Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
The NPFL returns to east Tennessee this week for Stop #3 on Douglas Lake. Hosted by the Visit Jefferson County, the event runs May 22–24 with daily launch and weigh-ins taking place at the Dandridge Boat Ramp.
For the second event in a row, anglers will be targeting all three species—largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. While spotted bass are around, they’re not expected to factor. However, both smallmouth and big largemouth should play a role this week.
As we’ve seen in past Tennessee events, rising water will be a major storyline. During pre-practice, former NPFL champion Taylor Watkins noted that the lake was low for this time of year. Since then, water levels have been climbing—reportedly rising close to a foot per day since Sunday—and it’s now in the bushes. What was a non-factor days ago might just be the key to winning.
The big question is whether anyone found offshore schools that they have to themselves. If so, they could be tough to beat. But the chatter from practice is that shallow fish are surging to the bank as water creeps into new cover. One angler said, “they’re still coming.” Will that momentum continue? And can anglers who committed to the bank during practice keep up as things change day to day?
As Hunter Baughman put it after Day One of practice: “Douglas has been weird.”
Anglers’ Take
NPFL veterans Brandon Perkins and Timmy Reams both took time to chat during practice—and in classic fashion, they each predicted the other would catch ‘em.
Perkins, a Pickwick hammer with multiple TVA wins, stuck to his strength offshore and located several schools. His biggest concern is pressure—there are only so many offshore schools, and with more anglers likely to lean on that bite, it could get crowded fast. That said, the rising water may help relieve some of that pressure by pulling more anglers to the bank. “I’m afraid it’s going to negatively affect the offshore fish a ton,” he said.
Reams, meanwhile, saw enough in the last stretch of practice to lean shallow—at least to start. “I’m going to try to catch what I can before moving offshore,” he said. “Guys can pick their poison. Both shallow and deep will play in this event. And this lake is full of bass. Smallmouth will play too.”
Rookie Sean Alvarez agrees. “On one hand, it seems like most of the fish are headed offshore. On the other, as the water comes up, it feels like a ton are moving shallow,” he said. Alvarez caught fish from 1 to 30 feet and believes whoever wins will fish a bit of both.
That rising water is also pushing debris into play, making navigation tricky. Alvarez added, “It’s a double-edged sword—moving around has been a challenge, but now the shoreline is loaded with fishable wood that wasn’t there before.”
Perkins predicts 15 to 16 pounds per day will be enough to be in the hunt by Showdown Saturday.
Weather Watch
Day one will be mostly sunny with a high of 74°F and a low of 55°F. There’s a slight 10% chance of rain, with overnight showers expected. Winds from the west will blow 10–15 mph, with gusts up to 25.
How to Watch
Tune in daily to watch the action from Dandridge, Tennessee and Douglas Lake – watch the daily LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers from the east Tennessee.
Catch the LIVE Coverage with Luke Dunkin and FatCat at TNPFL.com on days two and three.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose LIVE Broadcast or check out the real-time leaderboard on the Fishing Chaos Catch Track with estimated weights entered by the anglers on the water and join us for the LIVE Weigh-ins, here!
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