Five Key Things from Day 4 at Lake Chickamauga

Day 4 brought rain to Lake Chickamauga, but that didn't stop the MLF pros from catching 'em. Photo by Phoenix Moore Angler: James Elam.

June 7, 2021 • Tyler Brinks • Bass Pro Tour

DAYTON, Tenn. – It was another soggy day at Stage Four on Chickamauga and another great day of fishing. The lake continues to kick out big bass and plenty of them. The feeling is that things will progress with more of the same as the anglers dial in their patterns and refine their areas.

Shin Fukae put on the biggest show on Monday with 24 bass for 79 pounds, 6 ounces. His day was one to remember, but there were more great storylines from the day that was.

Here are five key things from the day on Chickamauga.

A Shift from Power to Finesse

All week long, the finesse fishing approaches have appeared to increase among the anglers. More and more spinning rods are popping up due to the increased fishing pressure and the lack of current on Lake Chickamauga.

Finesse tactics have played a significant role in the fish catches all week long, but the percentage of fish caught on lighter line and spinning rods has crept higher in the past two days. It’s not just small fish either, as Group B winner Shin Fukae proved. Along with stacking up the most weight and most scorable bass, he also landed some Chickamauga hawgs with a spinning rod, including the Berkley Big Bass of the day: a 7-5.

He wasn’t the only one working the spinning gear with success, as many anglers who advanced did it with light line.

What’s It Going to Take to Win?

There have been some tremendous one-day performances this week, and so far, nobody has been able to back up those giant weights two days in a row.

That was evident as Russ Lane stacked up 70-12 to begin the event and followed it up with 7 pounds the following day. Edwin Evers caught 74-12 and then 18-8 on Monday. Group A winner Jason Lambert started with 49-5 and then added 60-8. Fukae had 34-12 before erupting for 79-6 his second day on the water.

Considering those numbers, the best daily totals from each day ranged from 60-8 to 79-6 and will likely be the winning weight in the Championship Round in two days..

First, 38 anglers will be vying for eight spots in Tuesday’s Knockout Round, hoping to join Lambert and Fukae on the final day.

Points Race Watch

This is the point in the season where debates about points races and standings gets serious. After Stage Four, there will be just three regular-season events left on the Bass Pro Tour, which puts added pressure on the Angler of the Year race, as well as Heavy Hitters, REDCREST and MLF Cup eventws. Plus, some anglers are simply fighting to requalify for the Bass Pro Tour next season.

Going into this event, Bobby Lane held the points lead with 229 points, followed by Brent Chapman with 220. Both failed to qualify for the Knockout Round, opening the door for Ott DeFoe to take over the points lead as he will be fishing on Tuesday.

The last two anglers inside of the REDCREST qualification entering this event were Jeff Kriet and Jonathon VanDam. Both failed to qualify for the Knockout Round.

The Heavy Hitters standings are also due for a major shakeup with the big bass caught this week. It will be interesting to look at the updated standings once the anglers are done fishing this week.

A Big Day for Shaw

Veteran pro Paul Elias broke through on Stage Three after some disappointing tournaments, finishing that event in 11th place. This time around, it was his friend Shaw Grigsby‘s turn to have a breakthrough event.

After starting the day on the bubble in 20th place with four bass for 13-14, Grigsby landed 10 bass for 28-7 to finish 13th in his group. He’ll advance to his first Knockout Round of the season and first since the 2020 Stage Three on Lake Fork, Texas.

Pro Circuit Watch

The hopes of a Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler winning this event have slimmed as both Tai Au and David Williams have been eliminated. They finished 36th and 38th respectively and will join Evan Barnes with an early exit in this event.

Matt Becker finished his second day in 16th place in Group A and will be part of Tuesday’s Knockout Round. He’ll be the sole Pro Circuit representative in that round and try to be the first angler from that trail to make a Championship Round.

In Stage One, Spencer Shuffield did the best of the bunch by finishing in 11th on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. In Stage Two at Lake Travis, it was Miles Burghoff who finished in 30th. Shuffield was again the best Pro Circuit finisher a Stage Three, finishing in 13th on the Harris Chain of Lakes.