Each of the first three FLW Tour events this season were somewhat affected by the spawn. Most of the big females were finished completing their annual ritual by the time the tour opened its season on Lake Toho, but a few top-10 finishers used bedding bass to make big bucks. Rookie pro Randy Hadden in particular caught a 12-pounder and a 9-pounder that were spawning on pad roots.
At stop No. 2 on Smith Lake, it was all about the spawn the first two days of competition. Snickers pro Greg Pugh caught a 17-pound, 11-ounce stringer of largemouths sight-fishing on day two, which was the heaviest sack of the tournament. From there, foul weather allowed prespawn spotted bass to be the winning ticket.
The third tournament of the year on Lake Norman near Charlotte was similar to Toho in that a good number of the bass had completed spawning. But that didn’t stop the best anglers in the world from finding the ones that weren’t quite done. Norman was unique because bass weren’t the only thing spawning – baitfish were as well. Pro winner Sean Hoernke quickly figured out that by following the shad spawn, he could locate and catch aggressive post-spawn largemouths. When his shad-pattern died, he spent the rest of the tournament sight-fishing new water each day.
Now as the tour makes its annual trek to Beaver Lake, it was considered a near-certainty that the spawn would be over. Last year the Wal-Mart Open was held May 17-20 and was a postspawn struggle. But a wet and cold spring in Northwest Arkansas has put the lake nearly a month behind schedule.
According to Hook Line & Sinker in Rogers, Ark., the majority of the bass have not spawned. The lake is 8 feet high and the water temperature is 60-64 degrees. This morning, anglers commenced the third day of practice with an air temperature of 37 degrees.
While those statistics will make sight-fishermen like Clark Wendlandt, Andre Moore and Koby Kreiger drool, the reality is that most of the spawning bass will be impossible to see.
Due to the high water, the lake is dirtier than it ever has been before. Hook Line & Sinker said 90 percent of the lake has water visibility of 3 feet or less. When I think of flipping flooded brush in stained water, Glenn Browne immediately comes to mind. Although he wasn’t in my original picks, I am replacing Craig Dowling with Browne, who is having a career year.
Brett