Chickamauga Producing Record Bass In Time For Chattanooga Bass Association Opener
The Chattanooga Bass Association opens its 2015 season on Lake Chickamauga Saturday with anglers having an increased anticipation of catching some really hefty largemouths. The reason: An angler practicing for a tournament on Feb. 13 reeled in a new state record largemouth bass at a whopping 15.2 pounds.
It may have been Friday the 13th, but it definitely was not a bad luck day for Gabe Keen of Dayton, Tenn., who broke a record that has stood in Tennessee for more than 60 years. Keen caught the fish on a Tennessee Rig fitted with Zoom Super Flukes. He said he is convinced there’s another state record, maybe more than one, in Chickamauga.
“I think there’s some more 15- to 16-pound fish in the lake,” he said.
State wildlife officials were not surprised the record was broken in Chickamauga and TWRA fisheries biologist Mike Jolley had said for some time he expected the lake to produce the next state record.
Jolley said he is awaiting DNA test results, but he expects the fish is a cross between one of the Florida largemouth bass stocked in the lake and a northern largemouth that is the native species in the lake.
While another state record might not be in the cards for Saturday’s tournament, there is real anticipation that some excellent quality fish will be weighed in, said Chattanooga Bass Association Vice President Brad Ferguson.
“There have been several other big fish caught recently, 11- to 12-pound fish,” Ferguson said. “The huge fish we are seeing are the result of the Florida strain stocking program that was begun back in the mid- to late ’90s.”
Ferguson said the series also expects a big turnout for the opening tournament Saturday.
“We had a pre-meeting last Sunday and more than 100 showed up. A lot that I know who fish were not able to attend. I could not nail down a number, but we are looking for 80 or more boats for the first tournament.”
If one of those anglers does catch another state record, or even a 10-pound-plus largemouth, he will have to do it without the lure that Keen used to set the record two weeks ago. Under the new CBA rules for 2015, the Alabama/Tennessee Rig is banned. No umbrella-type rigging, harness of other device designed to hold more than one lure at a time – with or without hooks – is allowed.
The CBA’s 2015 schedule includes: Feb. 28, March 14, April 11, May 16, June 6 (Night), June 27 (Day). July 11 (Day), July 25 (Night), Aug. 15 (Day), Aug. 29 (Night), Sept. 19 and Oct. 10, with the Classic Nov. 7-8.
Chattanooga Bass Association #1
Sat, Feb 28, 2015
Chickamauga Lake
Chester Frost Park
Call 423-593-3343
Email: [email protected]
