Before I started the official practice period for the Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifier at Wheeler Lake, I stuffed my rod locker with 37 rods. Every rod has a different bait on it. That’s because a little bit of everything should be going on there.
We’ve got a shad spawn, a bluegill spawn and postspawn bass offshore. There are still a few prespawn bass around and some spawners too.
Right now they’re killing huge spawners on Lake Okeechobee. When the bass are spawning in Florida at this time of year, you can bet that some of them are still spawning about everywhere else.
With so many possible ways to catch them, you might think you can fish anyway you want to. That would be a mistake.
I’m going to keep my Power-Pole MOVE electric motor humming and roll down the banks. I’ll have lots of rods stacked on my deck rigged with everything from topwater baits to Carolina rigs.
I’ll keep my Lowrance electronics fired up so I have options for fishing off the bank. I can’t get caught up doing one thing. I have to do whatever the fish tell me to do and that can change from one hour to the next.
I expect the morning bite will be a key to winning at Wheeler. That should have a lot to do with the shad spawn. I’ll start with moving baits in the morning.
A spinnerbait is always a good choice when the shad are spawning. If they’re slapping at my spinnerbait, I’ll show’em a Berkley SquareBull. If they get off that I’ll feed ’em a swimbait or a Berkley Cane Walker.
All the shad don’t spawn on riprap, docks and other visible stuff. Some of them spawn 5 to 7 feet deep on brushpiles. You can’t physically see them with your eyes but you can by zooming around with ActiveTarget.
If it’s windy and cloudy the shad spawn might last until 9:30. You get a bluebird day, and it could be over by 7. If you’re in a late flight on a day like that, you’ll miss the shad spawn altogether.
Everybody’s gonna catch a few fish early. After that you’re going to have to switch gears and put a few 4- or 5-pounders in the box to have a shot at winning.
I expect I’ll be hitting 10 to 20 spots a day, and I might run from one end of the lake to the other. I prefer to catch bass shallow, but I’ll also have to hit offshore points, ledges, brushpiles and mussel beds.
When the sun shines I might stumble across a late spawner or some fry guarders. The sun also helps me see bream beds from farther away. That’ll let me make longer casts to the beds so I don’t spook any bass that could be hanging around.
I know one thing for sure. Nobody is going to win at Wheeler fishing one bait or one or two spots.
