Montgomery Hoping To Find Chickamauga’s Bass Treasure Trove In Bassfest
Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee has a growing reputation as one of the best bass fisheries in the nation, currently ranked 7th on Bassmaster Magazine’s 100 Best Bass Lakes, with 20 pounds plus the norm lately for winning local tournaments.
Following the introduction of Florida strain bass, it is common to see 5-, 6-, and 7-pound bass – and bigger! On May 5, local angler Mark Powell reeled in a 13-pound, 13-ounce largemouth, surpassing the previous lake record by a narrow 4 ounces and only 1 pound shy of the standing Tennessee state record.
With fish like that swimming in the Tennessee River impoundment, the stage is set for the 107 Bassmaster Elite Series Pros and 33 BASS Open anglers fishing the 2014 BASSFest tournament on Chickamauga this week.
But, as hot as the fishing in Chickamauga has been, it’s pretty chilly for Elite Series pro Andy Montgomery.
“Fishing seems to be way off for me,” Montgomery said following practice Tuesday. “I’m not getting many bites at all.”
The Blacksburg, S.C., pro said the bass are all in post-spawn and in a summertime pattern.
“It’s the Tennessee River and it’s summertime. It definitely will be won off the bank,” he said.
Montgomery said he planned to start out the first day of the tournament on the spot where he caught a 4-pounder in practice.
“I just hope there are more there,” he said. “There are some big fish in this lake and it’s going to take a lot of weight to win. If you can catch five fish offshore you are going to have a pretty good chance, but for me, it’s just been tough to get bites.”
Although there are no points involved in BASSFest, the anglers are vying for a share of the $875,000 purse, with the winner earning $125,000 AND an entry into the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
Montgomery has been fishing both the B.A.S.S. Elites and the FLW Tour in hopes of qualifying for championships on lakes in his home state. The 2014 Forrest Wood Cup, the FLW Tour championship, will be held this August on Lake Murray in South Carolina.
A win on Chickamauga would redeem the season for Montgomery who is ranked 60th in points, a long way from qualifying for next year’s Classic. With just two regular Elite tournaments left – on the Delaware River in early August and on Cayuga Lake in late August – his chances are growing slim.
“We’ve got one in Delaware and one in New York,” he said. “I’ve not fished those waters. I’ve not been to either one of them.”
But a very strong finish in both could push him back up the standings and possibly into the list of Classic qualifiers.
“I really don’t have a strategy for those tournaments,” he said. “I’ll just try to do the best I can in every event – and hope it works out.”
Which is just what he plans todo on Chickamauga this week.
Bassmaster Elite BASSFest at Chickamauga Lake
Jun 11-15, 2014
Chickamauga Lake
