DECATUR, Ala.— Trey McKinney led after Day 1 with 21 pounds, 15 ounces, at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Wheeler Lake. What and how he caught his bass is insignificant compared to when those bass entered his livewell.
Even with an official takeoff time of 6 a.m., McKinney got a late start. With 221 boats and 15 flights in the tournament, McKinney was boat #167 leaving Ingalls Harbor.
He missed the crucial early (very early) bite that revolves around a shad spawn. A feeding frenzy erupts when largemouth feed on those baitfish when they are most active, concentrated in small areas.
There are two distinct patterns in play. The first is capitalizing on the nocturnal shad spawn, which begins to dwindle as daybreak turns to sunny skies. By then, it’s time to shift to the ledges and flats lining the Tennessee River channel. The shad spawn is key for scoring an early limit of 5 bass before the going gets slower (and more challenging).
McKinney missed the shad spawn, recovering with his time on the flats. Today, McKinney is boat #55. Less than one hour into the fishing day, BassTrakk showed his weight of four bass weighing an estimated 12-4.
Yesterday the skies were clear and sunny; overcast conditions are today’s forecast, which could prolong the shad spawn. Meanwhile, the going could get tougher on the flats. Bright conditions and TVA-generated current concentrate largemouth in bottom depressions, mussel beds and behind rock and wood. Without sun and current, the largemouth suspend, scatter and roam. Of course, that’s just a textbook reference; anything can happen in the sphere of fishing Tennessee Valley Authority impoundments.
Clark Reehm best summed up postspawn and summertime fishing on this river system.
“I call it ‘TVA fishing’ because there is nothing else like it anywhere else,” said Reehm, in fifth place after Day 1. “You are fishing in a crowd, making new friends, some enemies, or at best, working with present friends.”
Probably nowhere else does that socially-driven bass fishing phenomenon occur on the Tennessee River than an area known as the Decatur Flats, covering a section of Wheeler from the Interstate 65 bridge to near TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. During its early 2000’s heyday, aquatic vegetation flourished on the expansive flat running through the middle of the river channel. Call it a mega-ledge that defines the river’s legendary summertime ledge fishing, with grass, baitfish, mussel beds and adjacent creek channels for spawning. The Decatur Flats had it all. Today, the vegetation is mostly gone, but all the other necessary ingredients are still there, along with the usual crowd of boats and anglers, all vying for the specific sweet spots that attract quality largemouth.
Reehm shared his stake of the flats with two other anglers, calling cast-by-cast audibles to equally share the shared water in the spirit of good sportsmanship.
“It’s just what you do to keep things fair,” said the veteran angler.
There are other opportunities for those who prefer avoiding the crowds, among them Clark Wendlandt, in ninth after Day 1.
Although the Bassmaster Elite Series pro avoid disclosing details, he did make it clear that a shallow bite is in play, and without the benefits of a shad spawn.
“There are some late spawners, but I cannot see them on beds,” Wendlandt said. Nor is he searching for shad spawn feeders.
Just give me the points. That is current angler of the year leader John Garrett’s plan.
“Initially, I came here looking for the winning areas, then I realized what is more important, which is gaining points for the Elite Series,” Garrett said.
So far so good. After Day 1, Garrett was 11th for the tournament with 18-8. That should be expected for a west Tennessee native skilled at offshore ledge fishing on this river.
Garrett capitalized where bass find calmer water in a low spot on the bottom used for ambushing passing baitfish from above, combined with mussel beds favored by the fish.
Joey Nania, who won the last Open held on the Tennessee River downstream at Pickwick Lake in 2021, is finding similarities in his success at Wheeler. Nania was sixth with 19-11 after Day 1.
“I’ve found more hard spots (exposed rockpiles, mussel beds) than I did down at Pickwick,” he said. “Quality has increased too, and I’m fishing three different patterns that all line up around specific times of day.”
That rotation includes an offshore early bite, likely a gizzard shad spawn on the flats and bars, a shift to shoreline wood and vegetation, and a grass line bite later in the day.
Perhaps best of all, Nania has options in play that don’t all revolve fishing in a crowd.
