Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Day One Begins on Watts Bar Lake
SPRING CITY, TN. – After a practice with mixed results depending on which angler you had talked to, day one will be about figuring out what their areas from practice will produce. Anglers launch this morning into cloudy skies with thunderstorms likely in the afternoon and are looking forward to finding out how the areas they have identified will produce.
Watts Bar features a healthy population of largemouth bass, spotted bass and smallmouth bass are in some parts of the reservoir but are unlikely to factor. NPFL Anglers have shared mixed expressions about this week’s playing field and some local anglers have shared concerns over the inconsistency of the offshore bite.
The fish are everywhere in different phases of the spawn but a tough tournament is still predicted. With the majority of bass in the “post-spawn funk” mood, anglers will have to figure out how to land on a few key bigger bites to separate themselves in the standings. Most anglers have shared the 10-pound a day range will be safe to get paid while 14 to 16-pounds seems to be the sweet spot for winning weight.
What is it going to take?
Gary Adkins – “Practice was alright; I had one good day and two not so good days. But, if I had to guess, I’d say 12-pounds a day to get a check and probably 16-pounds a day to win.”
Andrew Luxon – “I am thinking it’s pretty tough, but I may we way off. I think 15-pounds a day wins and 10 pounds gets paid.”
Bryant Smith – “I struggled to find any quality in practice so this is a total guess. Maybe 18-pounds a day to win and 13 per day to get a check. That’s a total guess.”
Keith Carson – “I think it will take 30-pounds total to get a check and 51-pounds will win it. I had a pretty lousy practice and I’ll probably be in the 30-pound range, LOL”
Cody Ryan Greany – “My practice was terrible. I tried some goofy stuff and wasted a whole lot of time. 10-pounds a day will get a check and 18-pounds a day to win, but that’s a total wild guess.”
How to Watch
Tune in daily May 25th through the 27th to thenationalprofessionalfishingleague.com to follow along daily.
See the unofficial Weigh Live Tracker, LIVE Blogs and daily on the water photo galleries of the anglers on Watts Bar with real-time updates. LIVE Coverage is available on Friday and Saturday.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose the Weigh Live Tracker to see estimated weights entered by the anglers throughout each day of competition. Watch the Live Weigh In from Watts Bar all three days!
