Fishery Spotlight: Wheeler Lake
This article initially published in the October-November issue of MLF Bass Fishing magazine. To subscribe to the magazine and receive six issues for just $10 a year, click here: https://majorleaguefishing.com/join/
It’s been four years since the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats visited Alabama’s Wheeler Lake, but the fishery is returning to the spotlight in a big way as the host of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Bass Boat Technologies Nov. 7–9.
While neighboring lakes Guntersville and Pickwick sometimes overshadow this Tennessee River impoundment, Wheeler is a fine fishery in the midst of a rebound. This should result in strong fishing with the potential for multiple different areas and patterns to produce the champion.
How it sets up
At 68,300 acres, Wheeler is Alabama’s second-largest lake. It’s only slightly smaller than the largest, Guntersville, which is located just above Guntersville Dam.
Wheeler stretches some 60 miles and features tree-lined banks, riverine sections, aquatic vegetation and bridges, each of which attract bass and anglers. It shares some of the same characteristics as its neighboring fisheries but is a unique body of water according to Phil Ekema, the District 1 Fisheries Supervisor at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Ekema said the lake can be divided into two primary sections, with the area above Decatur being more riverine and everything below it much flatter.
“Below Decatur, it’s much more like a lake and more like a river above it,” he said. “Some of the best places to target bass in the fall would be in the current breaks, points and creeks that come into the lake. The fish should heavily relate to the current on the main lake, especially in November as they focus on shad. The lake has an excellent population of both threadfin and gizzard shad.”
Wheeler is also home to several well-known community holes, including the Decatur Flats, located below the Interstate 65 Bridge and downstream to about the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. This area, known as “the Flats,” will surely attract many anglers this week, according to Alabama guide Brent Crow, who won the Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake in 2021.
“In November, you can win from one dam to the other,” said Crow. “Even without massive grass flats like we had in the old days, the Flats still has a stronger population than anywhere else on the lake.”
Other popular areas will likely be down the lake around First Creek and Second Creek, the Elk River and directly below Guntersville Dam, which isn’t far from the tournament takeoff at Ditto Landing in Huntsville.
“You can run up the river and catch fish — mainly spotted bass with a few largemouth and a few smallmouth mixed in,” Crow said. “Down the lake around First and Second Creek could be good, but they don’t tend to be as much of a factor as the Flats are for tournaments. But, below Guntersville Dam, you can definitely win there. If we see a 25-pound bag during this event, it will likely be from below the dam, but it’s hard to do that three days in a row.”
The state of Wheeler Lake
Ekema, also an avid angler, oversees all of the Tennessee River lakes and offered a state of the union on the fisheries.
“Guntersville is doing well and most well known, of course, and Wilson is probably the best right now when it comes down to it,” said Ekema. “Pickwick may be down a little bit compared to previous years, and Wheeler may be slightly down, but it’s still fishing well. But comparing each lake is hard since they are so different.”
According to Crow, one of the primary reasons Wheeler is fishing better than years past is because of the re-emergence of vegetation.
“The lake went a long time without grass, and it was awful, and then about four years ago, we started to get some eelgrass, milfoil and hydrilla, and the fishing started getting good again,” said Crow. “This year, we have less grass, but there’s still some coontail left and a star grass that doesn’t mat but is better than nothing. Overall, the grass is not near as good as it was a couple of years ago, but it will still be a player.”
Water star grass is a unique vegetation, and Ekema believes it will be a factor, but other options could be more productive — if anglers can find them.
“It’s almost like a little tree with a center stalk and little leaves that come off of it,” he said. “It’s a very tough weed, and you feel it when your lure hits it, but if you find a dense band of it, the bass will use it. If you can find some milfoil or hydrilla, you might find a hot spot, and there’s still some of it out there. The TVA does not treat weeds; the grass fluctuates from year to year on Wheeler primarily due to Mother Nature from things like current, water levels and wind action.”
Largemouth vs. smallmouth
Wheeler is home to all three major bass species, but both Ekema and Crow believe largemouth and smallmouth bass are likely to represent the bulk of the weight at the Toyota Series Championship. Smallmouth have the potential to dominate, as they typically run bigger and the population is currently in good shape.
“Proportionally, the smallmouth are doing better than the largemouth right now,” said Ekema. “They’ve always been there, but it used to only be right below Guntersville Dam and down by Wheeler Dam on the lower end; now they are from one end to the other. The minimum size for smallmouth is 15 inches, and there’s not much difficulty catching one that big. Fifteen to 20 inches should be a popular size, whereas most largemouth will likely be between 14 and 16 inches long.”
Those numbers stem from electrofishing conducted by Ekema and his team during the spring months. They’ve also noted a resurgence in the largemouth population, although the top-end size might not be there yet.
“We primarily survey largemouth because our gear is only good to about 8 feet deep, and the smallmouth and spotted bass, due to their behaviors, are not as well represented, but both are doing well,” he shared. “There was an excellent year class from 2020 and 2022 for largemouth from good spawns, and those fish are now mainly 15 inches for the fish two years ago and 16 and 17 inches for the 2020 class. The spotted bass population is also pretty strong, but they typically don’t play in tournaments because they run so much smaller. Unless someone needs to fill out their limit, they shouldn’t be a factor.”
Crow agreed, saying that smallmouth run bigger and are much easier to pattern this time of year with the cooling water. He also expects them to be a major factor.
“The fishing got good again for smallmouth before largemouth, and there are some monsters in the lake,” Crow said. “It’s not a St. Lawrence River population-wise, but it has some really good ones. On the Tennessee River, you don’t catch smallmouth very often in the summer, and then they group up and get more aggressive in the fall. I could see this event won with all smallmouth, all largemouth or a mixed bag.”
Tactics and predictions
As the water cools each fall, the fishing heats up throughout the southeast, and Crow says the timing of the Toyota Series Championship should offer excellent fishing on not only Wheeler but the entire chain.
“Early November is usually a really good time to be fishing Wheeler, and it’s a great month for topwaters,” shared Crow. “You can fish walking baits like pencil poppers, plopping topwaters and a buzzbait, which should all be good. If you can get around any grass, you can still catch some on a frog, too.”
The caveat to the topwater bite could be the weather, particularly the wind.
“It’s hard to get three days in a row on Wheeler in the fall without some wind,” Crow said. “If you get any wind from the east or the west, it gets awful with the current flowing against it. Three-footers will kill any topwater bite and muddy the Flats.”
Aside from topwaters, Crow said a host of moving baits could be effective.
“ChatterBaits, spinnerbaits, maybe even a little cranking should do pretty well,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to drag something to catch fish, even though you can always catch some there on a shaky head. It shouldn’t be a finesse deal unless someone strictly uses it with LiveScope.”
Speaking of forward-facing sonar, Crow considers it the wildcard that could change everything he mentioned above. The technology was a major factor in the two most recent editions of the Toyota Series Championship, and he believes it could be the difference-maker once again.
“There hasn’t been a big fall tournament here with that technology around, and I think it’s going to be a player,” Crow said. “I’m going to practice and try to find out a way to catch them that way in case it’s the way to win. This event could be won with LiveScope or someone throwing a topwater on the Flats if they can find the right school.”
Regardless of the winning pattern, Crow expects plenty of fish to cross the stage and said there is potential for many limits with some quality bags mixed in.
“This is a time of year when almost everyone catches a limit, and there’s potential for some big bags,” he said. “You’ll see some 20-pound bags, for sure. With good weather, somewhere in the high 50s should win over three days.”