The Bassmaster Elite Series returns to Clarks Hill along the Georgia–South Carolina border this week. It's the third time BASS's premier circuit has come here in as many years, although that doesn't mean much for the field.
Mike Reynolds won in 2004, but that event was in March. He fished up the river in muddy water and beat the main-lake pre-spawn bite.
Last year, Davy Hite worked a combination – a swimbait and oversized Buckeye Mop jig – to win on schooling post-spawn fish.
The problem this year is timing. When Hite won, the fish had already spawned and were grouped up in feeding mode. Right now, there are fish trickling into and out of the bedding areas, but the majority are post-spawn.
That means they're scattered willy-nilly.
Add the complication of a severe weather system which came through earlier this week – with residual winds that swamped the field on Monday – and everything stacks up to be pretty darn tough.
BassFan Lake Profile
> Lake name: J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir (Clarks Hill)
> Type of water: Lowland reservoir
> Surface acres: Approximately 70,000 (1,200 miles of shoreline)
> Primary structure/cover: Points, channels, ditches, hydrilla
> Primary forage: Shad, blueback herring
> Average depth: Fairly flat and tapering (sharp breaks are rare), averages 30 to 40 feet
> Species: Largemouths (that act like spots)
> Minimum length: 12 inches
> Reputation: A numbers lake with tons of 2 1/2- to 3-pound fish. Quality stringers can be caught in key areas.
> Weather: After severe wind on Monday, the weather stabilized with sunny to partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures. Weather is expected to stay stable throughout the week, with daily highs near 80 possible by Saturday.
> Water temp: 57 to 62 degrees and climbing
> Water visibility/color: From gin-clear to muddy in the river
> Water level: Normal
> Fish in: All depths
> Fish phase: All phases, but mostly post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Moving baits like spinnerbaits, cranks, topwaters, soft-plastic jerkbaits, and swimbaits, plus jigs and some plastics
> Winning weight: 64 pounds
> Cut weight (Top 50 after 2 days): 19 pounds
> Check weight (Top 50): 19 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Clarks Hill
> Biggest factor: Schools – when will the post-spawn females group up?
> Biggest decision: Whether to focus on an area, or run and gun. Also, whether or not to invest time into sight-fishing.
> Wildcard: Big bed-fish – they likely won't last, but a few on day 1 might be the deciding factor down the stretch.
Move and Groove
With the current state of the bite, it certainly favors anglers who like to fish fast (think Kevin VanDam). And that works two ways. Anglers who fish fast in competition should have the advantage, but anglers who fished fast in practice should have an edge too.
That's because Monday was pretty much a washout. The severe wind forced the field into any protected water they could find, and many felt is was a giant waste of time. That left everyone with only a day and a half of practice.
Also keep in mind that there's a distinction in "fishing fast." An angler could fish fast through a large single area, or run from spot to spot and fling a few casts.
It's impossible to say right now which way the event will go – toward a run-and-gun or toward an "area" approach.
The Spawn
Reports do say some fish are on the beds, but nearly everyone feels the event won't be won with sight-fishing. First, fish that were there yesterday probably won't be there tomorrow or Friday. And since the first wave has already spawned, the fish that are there tend to be smaller than the big females that are already spawned and gone.
The conditions should be conducive to sight-fishing though – plenty of sun and light winds.
It's a definite wildcard at this point, but it's looming out there – especially in regard to sight-specialists like Dean Rojas, Kelly Jordon and others.
In Limbo
Probably the biggest factor, at least right now, is the potential for things to change every day. The females that have spawned are off the bank and recovering.
Davy Hite won Clarks Hill last year, but he did it on a schooling bite.
Any day they could mass into the well-known Clarks Hill schools. When that happens, they'll show up in predicable locations to crash bait up top. Then they'll settle back down and become difficult (but not impossible) to catch, until they feed again.
But the schools of fish just don't suddenly show up. They begin to form groups, then join with other groups, and so on. If that's already happening, or starts to happen as the week moves on, an angler could easily get on a secret school and go to work.
Ashley on Clarks
Two rookies in the field stand out for their prior experience on Clarks: Jason Williamson, who lives on the lake, and Casey Ashley, from nearby Donalds, S.C.
But according to Ashley, prior experience doesn't count for much under these conditions.
"We're a week early," he said. "You catch one here, and then one yonder. There's not really going to be a pattern to be honest.
"I had a decent day (on Monday)," he added. "I caught probably 20 fish, but there wasn't any size. (Yesterday) I tried something different and had some bites. There's lots of fish on beds, and they're going to continue to come, but it won't be won sight-fishing. They trickle-spawn here a lot – they're here one day, gone the next."
He did note the topwater bite is working to some degree, but overall, he thinks it's all about covering water.
On what he thinks the weights might look like, he said: "I'd estimate it'll take 14 to 15 pounds a day (to make the Top 12 cut). This lake's full of 3-pounders. Whoever gets the 4-pound bite, that'll get them up there. But that's not easy to do."
For comparison, Hite won last year with 71-12 (an 18-pound average), and it took 40-04 to make the Top 12 cut on day 3 (a 13 1/2-pound average).
The year before, Reynolds won with 52-11 (about 20 pounds less than Hite's total).
More Confusion
Two other anglers BassFan spoke with are still scratching their heads. One is Jared Lintner, who finished 7th here last year.
"It's warming up and I'm running around trying different things in different areas," he said. "I can't figure out if they're inside or outside. I've seen fish up, but not locked on beds. They're decent ones, but they're just cruising around and not committed to anything."
He spent some time fishing dirty water up the river too.
"I think there's still a bunch left to spawn," he added. "The weather they had last week, where it got into the 30s, probably knocked them back down. It's kind of a weird deal. I'm having a hard time figuring out what's going on."
Peter Thliveros, who finished 8th here last year, is likewise befuddled.
"Fishing's really tough," he said. "I hope it picks up. I just don't think the fish are in the positions they were last year. I think the storm had something to do with it.
"They're not where they were (last year), and they're not eating the way they were. I just haven't put anything together yet."
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers launch daily at 6:50 a.m. from Wildwood Park (6212 Holloway Road, Appling, Ga.). Weigh-ins begin at 3:00 p.m. daily at the same location.
Weather Forecast
> Thurs., April 19 – Isolated T-Storms – 76°/47°
- Wind: From the E/SE at 6 mph
> Fri., April 20 – Partly Cloudy – 73°/47°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 7 mph
> Sat., April 21 – Sunny – 76°/49°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 5 mph
> Sun., April 22 – Sunny – 79°/53°
- Wind: From the S/SW at 6 mph
Notable
> Spotted bass do live in Clarks Hill, but Ashley said they're rare. "I've fished the lake my whole life, and I've only caught two."
> Watch for an updated analysis of the bite, along with BassFan's recommendation on the Top 10 to watch at this event, to be published tomorrow.
> Blueback herring were first discovered in Clarks Hill in 1983, and today comprise a significant portion of the forage base.
> Skeet Reese currently leads the BASS Angler of the Year race. To view the full standings, click here.
