After a short break, we’re heading west to Chickamauga Lake. This TVA lake is just upstream of the legendary Lake Guntersville. And while it may not have quite the prestige as its neighbor to the south, it certainly has plenty of gigantic bass. There is still some great grass if you know where to look, and you can rest assured that most of these guys will know where every blade in the lake is.
The big factor will be the spawn — and we’re not just talking bedding fish. The weather and water level has had the bulk of the bass waiting in the wings to hit the shallows and do their thang.
All the reports I’ve been reading lately suggest the lake has been very pressured, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see some big bags. Moreover, it means that consistent big bags will be difficult to come by. You may have a guy smash 25 pounds one day, and then only come across the stage with only 12 to 15 pounds the next day.
The anglers who can post up on those “stop signs” where bass are coming and going, similar to what (spoiler alert) Buddy Gross did on the Harris Chain, that could be the key to the blue trophy.
BUCKET A: GROSS
Buddy Gross may only have two recorded professional tournament finishes on Chickamauga, but this Chattanooga, Tenn., resident has spent hundreds of hours on this system of lakes and will certainly have the hometown advantage. He has a second-place finish in a May event and a middling finish in the 2020 fall event here. But he is clearly in tune with those areas that reload given how he caught them on the Harris Chain, fishing very small areas as bass were migrating to and from the spawning grounds. He’ll likely have dozens of similar spots at his disposal with a few sneaky ones to boot.
Don’t forget about: John Cox
It’s hard to ignore John Cox’s resume here. In six recorded events, he has four finishes 12th or better with a win mixed in back in 2019. His win came from, you guessed it, throwing a stick bait around cypress trees, which could absolutely be a key to winning this time if there are enough fish spawning to keep him going for four days.
BUCKET B: SWINDLE
This will almost certainly be a junk fishing event. The little bit of grass that is starting to emerge probably won’t be the primary target for most of the field. For guys like Gerald Swindle, he’ll be looking for every secondary point with rock, shell bed, lay down, grass clump, dock and stump to put together his bags. He’ll likely be going through more bites than most, so it will come down to whether or not he can get the bigger bites in the boat. In his two Bassmaster Elite Series showings, he has a 12th and fourth to his name, and while neither event was in April, that doesn’t mean this time around won’t fit his style even better.
Don’t forget about: Scott Martin
Scott Martin seems to have finally gotten the train on the tracks and is pressing forward full steam. He had a fantastic event on the Harris Chain, locking in his first Championship Sunday, and he immediately followed it up with a second Championship Sunday at the Classic on Hartwell. He has a fair bit of experience on Chickamauga, and 75% of his finishes here have been top 12 or better. While he has been on a tear flipping grass and skipping docks, he is no slouch with a bladed jig or crankbait either.
BUCKET C: LOGAN
Assuming some bass move shallow, watch out for Wes Logan. He won an event on Neely Henry throwing a swimjig through shallow cover. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of chances to do the same thing here, just maybe the bladed version. But no matter how he catches them, he will probably stay shallow and cover as much ground as possible which will be critical in this event. He finished 14th here in 2020.
Don’t forget about: Lee Livesay
If Brandon Palaniuk’s Santee Cooper Lakes finish is any indication, just because a win came at a different time of year doesn’t mean that an angler can’t simply have a special relationship with a body of water. Lee Livesay took the title at Chickamauga on a topwater frog back in October 2020. He has plenty of experience following bass around as they’re in the process of coming and going from the spawning grounds. That’s essentially the same thing he did on Lake Fork as well, landing the third biggest bag in Bassmaster history. Plus, he just had a little baby girl. The “new daddy” luck could pay off big time. Baby needs a new pair of shoes!
BUCKET D: AUTEN
Sporting a pair of Top 10s in prior events, Todd Auten comes in at the top of the short list of strong picks this time around. He’s had a rough start to his 2022 season, but given this should be a moving-bait event, it could set up perfectly for him to crush them on some combination of skirts and blades.
Don’t forget about: Caleb Sumrall
For the same reasons as John Cox, Caleb Sumrall was tough to pass up. He finished in the teens back in 2020, but is a shallow water hammer. He could find some warm, gnarly little backwater and pound on them for four days. If the weather out there gets just a little warmer than predicted and the fish make a push shallow, he could be deadly.
BUCKET E: FOUTZ
By now, most of you have already heard that Jacob Foutz is a guide on Chickamauga for most of the year when he isn’t on tour, so you can bet he’s excited and ready to get out there. Surprisingly, he is still relatively cheap as far as percentages go at just over 10% as I am writing this. He should be able to find a groove and go to work quickly.
Don’t forget about: Justin Atkins
Justin Atkins lives just a few hours from Chickamauga and certainly has his fair share of days on TVA lakes. His Bassmaster Elite Series career hasn’t panned out how he would have liked so far, but there is no better time than the present to turn it around. When he finds his stride, it’s when he chooses to live in that mid-depth zone, which will be perfect for this event. If you want a Cinderella story, here’s your guy.
Mercury Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge
This has been a fun season for me because I have landed on some great picks, but most importantly, I’m way in front of my fellow pundits. Currently, I’m in the 35th spot overall and hoping to hang tough with the following team. I have to say, I have a decent lineup for Fork and for the Northern Swing to follow, but this one has me a bit nervous as I have burned through some key players that will probably do well this time around.
• Brandon Card
• Keith Combs
• Clent Davis
• Buddy Gross
• Jacob Foutz
• Stephen Kennedy
• Tyler Rivet
• Caleb Sumrall
