Mountain Division anglers will head to Cumberland for the Super Tournament
The Mountain Division of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine will finish their schedule with the Super Tournament on Lake Cumberland September 14-15. The massive fishery holds all three major bass species and each should be a factor in this year’s season finale.
Tournament details
Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Mountain Division Super Tournament
Sept. 14-15
About the fishery
Lake Cumberland is a large body of water created for flood control and hydroelectric power generation. It covers over 65,000 acres and has over 1,200 miles of shoreline. Located in the southern and central part of the state, it’s a top-rated lake for recreation.
Since it was created in 1952 with the completion of Wolf Creek Dam on the Cumberland River, it’s been a shining star in the state for fishing. In addition to black bass, the lake offers fishing for multiple other species including walleye and trophy striped bass.
Bass Pro Tour angler Bradley Roy lives an hour away and grew up competing in tournaments on Cumberland. He said the lake has much to offer for bass anglers.
“It’s a huge lake with many creek arms to go into and plenty to fish on the main lake,” he said. “It’s mostly rock with some laydown stuff, but there is not much cover and structure in the water. Marinas and rock transitions are other key places that hold bass here.”
What to expect
September can be a challenging month overall, and Roy said that will be the case for this event. He expects weights to be down and said that consistency will be critical.
“This can be a tough time of year to be fishing,” he said. “Most of the time, in other parts of the year, you’ll need 17 or 18 pounds to win a tournament. But in this one, 15 or so pounds both days will be very good and give you a chance to win.”
He said that catching a five-fish limit will be paramount and that spotted bass may be an asset for anglers looking to fill a limit.
“The lake has all three species, and normally, spotted bass are not big enough to help you,” Roy shared. “Since the fishing will be tough and limits will be hard to come by, having a few places to catch a few key spotted bass will be important to fill out your limit.”
Still, he thinks smallmouth and largemouth will be the way to win.
“It could be either of them, and I think whoever ultimately wins will have both species or all three in their bag,” he said. “The fishing isn’t good enough this time of year to sell out and focus on one thing. It will be catching a couple doing this and a couple doing that.”
Roy also predicts that various tactics will work in shallow and deep water.
“I think it will be a little bit of everything from super shallow topwater stuff to fishing out deep around baitfish and brush,” he said. “Finesse fishing out deep with drop-shot rigs, shaky heads, and Neko rigs will all play, as well as the shallow water power fishing stuff.”