Plenty To Do At Pickwick To Kick Off Second Half

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

There is no shortage of options for FLW Tour competitors this week at Pickwick Lake – and that could be a blessing and a curse.

There are fish shallow, some residents and others guarding fry. There are fish in the milfoil and hydrilla beds, which have sprouted up as lush as some can remember for this early in the year in a long time. And, of course, there are some schools of fish that have made their way out toward the famed river-channel ledges that were once part of an unexplored landscape. Now, as Scott Suggs – and many of his competitors share his view – put it, “There’s not a ledge here that’s not known now. This should be called the Lake of No Secrets.”

When Greg Hackney won the Pickwick FLW Tour in early June 2014, he caught all of his fish in water no deeper than 6 feet. Having a school of fish – deep or shallow – all to one’s self is a rarity at Pickwick, or anywhere on the Tennessee River, and that’s the sort of area someone may need to stumble upon this week.

Much like last month, when how the Beaver Lake FLW Tour played out revealed some clues as to how Bull Shoals Lake and Lake Norfork would set up for the Elite Series, last week’s Wheeler Lake Elite Series may offer some insight for this week’s FLW Tour stop at Pickwick. Thinking back to how Hackney caught his fish 2 years ago reminded some of how Takahiro Omori loaded his boat last week at Wheeler en route to his first Elite Series win.

Practice for the Wheeler event had competitors all twisted up and baffled about which spawning phase most of the bass were in or transitioning to. Practice at Pickwick left some scratching their heads as to which basket they should put more eggs in. Some are going to junk-fish from the get-go and see what direction that takes them.

This week’s tournament will fall right in the middle of a spring warming trend that will see temperatures top out in the upper 80s by Sunday, but the real issue will be the wind, which is due to blow mostly out of the west with some intensity for the duration of the tournament. It’ll be blowing against the current and will impact boat position and lure presentations, two vital ingredients to having success at Pickwick.

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

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake Name: Pickwick
> Type of Water: Big main-stem Tennessee River impoundment
> Surface Acres: 43,100
> Primary structure/cover: Rocks, humps, current breaks, ledges
> Average depth: 15 feet
> Species: Largemouths, smallmouths, spotted bass
> Length limit: 12 inches for spots and largemouths, 14 inches for smallmouths
> Reputation: Emergence of aquatic vegetation in recent years has greatly improved the overall quality of the fishery. Holds some bruiser smallmouths that can prove unpredictable – current is usually the key.
> Weather: Some clouds on Thursday, then 3 days of sun and 80-degree conditions. Winds will be persistent out of the west all week.
> Water temp: Low to mid 70s
> Water visibility/color: Typical for Pickwick. Most of the lake has 3 to 4 feet of visibility.
> Water level: Just below full pool; has dropped a foot in last week.
> Fish in: From bank out to the ledges; grass is holding fish as well
> Fish phase: Some pre-spawn, some spawn, some post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Fishing ledges with cranks, jigs, big worms and spoons, running banks with power presentations, topwaters
> Winning weight: 80 pounds (4 days)
> Cut weight (Top 20 after 2 days): 35 pounds
> Check weight (Top 50 after 2 days): 26 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Pickwick
> Biggest factors: Crowds – the best fish tend to be tightly grouped at this time of year
> Wildcard: A shallow-water pattern that will hold up for 4 days.

Here’s a close-up look at Pickwick Lake, thanks to Navionics:

Different Vibe

The way Cameron Gautney sees it, Pickwick isn’t the same as it was this time last year, or the year before that or the year before that. Sense a trend? Gautney is the reigning Angler of the Year in the BFL Choo Choo Division (Lake Guntersville) and holds the division’s top spot again this season through three events. He also guides at Pickwick and says the fishing has been good, partly because the winter was so mild.

“Pickwick is totally different,” Gautney said. “It’s fishing like it’s never fished before. Part of it is because of the weird spring. Normally, right now we’re having a flood. Instead, we had that in December.”

A little bit of rain fell during practice, but nothing that muddied the waters or spurred a revamped power generation schedule by the TVA.

“Pickwick is all about water level and I think some fish spawned deeper than normal,” he added. “We’ve had a warm week, then a cold week, then our water would be a foot high and then 2 feet low.

“Usually at this time of year, we see big waves of fish move up. This year, it seems like a bunch of small waves came up at different times.”

Shallow’s An Option

With fish spawning at Pickwick typically into June, the backs of creeks and pockets are likely still holding fish that are getting ready to spawn or guarding fry. Gautney believes the flipping bite will be good enough to convince some this week to not bother with the ledges.

Two weeks ago, Gautney caught an 11.23-pounder, his personal best, out of 6 inches of water. He went back to the same spot last week and caught a few more good fish. That was an indicator that more fish had moved into the area, a trend he expects to continue.

“There are still some up there, but also some out deep as well,” he said. “There will be a lot of things for guys to do.”

According to some competitors, there may be too many options to be able to get dialed in on one particular pattern. Gautney thinks the winner this week will have a combined shallow/deep game plan that should involve some time spent fishing grass.

“The key during the tournament will be the grass,” he said. “It’s better than it’s ever been at this time of year on Pickwick. There will definitely be a ledge bite, but a lot of secret holes aren’t so secret anymore. The grass bite will play a key role and so will the secondary stuff. It won’t be all about the main schools on the main lake because I don’t see all the fish being out on the main lake yet.”

Anglers are permitted to lock through to Wilson Lake this week, but Gautnet sees it as a high risk-limited reward move.

“Wilson has good fish in it, but they are more 4-pound range fish and it doesn’t have the numbers Pickwick has,” Gautney said. “Plus, it’s much smaller so if a lot of boats lock through, it can shut down a little bit.

He said locking through back from Wilson could be a risky scenario depending on barge traffic.

“When Wilson and Pickwick are on, you can’t beat Pickwick, especially when they’re out and when they’re in the grass,” he added.

Second-Half Surges

Three down, three to go.

The stretch drive of the season begins this week and those who find themselves on the Cup bubble or below know time is running out to improve their standing. The same goes for anglers within striking distance of the Angler of the Year title. On-the-water decisions become more important with each passing day.

Some will look to gain some momentum and then build on it a month from now at Kentucky Lake. Currently, the group on the outside of the Cup cutoff includes Cody Meyer, David Dudley, Anthony Gagliardi, Larry Nixon, Bryan Thrift and reigning Cup champion Brad Knight.

Last year, Scott Martin was 11th in points after three events before surging to the top at the end. Ramie Colson, Jr. came from 50th to 35th over the final three tournaments a year ago to clinch a spot in the Cup, an event he nearly won.

The race at the top of the standings is pretty tight with 19 points separating leader John Cox from Martin in 5th.

Notes from the Field

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

Stetson Blaylock
“For some reason, I hardly ever catch them in practice and I hardly go into a tournament 100 percent sure what I’m going to do. This one is no different. I’m struggling to get bit. I was bouncing in and out, but I was not finding fish out and the ones I’m catching shallow are non-keepers. It’s been hard to catch keepers.

“I know the fish are in between phases. It’s May and I know we haven’t had many 80-degree days at home. It hasn’t been a warm spring or early summer. That’s why I think the lake’s way behind. I don’t think as many have spawned as people think. I think a few guys will catch them out, but it’ll be on little subtle places between the ledges and the bank. If you don’t know those little shell beds and offshore spots not on the ledges, it’ll be hard.

“As far as the last 3 years are concerned, I haven’t fished a Tennessee River Lake where they haven’t been on ledges – that’s all I’ve done. It’s not that I’m not confident, but I’m not confident here when they’re not spawning or out on ledges.”

Cory Johnston
“It’s tough. In talking to a lot of guys who fish here a lot it’s the toughest they’ve seen it. There are fish to be caught, but they’re few and far between. It’s a real good lake when you look at it on a GPS. If they were set up on the ledges, we could have a lot of fun, but they’re just not out there. Very few are.

“I’ve never fished the Tennessee River in the summer. The only other time I did was in the fall. It’s definitely a different new learning curve to figure out what these fish do after they come off the spawn. Hopefully things will come together.

“The problem is I’m catching fish doing a bit of everything. There are fish on beds, some guarding fry, some in the hydrilla. They’re not concentrated anywhere or around one or two things. I’m going to probably do some junk-fishing, but I hope to put some finishing touches on something deep because that’s where the bigger fish are, especially on the Tennessee River. If I can find something where the fish will be coming to you rather than leaving the shallows, that’ll be key.”

Scott Suggs
“The thing about this one is what you tried to practice on and what you tried to do, if you did it on the main channel it was okay the first 2 days and part of Tuesday, but now with a north-northwest wind at 10 to 20 (mph), that will change some things because you won’t be able to fish up-current. It’s fixing to flip-flop everything and it could make things tougher.

“You can catch them doing so many different things, but catching consistent quality and running with it is a pretty tough deal right now. You can pick something up and fish shallow all day and catch a pile, but they won’t be big ones, but you could stick with it, or you could fish the grass. Either way, you have to commit. Because of the wind, I’ll be doing a lot of junk-fishing. If the wind settles, I will try to fish out some.

Jay Kendrick
“I’ve caught a couple really good fish and three limits Monday morning, but none were big fish – just swimmers. I’ve been down on Pickwick and fished Wilson on Monday just trying to come up with an alternate plan. I have some big fish located. I just hope they stay there and no one else finds them. I caught one between 9 and 10 Sunday and another in the same general area that was pushing 6. The big fish was still pre-spawn with no red tail and a monstrous belly. The other one had a bloody tail and was long and slender, so there are fish going in both directions.

“I think I can come up with a couple of big fish, but I’m more concerned with coming up with five. I need to figure out how to catch 3-pounders. All I’ve caught are 1 1/2s and 5 or bigger.”

Michael Wooley
“It’s been on the tougher side. We are smack dab in the middle of the transition. It was the same at Kentucky Lake last week (for the FLW Series). It limits the number of holes you can fish. I like to fish offshore the whole time and there’s not near as many out there as there will be in a few weeks. It doesn’t leave many to go around. You have to make sure you go to the right one.

“I’d say somebody’s going to stumble onto some big weights. It’s Pickwick. It’s always going to take some good weight to win. There’s a little bit of shad spawn going on so there will definitely be some big ones caught off that in the mornings.

Pickwick has a ton to offer right now. There is a lot of grass, which could be a big player this week, and it has the ledges. There’s still the shallow bite so there are three of four different deals. It’s going to suit a lot of people’s styles. It won’t be strictly offshore.”

Troy Morrow
“It’s not the Pickwick I expected. The ledge thing hasn’t fired up yet and it seems like some of the guys have found the very, very few schools that are out there. As much as I love that fishing, I gave up on it and invested time in other places. I viewed is as there being six or sevens schools, what are the chances of me actually getting to fish one?

“I’ve never seen this much grass in the lake. I think it has snared a lot of the post-spawn fish and that could be holding up the ledge bite. The thing is they’re not grouped up in the grass.

“The shad spawn will be the most important thing. If you don’t catch a big one right off the bat, you’re in trouble. I think it’ll hold up all week, but the biggest issue is it’s so brief. You’ll be trying to capitalize in those first 30 to 40 minutes.”

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 – He’s sitting in 15th in points at the halfway point of the season, with the next two derbies on the Tennessee River, his wheelhouse. He has multiple Top-5s to his credit, including a runner-up effort in 2014 when Pickwick turned into a shootout.

2. Randy Haynes – He lives on Pickwick just over the border in Tennessee and has made it his personal playground for years. He’ll be looked at as a heavy favorite not only this week, but at Kentucky Lake as well, and he could use a strong finish after the start he had (a 72nd at Beaver Lake was his best result).

3. Jason Lambert – Has yet to finish better than 117th this season, but this is his backyard and a big opportunity to salvage something positive out of the season. He finished 8th in the Tour event at Pickwick in ’14 and has multiple Top-10s and a couple BFL wins on the lake.

4. John Cox – It doesn’t seem to matter the venue or type of fishery, Cox is absolutely dialed in this year. The 2014 Tour event at Pickwick was the last time he missed the money in a full-field event and it would be considered an upset if he didn’t find his name on a paycheck this week.

5. Andy Morgan – After two finishes in the 40s to start the season, the three-time AOY notched his 31st career Tour/Cup Top-10 at Beaver Lake. He has three Top-40s to his credit at Pickwick, including a 6th in 2014. Regardless of the bite, it’s a safe bet he’ll find a productive pattern.

6. Scott Canterbury – Fresh off his first Tour win, he gets to come back to his home state with a chance to back it up and continue his climb up the points standings. He’ll need another solid outcome this week – and likely two more to finish up – to shake the effects of his dud (138th) at Okeechobee.

7. Mark Rose – Typically among the most feared anglers on the Tennessee River, half of his six FLW wins have come at Pickwick (2011 is most recent). He’s looking for his first Top-10 finish since April 2014.

8. JT Kenney – As good offshore as he is in tight to the bank, he started and finished strong at Beaver (5th) to start erasing the sting of a 100th-place result at Hartwell. He loves the Tennessee River and the next two will make or break his season.

9. Wesley Strader – A Tennessee River lifer, Strader’s finishes have progressively improved this season and he's safely inside the Top 25 in points now. His drive to qualify for a 16th career Cup begins this week.

10. Alex Davis – He’s turned in two bombs after finishing 2nd at Okeechobee to start the year. He understands the Tennessee River – he guides at Guntersville – and needs to take advantage of the next two events to have a shot at making the Cup in the season finale.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

> Anglers will launch all four days at 6:30 a.m. CT from McFarland Park (200 Jim Spain Drive, Florence, AL). Weigh-ins on days 1 and 2 will get under way at 3 p.m. CT at McFarland Park (same address). Weigh-ins on days 3 and 4 will get under way at 4 p.m. CT at McFarland Park (same address).

Notable

> Jay Yelas is hoping to put together a mixed bag on day 1 Thursday. His practice improved as the days went by. To read more about the Tour vet's practice summary, click here.

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., May 5 – Mostly Cloudy - 68°/47°
- Wind: From the NW at 10 to 20 mph

> Fri., May 6 – Clear - 75°/52°
- Wind: From the NNW at 10 to 15 mph

> Sat., May 7 – Mostly Sunny - 85°/59°
- Wind: From the WSW at 10 to 15 mph

> Sun., May 8 – Partly Sunny - 87°/61°
- Wind: From the WSW at 10 to 15 mph