My learning curve grew exponentially during the 2013 BassmasterSouthern Open on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, TN.
While I finished in 22nd place and
moved into 12th place for Angler of the Year points, it was by no
means an easy event. I never found out
how to catch them good using the umbrella rig so I relied on a jig fishing pre-spawn
pattern.
To compete at this event we had to overcome severe
conditions of both heavy fishing pressure and brutally-cold weather. The week before our event nearly 400 anglers
attacked Douglas Lake in a PAA tournament event. That week-long derby was faced with snow and
cold weather that lowered the water temperature back into the low 50s. The Tennessee umbrella rig (3-hook version) dominated that PAA event and the Southern Open anglers were
frothing the water with umbrella rigs during practice. That additional fishing pressure caused the
bass to avoid the standard umbrella-rig technique. It was not until after the event that I learned how the leaders were slow rolling the TN-rig to entice big bass.
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| Douglas Lake fluctuates 40-ft in a season |
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| Water rose 4.5 ft since I arrived |
My 2013 schedule only provided me with two and a half days
of practice time, so I limited myself to my best lures using my best techniques.
After two days of practicing on Douglas Lake I only caught one largemouth bass at
the end of the second day.
The main lake water was 50-52F degrees and stained with a
green tint. Two cold fronts had dropped the water temperature to a range that caused
a massive threadfin and gizzard shad die-off. I matched my lures to the bait size and colors, but all the predatory
fish in the lake we gorging on dead shad as easy as picking grapes off a
vine.
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| Threadfin shad and my TN-umbrella rig to match |
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| my spinnerbait closely matched the Gizzard shad |
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| TN-rig caught white bass only for me |
In practice I found white bass were bunched up along rock bluffs
up river with deep water nearby. I
figured that largemouth had to be nearby, so I used a jig to work the rock
bluff. I caught one 2-pound bass just
before my practice day ended on Tuesday.
The next day I fishing rock bluffs with my jig and caught a quick limit
of bass. At that point I knew I found a place and
pattern to start the tournament on, but I knew that small limits would not compete
with the leaders. Unfortunately, I was
out of time and stuck “with the cards I was dealt.” I felt I was forced to develop
a stronger fishing pattern on the first day of the tournament, something every
angler dreads.
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| Sunny weather in practice turned cold and wet during the event |
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| Air temperature in the 30's created ice on boat decks |
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| Not fun watching 174 boats launch ahead of you but that was my luck of the draw on day one |
Did I mention the weather?
There was a warming trend in our practice that quickly dissipated when a
clash of air masses brought a rainy, cold forecast for the tournament days. We woke on the first day of the tournament
with air temperatures in the 30s and a light coating of ice on the boats. As boat #175, I didn’t launch out until
7:20am and reached my first spot up river by 8:00am. On my first pass along the bluff wall I quickly caught I small limit of bass before
the rain started. Then the wind blew
15mph out of the North and rain came down steady the entire day.
The bone-chilling conditions reminded me of a
Marine training boot camp. The physical
and mental processes of trying to focus and function when you are shivering, soaking
wet, and cold, are the most challenging conditions for the human body to withstand. My leg would shake every time I ran the
trolling motor, my back muscles would lock up on every other casts, I couldn’t feel
my toes, and tying knots as an eight minute process. I shivered for nearly seven hours but I was
able to survive the conditions by focusing on one task at a time and blocking
out the cold. Not something I enjoyed,
however, I came off the water knowing that I was mentally capable of overcoming
my physical environment. The confidence
I gained was invaluable!
Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely hate cold
weather and being cold. In a bass boat
there is no where to warm up once you are wet.
My mental exercises kept me in the game and allowed me to catch a small
limit of largemouth that weighted 12-7 pounds, good for 37th place
on day-one.
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| Small limit of bass the first day held me in 37th place |
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| Cold, muddy water moved in |
As if there weren’t enough environmental challenges on the
first day, I found totally different fishing conditions on the second day. When
I arrived on my spot the next morning I was faced with water levels that raised
two feet, high current flow, and cold muddy water that the rain washed in. I fished my rock bluff for two entire passes without
a bite. I had no other fish to go to, so
I was forced to figure out the bass and fish this area regardless of the fast
flow and 48 degree muddy water.
I knew the high current would place the bass tighter to the
rocks so I concentrated on pin-point casts. It worked, and the first bass I
landed on day-two was a little over four-pounds. Then I proceeded to catch one or two bass
every time I fished down my rock bluff.
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| Bass Photographer James Overstreet captured the moment! |
At the end of the day I caught a limit weighing 13-1 pounds, just ounces
heavier than the previous tournament day.
My final weight was 25.8 lbs and nothing near the top leader weights, yet
I was excited to see that my weight earned 22nd place and a pay
check under extremely the tough fishing conditions. My
first pay check on the Bassmaster Southern Open level and I stood shoulder to shoulder with Rick Clunn, only loosing to him by one place!
The points I earned for the year put me in 12th place
for the Angler of the Year (AOY) race.
More than just bragging rights, the top five AOY-anglers earn an
invitation to fish on the Bassmaster Elite tour, the most prestigious fishing
series in the world! What an honor that
would be!
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| deep coves looked great but did not produce for me |
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| Rock bluffs were the best option I found during the muddy, rising water conditions |
Looking back on the event the best thing I did was move away
from the shad die off to areas where bass were still actively feeding and
chasing bait. With limited practice time
it is extremely difficult to catch up with the knowledge that the local angler had
about the lake. The ecosystem and
habitat of each lake is unique, and understanding the dynamics is what drives
me to compete at this level. Fishing in lakes
that lack aquatic plants makes me understand why anglers say bass are easier to
pattern on Northern lakes. I am finding
that when a lake only contains wood, rocks, and structure drops, it seems to be
easier to figure out the local fishing pattern. That kind of habitat is what I term
“simple habitat”. The more I fish the Bassmaster
Southern Open trail the more I appreciate the “complex habitat” that aquatic
plants add to lake ecosystems like Florida.
When I returned to sunny Florida I took a day to fish with
my son-in-law Ryan on the St. Johns River.
The bass were in a spawn/post-spawn mood and we had a great time landing
big bass.
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| Largemouth bass on St. Johns River in sunny Florida |
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| My Son-in-law Ryan beats me with a bigger bass! |
My schedule has me fishing the Florida BASS Nation State qualifier on Lake Toho May 4th,
then heading up to the Coosa River / Logan Martin system in Pell City, AL May 12-18th to fish the last Southern
Open event for 2013.
I can’t wait to get to Alabama and catch a ton of spotted
bass!
Jeff
