Story by Hunter Baughman | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
If I had to describe this lake in one word it would be “weird.”
The fish are in a weird mood. A lake like this one that fluctuates roughly 40 feet throughout the year is weird. And an active shad spawn with no feeding fish is weird.
In full transparency, I’m writing this after one day of practice, so it makes it to the website before the tournament starts. That means I’ll learn more as the week progresses … hopefully.
I did find shad spawning in a few places, but there weren’t any active bass where I found them. I’m nearly positive that was just a location issue. The time of year and water temp is perfect. There is probably a shad spawn all over the lake. I do believe I will land on some productive spawns before the tournament starts. It’s just a matter of ”right place, right time.”
The lake level is what is so confusing to me. It’s currently around one foot above full pool and rising four inches every day. It has been on this steady rise for several weeks now. I’m told it will rise like this until the end of May then will slowly fall until it’s around 40 feet low by wintertime. Then the cycle begins again. In terms of fish and fishing cover, 40 feet is an astronomical fluctuation.
I’m not sure what this does to the spawn. Did they spawn back in April and the beds just got deeper every day? Do they wait until it peaks, then spawn? I have no idea. I’d like to believe they go in April, but I caught a fish today with a bloody tail that was oozing eggs. Just adds to the “weird” factor. The negative mood they seem to be in sure seems like the “post-spawn funk”.
I think there will be lots of fish caught in the bushes regardless of the spawn phase … especially with the added shad spawn. I do believe if someone finds a group of fish offshore—this lake is known for that—they could be hard to beat, especially if they don’t have to share those fish with another competitor.
I didn’t really catch enough fish today to establish a feel for what it might take to win or do well. Judging by recent tournament results, I think the winning weight will be 45-46 pounds and the check cut will be 34-35 pounds. Weights will be very tight with lots of bags in the 9- to 10 1/2-pound range.
Best thing you can do is to tune in this week and see how my predictions line up. By the end we will figure out a lot of the “weird” questions!
I’ll touch base next week with a recap.
Hunter Baughman – Angler Profile
