Chick's in the shadows of Chattanooga and it gets a lot of pressure now. I don't know right now what the deal will be, whether you need to dedicate yourself to one spot or move around. I'm not sure it's going to be possible to move around because everyone's going to be doing it.

"I fished shallow a little but I didn't catch anything I'd consider putting in the livewell. That was one of my fears – not catching them shallow while everyone's out deep. It's crowded, but if it's crowded for one, it's going to be crowded for all."

Matt Arey
"I've never gotten to see this lake from an offshore standpoint for a post-spawn summer deal. I don't like it just because it's the wrong time to be here. It's going to fish too small. The other day I found a school and got four or five bites right away in this off-the-wall place. I decided to leave it and I couldn't have gotten more 300 yards away and two different locals pulled up on it within 90 minutes. There are no secrets here.

"I think the shallow bite will be a wild card. I decided to fish deep because that's where I think it'll be won. I just need to catch the right kind of fish. Practice has been tough so far. I've found a couple of schools, but I'm sure others have found them, too. Over the first 2 days, I was on the water for 25 hours and I found three schools of tournament-quality fish.

"The other thing is I'm not seeing them stacked up real good and that's maybe because of the current. I don't think they're used to this much current. It's going to be interesting because it's going to fish so small. I think there's going to be some confrontations."

Terry Bolton
"The fishing isn't quite as red-hot as it has been. There seems to be a lot of 3- to 5-pound fish in it. For a lake that has a lot of fish in it, there are periods during the day they do a good job of hiding. You can fish around and catch a 12- or 13-incher and then catch a 5-pounder. The quality of fishing is good and just because you're around little ones doesn't mean you won't catch a big one.

"It's like everywhere else in America, though, because everything's a little behind. Here we are in late June, but it's fishing like early June. You still have a lot of fish in transition and fish still making their way out and going places. I don't think a lot of good fish have gotten all the way out. The grass is shorter than it usually is this time of year.

"I've caught a fish at a lot of different depths and caught some nice ones. I'm hoping things will clear up for me. There seem to be some places with big schools of fish, but everybody's going to find them. There are no secrets on this lake and you have to plan for an early boat number and a late number and figure out something to get some bites.

"It's been different fishing it with the current because it has positioned the fish in different places. It makes some of the stuff hard to fish because this place is narrow and the current just rips through."

Top 10 To Watch

With the above in mind and more, here, in no particular order, is BassFan's recommendation on the Top 10 to watch at this event:

1. Michael Neal – Has fished Chickamauga since his early teens and knows about every ledge in the lake, according to Brown, his uncle. He's on the bubble to make his first Cup (37th in the points) so he's hoping to put his home-water advantage to good use.

2. Andy Morgan – Like Neal, he has a wealth of info about the lake and how the fish set up under different sets of conditions, deep or shallow. Add to that his pursuit of a first AOY title and this has the makings of a special week for one of the most consistent pros of his era.

3. Mark Rose – Hmmm, a summertime tournament on a TVA impoundment. Sounds like a perfect scenario for Rose, who won an FLW Series event at Chick in September 2010. Sitting 15th in points, so it would appear he's a safe bet to lock up a trip to Shreveport for the Cup.

4. Shin Fukae – Has only banked one check this season and is coming off a 115th at Grand Lake, but he was 2nd at Chickamauga in 2011 and Tennessee's been good to him recently (he won the Douglas Lake PAA earlier this year).

5. Wesley Strader – Currently 32nd in points, he'd love to wrap up a 13th career Cup berth on his home waters. Has seven Top-10s in FLW competition, including two BFL wins, at Chickamauga and Watts Bar combined.

6. Randy Haynes – If Rose is expected to do well, BassFans can expect his good pal Haynes will likely catch 'em, too. Few are better anywhere on the Tennessee River and he'll go for broke offshore this week as the Cup is out of reach for him.

7. Bryan Thrift – Few catch them as consistently as Thrift does at such a diverse array of fisheries and we expect his success on TVA lakes (avg. finish: 29th, three Top-10s) will carry over to this week. He's 9 points back of his pal Morgan for AOY so he'll need to be on his game from the get-go.

8. J.T. Kenney – He's really taken to the offshore structure, read-your-electronics game over the past few years and he's excelled on TVA lakes. Back-to-back Top 10s has him back in contention for a Cup berth (38th in points) and it'll take at least a Top 50 to stay there.

9. David Fritts – Sitting 35th in points, the cranking tactician has enjoyed a solid season, but needs another Top-40 finish to secure a Cup berth.

10. Jason Christie – A great offshore angler, but also likes to pick apart shallow cover as well. If the shallow-water fish play like some say they will, he could be a factor for sure.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

> Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET all 4 days from the Dayton Boat Dock (175 Lakeshore Drive, Dayton, Tenn.). Weigh-ins on days 1 and 2 will get under way at 3 p.m. at the Dayton Boat Dock (same address). Weigh-ins on days 3 and 4 will start at 4 p.m. at the Walmart located at 3034 Rhea County Hwy. in Dayton.

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., June 27 – Clouds with chance of thunderstorms - 89°/71°
- Wind: From the WSW at 7 to 12 mph

> Fri., June 28 – Variable clouds with thunderstorms likely - 89°/69°
- Wind: From the WSW at 5 to 11 mph

> Sat., June 29 – Partly Sunny - 88°/63°
- Wind: From the WNW at 4 to 6 mph

> Sun., June 30 – Partly Sunny - 87°/64°
- Wind: From the W at 3 to 6 mph

Notable

> Luke Clausen isn't enamored with much of what he found in practice while Jay Yelas thinks he can put together enough bites for a Top-20 finish. To read more about their practice recaps in BassFan's Pro View Reports, click here.

> Brown said his guiding schedule for Chickamauga for next January, February and March is filling up fast and he expects to see plenty of out-of-state plates at the boat ramp in the spring 2014 based on how well the lake is fishing this year. BassFans can click here to learn more about his guide Tennessee River Guide Service.