First Tournament Conditions

As we approach the month of May, I also find myself approaching my first Montana Federation tournament of the year which is held annually on Noxon Reservoir, MT. This body of water is a gorgeous flooded tail of the mighty  Clark Fork river, which on a good day contains some of the best Smallie fishing in Western Montana. This lake can be a tourny angler's dream......or his worst nightmare, especially during early season conditions with record low water levels to boot.

Right around now is when I usually start doing my homework to prepare myself for this event which is already a difficult task being that it's a reservoir. The water levels already fluctuate daily, keeping most anglers from easily predicting patterns and finding bass, but things are looking much more challenging this year. The water temperature is not warming up as quickly as last year, but the clarity is improving daily. Provided we have phenomenal weather up until late May and the temperature does rise normally, we're still looking at some of the most challenging pre spawn cold water fishing I've ever seen.

The largemouths with be lethargic at best, but I'm looking for tips on what to look for the would help me key in on what the smallies will be doing and where they are, as well as how I should approach. Obviously looking for generic speculation without taking into consideration all of the other potential circumstances like moon phases and weather fronts. It's a deep lake with a large main channel that feed several smaller shallow bays. Structure usually consists of pine stumps and laydowns, sandbars, hydrilla mats, and rocky points and isolated rock piles. I have no idea where to start with this and would love some advice from fellow northern anglers.

Any input/feedback would be awesome. Thanks