WHITTINGTON, Ill. – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Illini Division will be back on Rend Lake for the second time this season on July 18. The popular Illinois fishery is fishing very well this year despite lower-than-usual water levels and is kicking out great limits in local events just in time for this BFL summertime showdown.
What to expect
Brennon McCord has a great track record on Rend, with three wins in BFL competition, including one in mid-April. The 2019 BFL All-American champion says that his home lake is fishing great.
“It’s fishing phenomenal right now, and the fish are doing all kinds of things,” he said. “They are kind of in between, with some just recently finishing spawning and some that have been done for quite a while, so the fish are just about everywhere right now.”
When he won in April, McCord had 18 pounds even, and he says the fishing has been even better lately.
“We fished a tournament recently and had 17 pounds and didn’t even get a check; this is the best that I’ve ever seen it,” he shared. “Normally, when the water is up and they’re in the bushes, it really spreads them out. I think with the water being lower, they really have nowhere to go, and if you find a stretch that’s got fish on it, you can keep going back a few times a day and catch them.”
With the bushes out of play, McCord said that rocks, wood and manmade structure should shine in this event. He’s banking on the southern end of the lake to get most of the attention from the field.
“I think it will be won on the rocks; I’m pretty sure either with a jig or shaky head or something like that,” he said. “The bridges or whatever laydowns are still in the water could also be a factor, but everyone is fishing the same targets shallow. After practice, a lot of the easy fish will have been caught, so it might get beat up and become a little tougher during the tournament.”
Baits to bring
McCord believes this event will be won around the bank and reports that most of his fish have been caught “dirt shallow” in recent trips. As a result, he believes a jig, crankbait and ChatterBait could all lead to a victory.
What will it take?
While the recent local event McCord fished took nearly 23 pounds to win and saw another bag over 22 pounds, he’s expecting lower weights in this event due to the time of year.
“It gets tougher the further you go into the summer, and the weights start to fall off when it gets hot in July, so I’m guessing that 17 or 18 pounds may be enough,” he said. “I’d say if you catch 8 or 10 pounds, you’ll have a shot at a check. That’s my prediction, anyway, and I could be wrong.”