Plenty of Bass Means No Extra Practice for Leaders on Chickamauga
DAYTON, Tenn. – Wednesday’s Shotgun Round 2 was much like Shotgun Round 1 in terms of the impressive amount of weights some of the anglers were able to rack up. Nine MLF pros were able to top 50 pounds during the Shotgun Rounds of Stage Four, more than the six previous Shotgun Rounds combined.
Because of their impressive efforts, those anglers have gained a comfortable lead over the rest of the field as Elimination Round 1 begins on Thursday. However, MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone says that because of the amount of bass in Lake Chickamauga and the size they can grow, no angler can afford to use their Elimination Round as a practice day.
“No one should be thinking, ‘If I don’t catch another scorable bass, I’m going to be fine,’” Stone warned. “You better know where these fish are if you want to make the cut. If all you do is practice during the Elimination Round and you don’t have a successful practice, come Knockout Round the guys that made it in with momentum have an advantage. We aren’t changing lakes, so that just helps the guys who keep it rolling.”
Impressive Numbers on Chickamauga
Shotgun Round 1 saw more than 700 total bass caught, with 19 out of the 40 pros catching a bass that weighed more than 4 pounds. In Shotgun Round 2, the group landed more than 660 bass and 20 out of the 40 anglers registered a 4-plus pounder. Whether an angler is fishing for numbers of fish or heavier bass, Stone says there are plenty of bass in Lake Chickamauga to give anyone a shot to make a move toward the Top 20.
“The way this event is shaking out is the reason all these anglers signed up for the Bass Pro Tour,” Stone explained. “All 80 of these guys go fish during their time off because they enjoy catching fish. That’s what they’re doing here. This is a lake that they can let the by-God air out of and just keep catching them. This week, we’re going to find out which of these guys can just flat-out catch fish.”
Weather Will be a Factor
During the first two days of competition, the anglers have enjoyed beautiful weather: highs in the 70s and 80s with little to no precipitation. That’s all about to change over the next couple of days, but that could be more good news than bad.
“We have 10- to 20-mph winds coming in tomorrow, s0 that’s going to change up water clarity and locations of the fish,” Stone predicted. “This wind will make the fish adjust their position and get loose from the cover they’ve been in. I don’t know if the number of fish caught will increase, but the size of the fish should definitely increase. Warm rain coming in on Friday is also going to help.”
As Elimination Round 1 gets started Thursday morning, only the Top 20 anglers in Group A will clinch a spot in Saturday’s Knockout Round. Stone has watched with detail the strategies some of the anglers have employed the past two days. Many pros have been successful in finding their own spots and developing their own patterns, but Stone has some advice for anyone fishing Chickamauga.
“The one mistake I see some guys making is that they won’t fish where someone else fished an hour earlier or the day before because they think the fish are gone,” Stone detailed. “What they don’t realize is that there are so many fish in this lake that they replenish those spots after 15 to 20 minutes. No matter how long these guys are out there, they won’t be able to catch all the fish that live in this lake. That’s good news for a lot of these guys.”
Elimination Round 1 gets started at 7:30 a.m. ET Thursday, April 11. The 40 anglers in Group A will compete on Lake Chickamauga to be one of the Top 20 anglers at the end of the round. The Top 20 from Group A and B will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.
Fans can watch the MLF NOW! live stream for free beginning at 10 a.m. ET on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF app.