COUNCE, Tenn. – The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division event on Pickwick Lake finished up as a great tournament, with anglers catching fish all kinds of ways. Spawning fish played big – both species, visible to the naked eye and offshore. Fish in current played. ‘Scope fish were a big deal. It was really all you could ask for in a springtime event on the Tennessee River.
Here’s what the best relied on.
1. O’Barr backs up his minnow game well
Making the run to Bay Springs, Hayden O’Barr did most of his damage during his LiveScope sessions, but especially on Day 1, some backups were key to his bag.
For baits, he used a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in dirty shad and a jig, as well a 5-inch minnow on a 1/8-ounce head. He used a 6-foot, 10-inch, medium-light model from TigeRodz for his minnow and a 7-3, medium-heavy TigeRodz stick for his ChatterBait.
2. Current puts Beck in the mix
Donny Beck fished a great tournament, and given more ordinary weights and not the superstar pace O’Barr was on, he may well have won. Weighing 12 smallmouth, two bass of mixed origin and a largemouth, the Alabama pro did his damage near the Wilson Dam. His best bait was a 4-inch Jenko Booty Shaker, and he used 3/8- and 1/2-ounce Johnston Lures screwlock heads depending on the current.
“That’s what I caught 90% of my fish on, that swimbait; I was in the current, fishing for prespawn fish,” he said.
3. Smallmouth also key Keyton
Fishing far up the lake, Jade Keeton knocked out a great finish with a game plan that several others ran – get close to the Wilson Dam and chase smallmouth. He weighed 12 brown ones on the week.
His best baits were a Bomber Long A and a Scottsboro Tackle Glide, and he fished everything on homemade rods with MHX blanks.
“On Day 1, every fish I caught came on the Long A,” Keeton said. “That’s my confidence bait. It seems to work whenever the fish set up on current, and they love it. It was great. They were extremely healthy, spawning, very fat.”
4. Spawners power Shaw
Banks Shaw took the lead on Day 1, stayed in second on Day 2, and then could only scratch four keepers out on Day 3. On the week, he caught mostly spawning fish, both with his electronics offshore and with his eyes. His best bait was a Rapala CrushCity Bronco Bug on a 3/8-ounce Texas rig, which he fished with a 7-4, heavy 13 Fishing Myth rod and 20-pound Sufix Advance.
5. Campbell makes quick work of spawning smallmouth
Back to his typical Top 10 ways, Brody Campbell improved his weight every day and had some of the best ‘Scope periods of anyone.
“I would go up there and catch all my weight in about an hour and a half,” he said. “I was catching them off beds, utilizing electronics and making quick work of it. Then I would drag around and run current breaks on the way back. On Day 3, I stopped close to takeoff at the end of the day and caught one good one. But 14 of the 15 I weighed I caught with electronics on beds.”
He stuck with a 1/4-ounce shaky head and a finesse worm, and of course used a Bird Dog Rods stick.
6. Nutt mixes it up
Sliding into the Top 10 with very consistent days, Dylan Nutt did a little bit of everything.
A Scottsboro Tackle Top Hook Swimbait played for Nutt, as well as a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Chigger Craw, a jig and a Berkley Lab Series Minnow.
7. Johnson drags and minnows
Fishing Bay Springs, Lake Johnson paired a Carolina rig and a minnow for a successful tournament.
“I had a couple hard spots in Bay – a big flat hump with three or four hard spots on it and hydrilla all around it,” he said. “I would go around it in my no-‘Scope period, and I weighed two or three each day off it.”
Then, Johnson put down the C-rig and picked up the minnow to target fish on stumps, as well as roamers.
His minnow of choice was a 6-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 1/8-ounce head, and he rolled with a 3/4-ounce C-rig with a Zoom Brush Hog in green pumpkin magic.
8. Surratt also goes for smallmouth
Making the run up the lake to the smallmouth grounds, Trent Suratt weighed 13 smallmouth, most of them caught on beds.
His best baits were a 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 1/8-ounce head and a 5-inch YUM Dinger in ghillie suit on a 3/16-ounce Pro Fishing Lures shaky head.
“In the morning I was catching them off beds. With the minnow, you could aggravate them and get them to bite,” he said. “Once I used my ‘Scope up, then I would drag the shaky head around.”
9. Bay Springs plays for Travis
Knocking out his second Top 10 of the season, Benjamin Travis moved into the lead for 7 Brew Angler of the Year in the Central Division. Notably, he made the run to Bay Springs as well.
“This was the first time that I got in on the Bay Springs deal and didn’t stay on Pickwick, and I think that is the last time that’ll ever work,” he said.
His best baits were a 6-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 1/8-ounce head, a 3/8-ounce flipping jig with a twin-tail trailer and a Carolina rig with a Zoom Magnum UltraVibe Speed Craw. He used a 4/0 Hayabusa WRM114 for his C-rig, and a 7-6, heavy Fenwick Elite rod for his jig.
10. Brewer leans on the smallmouth spawn as well
Finishing 10th with help from a tiebreaker, Hunter Brewer stuck to the smallmouth spawn.
“I went up to the dam and I was fishing for bedders,” he said. “I was ‘Scoping for bedders, and when my three hours was up, I would throw around – throw at the bigger rock, stuff that stood out. Most every big rock or every indentation had a fish in it. It was just weeding through the little males to get to the big ones.”
His best bait was a 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 1/8-ounce head, and he also used a shaky head as well as a Davis Baits jig to catch his fish.