BassNJake

I was looking pretty good after day one. Then Mueller decided getting skunked was better than making the cut. Still have Herren so at least there is that. I was pretty shocked Lester only weighed in 14 yesterday

Thanks for sharing!!

I also use the owner beast 4/0 unweighted hooks

The West Virginia team is in 4th place after day 2 Final day is tomorrow!! It's a stacked top 12!!

Welcome to bassresource and back to bass fishing!!

Must not have been tournaments on those waters 4-5 years ago during the spawn, thats why the weights are so big now.

Back reeling is a lost art that has helped me land a quite a few fish I would have lost otherwise.

Just popped over to the bassmaster site to see The West Virginia team is in first after day one!! They brought 26lbs 6 oz to the scales. On a side note my old tournament directors son is in 13th place fishing for the Kent State team!!

Just dont add Jesse Tacoronte he's been disqualified from fishing this event. https://www.bassmaster.com/news/tacoronte-disqualified-lake-guntersville-elite-series-event

I saw this yesterday and went back and rewatched it again this morning. Glad I was raised around fishing and happy that I have passed it on to my kids as well. Makes me want to take my dad and son out on a trip together because you never know if tomorrow might be too late.

Yeah, I'm not having the same problem. I set my line up weeks ago and then just yesterday made a few tweaks.

I'm fishing topwater almost all summer. My trips are first light to around noon or 1 Once the sun gets higher I target the shade with my topwater presentations. Some times it is easier when the sun is high and I'm hitting the shade spots than it is at first light. I'll use a toad, buzzbait and walk the dog type lure. Sometimes I'll fish a section with the topwater and then swing back through trying something a little more finesse like pitching a senko to the laydowns. More often than not I'm just covering water anxiously awaiting the next topwater explosion!! Also love to hear about kids getting out on the lake, so that's awesome!!

A lot of fish will stack on the ledges in 25-35 feet, a 1oz spinnerbait slow rolled is sometimes the most productive way

I can imagine a few laughs when someone asks what you caught them on and you tell them they choked your chicken

I'd start with the bhite delight and see how much visibility there is tomorrow. If its hard to see you might wanna try the black and blue. Just dont pigeon hole yourself into thinking that white wont work when its dirty or black wont work when its clear water. Let the fish tell you and if one is not working than switch. My best luck with chatterbait type lures have come in areas that have cover and/or structure and/or wind blowing on it. Good luck!!

I thought that was pretty cool, thanks for the share!!

I spend more time graphing when prefishing than actual fishing. If I can mark several areas that are holding fish, I can begin working on a pattern and strategy on how to fish those areas. Based on the time of year and how the fish are positioned I have the confidence we can get a couple of bites to further clue us in. My tourney partner and I do not prefish together. We both take on various sections of the lake and then we will compare notes and images to try and define some sort of similarities we can formulate a pattern and plan around. I've been doing this quite a while and it is a system that works well for us. That being said I do have some dedicated practice lures that have the hooks cut.

I agree, especially when it creates shade. When I was a kid I fished a few sand pits and there were ledges created as they zig zagged equipment down to the bottom. For what ever reason on many of the turns where they zig zagged they would pile rocks. I couldn't reach a lot of these areas in the summer from shore. However, my dad taught me how to read a flasher there while ice fishing and those areas always held all types of fish. I would have loved to get out there on a boat to graph the bottom. Good luck and cant wait to hear some reports!!

I hate breaking off fish. Right after I break one off, I know I'll miss the next one by setting the hook like a wimp.

Hi Reggie - I am a member at the chattanooga fishing forum.(https://www.chattanoogafishingforum.com) I go there for details on what is happening specifically at Chickamauga. One of the moderators(spurhunter) there sells these foley spoons. The guys over there swear by them. I have never used one or seen one in person. Just wanted to let you know of somewhere else you may want to go to check them out.

Only since moving to TN about 8 years ago have I seen this. The first time was a few years ago in the fall I pulled into a creek and the last 200 yards of the creek 20 yards wide was packed solid from side to side with shad. Not big ones like you saw but millions of 1/2 to 1 inch shad. It seemed like every square inch of water was covered with shad. I did not get a bite. Now I have encountered this large shad party on several occasions, never as many as that first time but still more than I ever thought to be conceivable. We only catch the fish that are moving in or out of the creeks packed with the shad. If we're in the midst of all the bait we cant buy a bite. Working areas such as the points leading into the creek channel and breaks in the channel before it gets back to where all the shad are have worked best for us. Good luck!!

A lot of excellent information right here on probably one of the best places to catch fish anywhere. There have been a bunch of threads asking how to approach a new body of water. Points can often give various different clues that will apply to other locations. I know many a tournament has been won by running the point pattern. I have had a couple very good days stroking a jig/spoon/blade bait on fish suspended over the very end of a point But traditionally I follow the diagram above

The problem is the increased hook thru the tongue scenario. I know as a tourney guy the chances are slim to none that a tongue hooked fish makes the scales before dying. If I gut hook a fish, I have the confidence I can cut the hook and release the fish with a probability for survival With a tongue hooked fish it's gonna end up in the garden because it will die and I don't eat fish

Horney toads are notorious for flipping over. Keitech noisy flapper and the rage toad are engineered a little better and dont have the same issues.

Good luck!! Cant wait to see the report with some giants!!