Yes, the water is high at Beaver Lake, but it is remarkably clear for its height. Last year the water was much muddier all the way through the system. With so much clarity still in the lake, the last few days of practice at the Walmart Open have been filled with talk of bedding bass and smallmouths.

Day three of practice featured bright sun and day four started sunny but ended with late afternoon thundershowers. Several pros mentioned that sunshine seemed to be bringing more bass to the bank. With water temperatures still in the mid 60’s, many believe the spawn is not near finished at Beaver and more fish are coming up by the day. The big caveat to the sight bite is that with all the new water in the lake, pros will need sunny conditions to see and given the topsy-turvy weather forecast lately, that might or might not happen during the tournament. Thursday’s forecast calls for thundershowers and heavy rain which would make seeing bass pretty tough.

Also, several pros have mentioned that they are catching a lot of smallmouth this year. Many are not keepers, but the ones that are, are fat and healthy, providing some weight advantage at the scales. If you have a smallmouth expert in mind, you might consider putting their names in your roster – Kevin Vida and Chip Harrison are a couple of suggestions.