MLF Pros Prepare for Stage Five Slugfest on Smith Lake

Smith Lake is loaded with bass, but what conditions will play the heaviest this week? Photo by Garrick Dixon

April 29, 2019 • Dave Landahl • Bass Pro Tour

CULLMAN, Ala. – Expect the Bass Pro Tour Phoenix Boats Stage Five Presented by Mercury on Smith Lake, Alabama to be a slugfest. According to Smith Lake resident Jesse Wiggins and spotted-bass fiend Cody Meyer, the numbers of scorable fish caught this week should be impressive. Maybe not many giants, but loads of quality spotted bass, with a few fat largemouth in the mix.

“There should be a ton of fish caught,” confirmed Wiggins, who grew up fishing this impoundment of the Black Warrior River system. “The numbers of fish caught should match – if not be even higher than – Chickamauga. The bass won’t be as big as Chick: The catches will primarily be spotted bass, but a lot of 1 ½- to 2-pounders. This lake can be really fickle if the water gets super clear, but it’s one of the best lakes I know for catching numbers of bass.”

Meyer agrees with Wiggins on the numbers he expects to go up on SCORETRACKER this week.

“This is going to be our first real offshore event of the season, but it should be a real slugfest with numbers,” Meyer said. “It’s not uncommon for anglers to catch 40 scorable-size bass in a day here. Some of them can be bigger largemouth bass, too. It ought to be a really fun event.”

Boat Docks, Points and Baitfish are Keys

Wiggins, who won BASS Central Opens on Smith Lake in 2017 and 2018, predicts that both boat docks and points will be major players on Smith, an opinion that Meyer wholeheartedly agrees with.

“The docks will be a location where the post-spawn spotted bass will hang out,” Meyer said. “Whether the water is up or down, the spots will use them. After the spots spawn, they move offshore, but those docks are a great location to find a lot of them.”

According to Meyer, it might be more difficult to find an area without fish, but the key will be in locating bigger schools of spotted bass.

“I think we’ll be able to catch bass from where we launch at Smith Lake Park all the way to the other end of the lake, at the dam,” he said. “You just need to find a few areas where there are large numbers to catch. If you take time running around for 20 minutes, you’ll find yourself far behind a lot of anglers who’ve been fishing and scoring.”

Spawning baitfish will be another factor for catching Smith Lake bass.

“Threadfin shad and blueback herring are the primary baitfish on this lake,” Wiggins said. “The shad spawn should be happening, so anglers can look for that opportunity to get on those active feeding bass early in the day.” Meyer feels the shad spawn could be important for catching a few larger fish, but there may be another baitfish at play as well.

Topwaters, Shaky Heads Should Produce

Topwaters and shaky heads will be the tools of choice for many competitors this week, according to both Wiggins and Meyer.

“Lots of topwaters, lots of shaky heads and soft plastics, and some finesse drop-shotting as well,” Meyer listed as key techniques. “I’m guessing Wiggins will be using a lot of shaky heads, he’s the king of shaky head fishing.”

Wiggins admits that a shaky head will be a primary technique, but his most important weapon: experience.

“Topwater walking baits, shaky heads, and small swimbaits will catch a lot of bass this time of the year on Smith Lake, but I sure hope having some solid knowledge about this lake will help me do well,” Wiggins said.