Matthew Robertson Wins 2020 Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Cherokee Lake!

Smallmouth shine during impossible fishing

By David A. Brown. 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Topwater and finesse key to limits
on difficult fishery.
(Photo: BASS) 

When noon found him without a keeper, Matthew Robertson of Kuttawa, Ky., made a bold decision that propelled him to victory at the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Cherokee Lake with a three-day total of 40 pounds, 12 ounces.

Entering Championship Saturday with a mere 3-ounce lead over Denny Fiedler of Wabasha, Minn., Robertson added a five-bass limit of 12-4 to his first two days’ limits of 14-8 and 14-0. He won by a margin of 1-10 and earned a top prize of $35,000. Robertson also won the $500 Garmin Tournament Rewards prize.

He also earned an automatic berth into the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, which is scheduled for March on Lake Ray Roberts in Texas.

“I’m usually out on the water saying, ‘Maybe I should go here, maybe I should go there,’ but the past two weeks, I’ve just had more faith in myself and I’ve just been rolling with it,” Robertson said. “I’m not second-guessing anything; I’m fishing more deliberately.”

Fresh off a second-place finish at the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open on Neely Henry Lake, Robertson had spent his first two days working a small stretch of boulder-laden bottom in 20 feet of water. Intercepting packs of smallmouth bass ravaging bait schools, he caught his fish on a Ned rig and a Neko rig.

With post-frontal conditions bringing bright skies and high pressure, Day 3 found the spot unproductive. Robertson said this prompted him to completely scrap his game plan and switch to something that was right in his wheelhouse. 

“I told myself, ‘I’m going to stay there until noon and see what I have,’” he said. “All I caught was a striped bass, so I pulled the plug. I was so comfortable with that decision, it was no big deal. 

“I pulled into a little pocket close to my deep spot and caught one on a topwater. I figured out what the pattern was and I went to war with it.” 

Robertson said he found his best opportunities in pockets with docks, deeper cuts and flat points with scattered rock. Most of the bass he saw were hunting bait in small feeding groups known as “wolf packs.” 

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Cumberland Day 1: Scott Martin Leads with Smallmouth

Cory Johnston 55th, Gustafson 94th, Richardson 118th & Chris Johnston 123nd. 

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Scott grabs lead with 19-07lbs.
(Photo: FLW)

The word of the day Thursday at the FLW Tour event presented by T-H Marine on Lake Cumberland was smallmouths – at least for the day one leaders.

Despite having an 18-inch minimum size limit, smallmouths were the day one shining stars of the species for many pros in the top 10.

Raw weather, which included gusty winds, drizzly rain and temperatures in the 40’s, all seemed to have spurred the smallmouth bite, and even those who were a little reluctant to commit to smallmouths Thursday did so based on the weather.

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., took the early lead on Cumberland with a catch of 19 pounds, 7 ounces, which included four smallmouths and a stout largemouth.

“Based on this weather, I decided to start the day by targeting smallmouth,” Martin says. “And after I caught two, I figured I’d just keep rolling with it to see how many overs (18 inches) I could get. As it turned out, I caught a couple more and then a nice largemouth.”

Martin hinted he made a long run by saying he did have to stop for fuel. Some of his smallmouth water and largemouth water are in close proximity, so he bounced back and forth between the two later in the day.