Fishing pressure to be major factor for Savannah River BFL opener on Lake Keowee
Although he lives a half hour or less from the shores of Lake Keowee, tournament angler Bo Price of Westminster, S.C., has not done any pre-fishing on the lake before the Savannah Division BFL season opener there this Saturday – for two reasons. First, the fish already know what time of year it is and second, no use giving away potential fish producing spots.
“The photo period is overlooked by a lot of anglers,” said Price, who has 16 top 10 finishes in less than 70 FLW Fishing Tournaments, including four 1st places. “Last year this BFL tournament was held on Feb. 7 and the year before it was on Feb. 10. The photo period is the only way for the fish to keep up with what time of year it is. They know what to do, regardless of the weather, pretty much.”
Cabin fever will play a major role after the recent spate of wintry weather, he added.
“Everybody is ready to get on the lake, so fishing pressure is going to be the biggest factor in the tournament. There have been a lot of boats on the lake and the few places I do have I don’t want to gte seen on them, so I am leaving them alone until the tournament.
Price noted that the weather was unseasonably warm until recently, but the cold snap has had an effect on the fish.
“It was really warm in December, record-breaking warm. I feel like there were a lot of fish up shallow, but with the sleet and snow and temperatures down in the 20s and teens at night, I am sure that pushed a lot of those fish deeper,” he said.
The weather pendulum is expected to swing back the other way this week, Price noted, with a high of 60 degrees during the day Saturday and the low that morning around 40 degrees.
“Saturday is supposed to be the first nice day we’ve had in 2 ½ weeks. It won’t be early enough to pull the fish back up, but it will be nice for the fishermen,” he noted. “Somebody might catch them shallow, but whoever wins is going to have to fish deep, fish slow and pick up a decent keeper here and there.”
And, he added, fishing pressure is going to be heavy on the lake Saturday.
“The Fishers of Men is going to have 100 boats, BFL will have 150 boats and with that many boats on the lake all the community holes will be beat up during the tournament. You will have to find a back door approach, maybe not the best holes on the lake, but decent holes,” Price said. “If you have a place to catch a 2 ½-pounder, you’d better go get him because of all the boat traffic.”
Walmart BFL Savannah River Division
Sat, Jan 30, 2016
Lake Keowee
South Cove County Park
