Fishing Down Slightly, But Still Very Good For Bws Tennessee East Championship On Chickamauga
Chickamauga Lake may be ranked the 6th best bass lake in the nation this year, according to Bassmaster Magazine, but a veteran angler says it may not fish quite that good for the Bassmaster Weekend Series Tennessee East Division championship this weekend.
“Chickamauga has got to be the hottest lake in the country, close to it if not the top lake,” said Dale Pelfrey of Rockwood, Tenn., who will be competing in the Tennessee East Division title tournament this weekend.
“But, I don’t think the tournament will be the slugfest Chickamauga usually produces,” Pelfrey added. “The fish are changing right now, so it would surprise me if somebody goes out and catches 60 pounds for the two days.”
Pelfrey said he looks for a two-day total of 40 pounds to win the championship, possibly even less.
“The weights have been down for the last couple of weeks and the fish are starting to scatter out. The grass is behind its normal schedule so the frog bite is not near what it usually is this time of year,” he said.
Adding to the problem is the release of water from Douglas Lake and other reservoirs up the Tennessee River that are going through drawdowns, Pelfrey said.
“The water in those lakes tends to get a lot colder so when it gets down to Chickamauga it cools the water down which makes the fish want to suspend and scatter out. That makes fishing a lot tougher than it was just a month ago.”
Pelfrey said anglers will probably catch fish both shallow and deep in the championship this weekend and the tournament could be won both ways.
“You can catch them on the banks pretty good, but the bigger fish are hard to come by on the banks. There are still fish deep, just not as many as there were – and they are hard to find,” he said. “However, I think whoever finds the sweet spot deep will win it. There are some giants still out deep. I love to flip the banks, but if you can find a school of fish deep I prefer to do that. There is a lot less running to do and when they are bunched up like that it’s hard to beat.”
Since Pelfrey was unable to fish the Tennessee East Division tournament in April on Watts Bar where he lives he is not in contention for the division points title this year. He had two top five finishes in the three tournaments he fished – 5th at Lake Guntersville in March and 2nd at Loudon/Telling in June. His worst outing was 11th on Chickamauga in May, but he has done well on the Chick in the past. He posted two 2nd place finishes on the lake in 2012.
The top anglers from the Tennessee East Division after the championship this weekend, plus those from the South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama South and Florida divisions, will advance to the two-day regional tournament Oct. 4-5, 2013, on Lake Hartwell out of Gum Branch near Hartwell, Ga.
After the four regional tournaments, the top anglers from those events will compete in the BWS National Championship tournament Nov. 6-9 on Old Hickory Lake near Hendersonville, Tenn. The Boater Division champion will compete in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Feb. 21-23 on Lake Guntersville in Alabama.
Bassmaster Weekend Series – Tennessee East Division
Aug 24-25, 2013
Chickamauga Lake
Dayton Boat Dock
Billy Bennedetti, 256-230-5632
