Spawn A Week Off, But Fishing Good For Chattanooga Bass Tournament On Chickamauga
Fishing will be very good for the Chattanooga Bass Association’s third tournament of the year on Lake Chickamauga Saturday, but not nearly as good as it probably would be if the tournament were held a week later, according to competitor Chris Coleman.
“Fishing has been really good. The fish were into heavy pre-spawn the last couple of months and they will catch some big stringers in this tournament,” said Coleman who served as CBA president the last two years.
“There was an ABA tournament last weekend and there were some heavy stringers and a lot of really big fish caught. There was a 10-pounder and two over 9 pounds. But the weights dropped off pretty quick.”
Coleman, who is ranked sixth in the CBA points standings with teammate Jim Cross after finishing 20th in the February 26 tournament and 10th in the March 12 tournament, said the problem for this weekend is the moon phase.
“The water temperature will be up by this weekend, but the spawn will probably be towards the end of next week when the full moon occurs. There will be a major spawn then if conditions stay like they are and the water temperature gets up a couple of degrees.
The fish will still be scattered by Saturday, Coleman said.
“I was on the lake both days this past weekend and the fish were just cruising around, not in a feeding mood. They are thinking about the spawn but they are not feeding. They are hard to catch when they are running around like that and not locked onto anything.”
Steve Kite and his teammate Daniel Lewis are currently leading the points after two tournaments, having finished third Feb. 26 and fourth March 12.
“Steve is one of the older fishermen on the lake and he has a lot of knowledge,” said Coleman. “He’s really consistent and he’s had 20-pound stringers in the first two tournaments.”
Coleman pointed out that the Chattanooga Bass Association format of 12 tournaments throughout the season has been extremely successful because of the participation of local and national sponsors.
“The entry money covers payback at the tournaments and the Classic every year is 100 percent funded by sponsors – and CBA has more than 70 sponsors this year.”
That has bred success for the trail, he noted, with tournaments this year setting current records for participation.
“We had over 100 boats in the first tournament and 98 in the last one. It’s been 10 years since I can remember a CBA tournament with 100 boats, but it’s because the fishing has been so good and the payout has been so good the last couple of years,” he said. “I think the purse in the classic the last couple of years exceeded $60,000 and everybody in the classic last year left with a check, even if they did not catch a fish.”
Chattanooga Bass Association
Lake Chickamauga
Chester Frost Park
Saturday, Apr. 9, 2011
Call Justin Medley 423-593-7703
