The Old Hickory Bassmaster Elite Series was expected to be a ledge-dominated event. It turned into a mud bath instead.
There were lots of fish on the deeper shelves that had moved into their full-on summer mode, but anglers might have to go through 20 or 30 short ones for every 14-inch keeper. The shallow bite proved more reliable – the lake was at full pool and even gained a few inches during the course of the tournament due to some rain and the fact that no water was pulled for current generation all week.
There was plenty of flooded vegetation and small, isolated pieces of structure, and quality fish were scattered hither and yon. With conditions as they were (abundant food and cover near the bank), the bass had no reason to hustle on out to the ledges.
Many of the fish weighed in by winner Kevin Wirth and his closest pursuers came from a foot of water or less. And they were enticed by all sorts of baits.
Details of Wirth's pattern will be published soon. Here's how the 2nd- and 3rd-place finishers went about giving him a run for his money.
2nd: Bill Lowen
> Day 1: 5, 14-13
> Day 2: 5, 12-06
> Day 3: 5, 8-09
> Day 4: 5, 14-09
> Total = 20, 50-05
Second-year pro Bill Lowen of Ohio had never been to Old Hickory before, but he liked what he saw when he arrived. The stuff near the banks reminded him of the Ohio River.
"I wasn't really familiar with the lake or its history, but I found (during practice) that I could get in little key areas and catch some decent ones," he said. "And I was hearing that 12 pounds a day was going to be good, and I was pretty sure I could get that."
He flipped woody cover on mud flats that were close to creek channels. "My trolling motor was churning mud almost the whole time."
He figured the heavily pressured fish had seen every finesse bait in every catalog numerous times, so he upsized all of his gear in an effort to show them something out of the ordinary. His primary offering was a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm, and he also used a 5-inch Berkley Power Hawg.
> Worm gear: 7'6" heavy-action All Pro APX flipping stick, Abu Garcia Revo Premier casting reel (6.5:1 ratio), 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, 1/4-ounce River2Sea tungsten weight, 3/0 Gamakatsu Round Bend hook, 10-inch Berkley Power Worm (red shad or black).
> Power Hawg gear: Same rod, reel, line, weight and hook as worm, 5-inch Berkley Power Hawg (green-pumpkin).
Main factor in his success – "My background of being raised on a river system – I felt like I was right at home."
Performance edge – "The baits. Everybody around me was throwing smaller, finesse-type baits, and I went to the other end of the spectrum."
A good boat-draw on day 1 was one of the keys to Randy Howell's strong finish.
3rd: Randy Howell
> Day 1: 5, 13-02
> Day 2: 5, 15-08
> Day 3: 5, 8-07
> Day 4: 5, 12-15
> Total = 20, 50-00
Alabama's Randy Howell was right in his element when Old Hickory became a shallow-water junk-fest.
"I didn't have a clue that I could finish as well as I did with what I found in practice," he said. "I could catch one or two scattered keepers in different ways, and I was just hoping I could put together a limit.
"But I got a good draw – I was boat (No.) 14 on day 1, and that allowed me to get to a place that was a community spot. I caught a 10-pound limit there, and that allowed me to just go fishing and catch that big one (a 5-pounder).
He caught a 6-06 on day that topped his best bag of the tournament. He struggled on day 3, but bounced back with another strong sack on day 4.
He fished any type of shallow structure he could find. On the final day, he started on a stretch of grass that he'd never visited, but saw each morning on his drive to the lake.
"I just rolled along and everything was pretty smooth as far as decision-making. One of my weaknesses has always been falling out of the finals and missing (Top-12 cuts), so I felt good about my decisions."
He used a shakey-head to catch that initial limit on day 1, but went primarily with a jig the rest of the way.
> Jig gear: 6'10" heavy-action Quantum PT Tour Edition rod, Quantum PT Burner casting reel (7:1 ratio), 50-pound Spiderwire Stealth braided line, 3/8-ounce Vertical Lures Jig X (Cayuga craw),
> Shakey-head gear: Same rod, reel and line, 1/8- or 3/8-ounce Lunker Lure Shak-ee Head jig, 8- or 10-inch Yamamoto worm or Yamamoto Pro Senko (watermelon red).
Main factor in his success – "Just being versatile and being a junk-fisherman."
Performance edge – "I did so much running around, I think my Mercury Optimax Pro XS was the key. Every day it got me back in time and I never had to worry about breaking down."
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