Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
As we gear up for Stop 3 of the NPFL season on Douglas Lake in just a few weeks, it will be interesting to see how the fishery performs as 117 anglers try to break down a winning pattern and take home the prestigious shield. It promises to be another nail biter, and every fish will matter just like they did at our last stop at Lake Norman. The weights are going to be tight!
Last September, when Hurricane Helene came through the area with devastating results, the flooding caused damage the likes that we have never seen before. Three rivers feed Douglas Lake: The Nolichucky, the Pigeon, and the French Broad. The Nolichucky Dam in Greeneville, Tennessee had the highest ever recorded flow at 1.3 million gallons per second during the flooding, and the Pigeon and French Broad also had record levels of flow and cresting. Interstate 40 was closed and just reopened two lanes the day before our official practice started at Santee Cooper on March 2nd of this year!
There was so much debris that flowed into the lake that crews are still working diligently to remove it to this day, and I personally saw campers, propane tanks, and a lot of other crazy stuff floating down the lake. It was unreal.
I say all of that to tell you that I’m curious to see how the lake will fish. Even though it’s my home lake, I’ve only been on it a handful of times this year and—surprisingly—I caught them pretty good each time. There are a lot of two-pound class fish in the lake, and I think most of the field will have a limit each day. There still seems to be a year class or two of fish missing as it’s hard to catch a four-pound fish or larger, but I’m sure several will be weighed in. Those will be the difference in this event for sure.
I also think the lake will fish to a lot of the anglers’ strengths. You should be able to catch them shallow and deep on a variety of different baits and techniques, which will make strategy a key player for the week. Do you stay shallow, go deep, or work a mix of the two? I’m looking forward to going back and watching the coverage and seeing how it all unfolded, but first it has to happen!
I’m also looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and having a home game, but the home lake jinx is real. It is hard to win an event anywhere, but to win on your home water is even harder. Having 35-plus years’ experience on the lake, a lot of stuff that used to work doesn’t anymore, but some of it still does!
I’ve already been thinking about strategy, where to practice, where not to practice, and I definitely will not be “winning practice”! I can tell you that I won’t be making many casts during official practice, Instead, I’ll be doing a lot of looking and graphing with my Lowrance HDS 12.
The lake level will be a key player that week as well. Normally the lake is close to full pool by now and there are fish in bushes during a shad spawn, but the lake is currently six feet low due to the crews still removing debris from the lake. Anglers will see large cranes on barges and large piles of driftwood. I’m not sure if the lake will be full or not, but my prediction is that it won’t be.
Two things are for sure! We’re going to have a great event, and someone is going to hoist that big shield. Jefferson County tourism is an awesome host, and the live coverage for the fans is going to be exciting to watch. I just hope I can execute a good game plan to be in the mix. Tune in to see how it all goes down.
Tight Lines!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
