Big Boats, Baby Bass At Lewisville Elite 50

This week, the Bassmaster Elite 50 pros explore a Texas lake that has never seen a Tour-level event before. Lake Lewisville, just minutes north of Dallas–Fort Worth, is the site of this year's third E50. The

event begins tomorrow (Wednesday) and concludes Saturday.

The lake has a reputation as a party lake, and the pros have had a lot of boat traffic to deal with – especially during practice on Memorial Day weekend. The fish are post-spawn but seem to be recovering, although they haven't fattened up yet after their spring rituals.

So far the talk is that the lake is a tough nut to crack – at least for bites over 2 pounds. No grass and shallow fish in wake-muddied water has stymied some pros. They're still trying to put things together after they raked the lake for 2 days with everything that just might provoke a bite.

Still, according to locals, the lake has some big fish in it – we're talking 8- to 10-pounders. But they're hard to come by this time of year, so it'll be interesting to see what shows up on tournament day.

BassFan Lake Profile

Before getting into that, here's a look at the lake:

> Lake Name: Lake Lewisville
> Type of Water: Impoundment on the Trinity River
> Surface Acres: 29,592
> Primary structure/cover: Rocky points, stumps, laydowns, brush, roadbeds, humps
> Average depth: About 15 feet
> Species: Largemouths and spotted bass
> Length limit: 14 inches
> Reputation: Recreational lake, a few big fish, fishes shallow
> Weather: Mostly sunny and warm
> Water temp: 72-78 degrees
> Water visibility/color: Heavily stained, 1 foot or less
> Water level: normal/full
> Fish in: 1 to 8 feet of water
> Fish phase: Post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Flipping, spinnerbaits, jigworms, crankbaits and Carolina rigs
> Winning weight: 33-35 pounds (final 2 days)
> Cut weight (Top 12): 24-26 pounds
> Check weight: n/a (everybody gets a check)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 (but no one has any history here)
> Biggest factors: Boat traffic, transitional fish, hole course
> Wildcard: Offshore hotspot, big-fish bite, schooling fish

Lewisville gets intense pleasure-boat and jet-ski traffic on the weekends as the herds of city-dwellers from nearby Dallas-Fort Worth descend to party. Since it's an Army Corps of Engineers lake, the 233 miles of shoreline are barely developed, which means there aren't many docks and seawalls.

The deepest part of this 51-year-old impoundment is about 60 feet – on the southwest side of the dam. According to former guide and local angler Thad Rains, most fish are caught with the boat in 8 feet and casting shallower. Fish frequently hold in 2 feet or less here. Sometimes the riprap and bridges hold good fish, and fishing deep beneath schooling fish can produce some bigger bites.

Right now the lake is full and holding, which has submerged terrestrial vegetation -- brush and weeds -- that had grown up while the water was down. There isn't any aquatic vegetation to speak of.

Rains thinks some 20-pound bags are possible, but doubts repeated daily weights in that class will show up at the scales.

Fritts Frustrated

The structure lake David Fritts expected to find had him salivating for that deep bite he likes to get on, but after a full day spent offshore, he's not so excited now.

"I fished deep all day (Sunday) and caught just two bass," he said. "It's been tough on me. I think the fish live shallow here. There's some good structure, but the fish aren't on it. It makes me sick because it looks so good. Guy Eaker said he thinks there's not enough oxygen deep, so the fish stay shallow."

Fritts tried to fish shallow on Monday, but managed just four or five bites. "I think there'll be a lot of fish caught, but I'm not sure I'll be the one to catch them. Gary Klein said the fish stay shallow here, and I think I'll have to just keep moving and cover a lot of water. I'm really disappointed because even with all the pretty structure in this lake, they just aren't out there."

Biffle and Scroggins Searching

Tommy Biffle described Lake Lewisville as two small lakes joined together, but still only about 10 to 12 miles long.

"The water is off-colored and basically just shallow," he said. "There are some old, dead trees and some bushes that just about don't have any water on them. A foot more of water would help a lot. The banks are pretty bare. You can't even get up in the rivers, and the creeks are small and shallow. It's going to fish really small.

"It's kind of tough on me right now," he added. "I haven't had many bites."

The hole course is the entire arm of the lake above the I-35E bridge, which is a fairly large area. "That's quite a bit of water to take out of this lake," he noted.

Terry Scroggins agreed it's a slow bite. "There's no grass, very few docks – just not a whole lot to fish," he said. "It'll fish small. The bottom is real clean. Everybody's trying to figure out what to do with it.

"It's kind of hit and miss," he added. "The boat traffic is muddying up the shoreline. It was rough out there the last 2 days – just nonstop. But I have a few fish found, and we'll see what happens when (the tournament starts)."

Wirth, Evers Looking At Limits

Kevin Wirth and Edwin Evers think limits won't be a problem. Kicker fish will be tough though.

"You can catch a lot of fish, but it's hard to catch anything over 2 pounds," Evers said. "I think there'll be a lot of limits. I've caught them every way you can want to catch them – from 20 feet to 6 inches (deep). The key will be figuring out how to catch some better quality fish."

Like Evers, Wirth has caught enough fish to think limits won't be a problem. "So far it's been pretty good for me," he said. "I may have a good tournament if I can get fortunate. I'm guessing 22 to 24 pounds will make the Top 12."

The fortune he referred to has a lot to do with crowding. "I think there's a good possibility that the guys who find the fish will have them spread thin between them," he said. "There's not much to fish. The old Lake Dallas is flat with almost no contours, though the new lake does have some structure. I've been around the whole lake four times and still haven't burned a tank of gas."

Just Cover Water

As Evers pointed out, almost anything will catch fish if you're around them, but the same baits won't get a sniff if you're not. The deep-structure bite apparently is very weak, even on some of the long, sloping points that extend 100 to 150 yards out.

Probably 90 percent of the field will fish shallow, and the main technique will be to cover as much water as possible and throw at everything that might shelter a bass. "The main cover is just whatever's in the water," Evers said. "It's a pretty good fishery with a lot of fish in it. It's just hard to find fish of any size."

Notable

> Jay Yelas has a good feeling about this one. For his report, click here to go On Tour With the BassFan Big Sticks.

> All E50 events feature a cut to 12 after day 2, then a cut to 6 after day 3. Weights are zeroed after day 2 and anglers compete on a hole-style course where they rotate through six pre-designated fishing areas.

> The lake-record bass is 11.34 pounds, caught in 1995, though several bigger fish are rumored to have been caught but not certified.

> BassFan's Top 10 to Watch at this event will be posted tomorrow.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

Pros launch at 10 a.m. from Sneaky Pete's on Eagle Point Drive.

Weigh-ins are at Lewisville Lake Park on Lake Park Road. The day 1 and 2 weigh-ins take place at 7 p.m. The day 3 and 4 weigh-ins will take place at 7:30..

Weather Forecast

Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the tournament days.

Wed., June 1 -- Scattered T-Storms -- 84°/67°
> Wind: From the NE at 6 mph

Thurs., June 2 -- Mostly Sunny -- 87°/70°
> Wind: From the S/SE at 9 mph

Fri., June 3 -- Isolated T-Storms -- 85°/70°
> Wind: From the S/SE at 11 mph

Sat., June 4 -- Isolated T-Storms -- 86°/70°
> Wind: From the South at 12 mph