Lake Chickamauga Midday Update – Day 2
Snow, sleet make for tough morning in Tennessee
Friday morning at the Toyota Series Central Division tournament on Lake Chickamauga was not for the faint of heart. At the 7 a.m. takeoff all was good, other than the thermometer hovering around the freezing mark.
About 8:30, however, a small front moved in, bringing with it a bitter wind and a “wintry mix” to the Tennessee Valley. It began as snow with winds stout enough to blow the flakes sideways. But it soon turned into sleet and then a light, cold rain.
If the weather wasn’t bad enough, the fishing did little to lift anglers’ spirits. When asked, “What have you got in the livewell,” numerous boats reported zero or one. We were around to watch Dustin Evans from Eads, Tenn., put his third bass in the box. After blanking on Thursday, Evans was feeling pretty good.
Michael “Real Deal” Neal, a hometown favorite in Dayton, did report four bass in the livewell mid-morning.
Day one co-leader Miles Burghoff was in the second flight out this morning, and after a nearly 30-minute run, he found a local angler sitting in the area where he limited on Thursday. After a short, friendly conversation the local angler kindly relinquished the area to Burghoff.
It didn’t seem to matter much. In the first hour and a half Burghoff had only put one fish in the boat. He apparently wasn’t feeling it and bailed out on the area shortly after 9 a.m. Most other anglers we encountered were struggling as well.
It appears that today might be all about managing to get five quality bites.
On Thursday, it seemed as if the afternoon bite improved, however there was sunshine, which will be unlikely today. Whether it was the sun or just high afternoon temperatures, we’ll find out at the 3 p.m. weigh-in at Dayton Boat Dock.
UPDATE: A few minutes after this article was published, we received a second-hand report from an observer on Chickamauga that Michael Neal had secured his limit and was culling. If so, the local pro, who was in eighth to start the day, should be in great shape for making the top 10 and a shot at his first Toyota Series win.