Bassmaster Elite Alabama Charge: The Sawgrass Connection



The sawgrass connection.

 Rick Clun stated years ago that finding a pattern within a pattern is how to win a Bassmaster tournament. This week on Pickwick Lake the water was high. This time of year with the water high means bass in the bushes. That seemed to be the obvious pattern for a spring tournament. When Denny Brauer took the Day 1 lead everyone one knew the bushes were on. Denny is the flipping man and he won his first tournaments in the 1980s in Texas by flipping and pitching jigs into the buck brush and shoreline cover.

Yet, the astute anglers found something more, a pattern within a pattern. The In-Fisherman crew, a multi-species magazine and TV crew started by Ron and Al Linder, would consider this a spot on a spot if we were talking about deep water structure fishing. There is always something distinct that makes one place better than another and this week it was Sawgrass. This yellow bullrush looking grass typically grows on hard, rocky bottom. Bass were seeking hard bottom to spawn. Find the sawgrass meant finding hard bottom. Which in turn meant finding suitable bottom for making a bed. The tournament started as a pre-spawn tournament but slowly turned into a spawning tournament as the week progressed. Again, always focusing on the changes is what keeps the top on top.
Alton Jones, Denny Brauer, Bobby Lane, Jared Lintner, Greg Hackney, along with many others focused on the sawgrass and it seemed to make a world of difference.

All photos from  Rob Russow and James Overstreet (BASS)

Bassmaster Elite Alabama Charge Day 4: Davy Hite Holds Out for Win!

Davy Hite Holds Off Intense Competition for Pickwick Lake Win!

Pickwick Lake — Florence, Ala

April 6-10 | Weigh-ins at 4 p.m. CT

Deb Johnson
Bassmaster.com
Bassmaster.com Press Release

Davy Hite earned the toughest and sweetest victory of his career Saturday.

Waiting it out by the Wilson Dam worked out for Davy.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Someone else who already owned seven Bassmaster titles maybe wouldn't have shown such emotion. Hite did as he took the Alabama Charge trophy.

"I don't take for granted winning No. 8, I promise you," he said. "This is as meaningful to me as the first one I ever won. It's like a drug, I can't describe the way it feels to win one of these things.
"I wanted it really bad. I'm just going to be honest here, although I hate to admit it: Probably at No. 4, 5 or 6 -- somewhere in there -- I kind of took it (winning) for granted. I wanted this one as bad as the first one I ever won."
In Bassmaster terms, that was in 1994 on another Alabama fishery, Lake Eufaula. He won six more over the years, including a Bassmaster Elite Series win and the 1999 Bassmaster Classic title, plus two Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year crowns in 1997 and 2002.
Hite's latest victory was worth $100,000 and an instant entry into the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, his 14th qualification and first since 2009.
He said the Classic qualification makes him rest easy on that score for the rest of the season.

Finally able to put his hands on another trophy!
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

"It's huge for me," he said. "I've missed one or two, barely missed them, and I don't feel like I've done my sponsors justice if I don't qualify each and every year. It starts to wear on me mentally, so it means a lot for me to be there for them, that's their showcase."

After leading for two days, Hite won the Pickwick Lake event with a four-day total of 84 pounds, 9 ounces. He ended with 8 pounds more than Bobby Lane, who totaled 76-9 for second place, and 9-4 ahead of Day One leader Denny Brauer, who finished third with 75-5.
Fourth place went to Keith Poche, who gave Hite a scare Friday by getting within 12 ounces. Alton Jones secured fifth place with 73-6, a finish that helped him keep his lead in the 2011 Angler of the Year race.
Hite's wide margin of victory was deceptive. He had to fight all week, staving off hard-chargers that included Poche in the No. 2 spot for two days running.
Falling water levels changed the game at Hite's primary area, the tailwaters of the Wilson Dam. He said he knew the water had dropped even before he arrived at the dam Saturday morning. He had marked an object at the water's edge Friday, and checked it Saturday morning before takeoff. That's how he knew the bite was not going to be quite the same for the final round.
The tip-off helped him quickly adjust and decide to stick with the dam.
"I went there and knew there'd still be fish there, that I'd just have to learn how to catch them with slower water. I knew it would be harder and I wouldn't get as many bites. It had worked for three days, I couldn't go looking for flipping fish the last day.
"It was a grind. I knew God shined on me bright when I heard that horn go off at 11 o'clock. I knew then I had a real chance."

Bassmaster Elite Alabama Charge Day 3: Hite on Top Again

Davy Hite Close to Taking a Win.

Pickwick Lake — Florence, Ala

April 6-10 | Weigh-ins at 4 p.m. CT

Deb Johnson
Bassmaster.com
Bassmaster.com Press Release

FLORENCE, Ala. -- Experience, get ready to meet raw ambition.
Keith Poche, a Bassmaster Elite Series sophomore seeking his first Bassmaster win, plans to give Alabama Charge leader and veteran pro Davy Hite something to sweat about in Saturday's Pickwick Lake finale.


Hite, the two-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year and 1999 Bassmaster Classic champ from South Carolina, is just as determined to claim his eighth Bassmaster win, which would be his first since a 2006 Elite victory in Georgia.
Adding another layer to the contest, the leaders plan to continue sharing water below Wilson Dam. They have been fishing within sight of each other and often within a cast of each other.
"It'll be a shootout," Hite said.
Asked if he believed Poche might feel intimidated by his experience in the sport, Hite answered, "I hope so."

Yeah! Davy's (closest) competition is that close.
(Photo: James Overstreet (BASS)

"When I was in his shoes, before I won a tournament, if I was fishing around somebody who'd won quite a few, yea, I'd be a little intimidated," Hite said. "I'm not going to do anything wrong, but you do what you've got to do to win. I might yell a little bit or something like that when I catch a big one."
Leading with a three-day total of 63 pounds, 8 ounces, Hite brought 20-9 to the scales Friday. It was enough to keep his Thursday lead and stave off not only Poche, who had a total of 62-12, but also Bobby Lane, who repeated his Thursday finish by securing third place with 59-7.

In fourth was Day One leader Denny Brauer with 57-2. Terry Scroggins was fifth with 54-15 after a 20-15 day that boosted him from 17th place.
Only the top 12 qualified for the final round Saturday, when one angler will claim the $100,000 first-place prize and a 2012 Bassmaster Classic berth.
Friday's catch almost didn't happen for Poche, a Louisiana native who lives in Troy, Ala. The day, which Poche later said was a lesson in the power of believing in yourself, began at the dam with lost fish and missed bites.
"It started out real sloppy, real slow," he said. "I could not get a bass in the boat."
He finally managed two small largemouth by 10:30 a.m., then another one of about 2 pounds. But then the action stalled for him.

Pickwick Lake: Following the Water

Pickwick Lake is a reservoir in north west Alabama that is part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system. It stretched from Pickwick Landing Dam to Wilson Dam. It is site of this week's Bassmaster Elite Alambama Charge tournament. Pickwick lake is a popular lake that has a diversity of fishing. There is a strong population of bass, both largemouth and smallmouth along with stripers and white bass. Pickwick can be divided into two distinct areas.


The Fast Water

Tim Horton tries to break off a wedged bait in the
fast water.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

The fast water is a huge draw for anglers. The tailwater below Wilson Dam is rocky and the current is quick. This draws baitfish, gamefish and anglers. This area is historically very popular. Some of the lake's largest smallmouth live there. Water levels, discharge rates and time of year greatly effect its flow. Current speed and water depth alter greatl causing bass and their food to frequently reposition. Find the correct drift will have you in haven.


The tailwater section of this impoundment eats tackle at an alarming rate. Snagging is a constant problem. Expect to clean your tackle box out quickly if you're not carefully watching your line. Other foes are the eager white bass and stripers. They love baitfish shaped lures equally and their aggressive nature can force smallmouth and largemouth to relocate. Many Elite pros will battle more stripers and white bass than they care too. But, that is all part of the game in the fast water.


The Timber

Denny Brauer is loving the flipping cover. He was the Day 1 leader.
(Photo: Rob Russow BASS)

Pickwick Lake is more of a river than a typical impoundment. It's shoreline can be very brushy and steep. Many sections of Pickwick are sheer bluff walls. But that is a different story altogether.  Finding the correct area can be flipping Nirvana. Trees, brush and stumps are ideal for flippers but also prime spinnerbait, topwater, and shallow cranking water. Largemouth in the timber can be a great pattern. Last year's Elite Pickwick Lake winner Kevin Short worked the wood to perfection.


What is Happening This Week
Water levels have been at an all time high. April showers means water in the bushes. The flippers have benefited from it but if it floods too much a lot of great areas become unreachable by boat.  High water is a double edge sword. It keep the largemouth in the cover but in the tailwater section of the lake expect,  ripping currents. Some find the strong current concentrates the bass. It also crams the anglers together which can make fishing a comedy of errors. Strong current makes boat and lure control dicey. Either way, high water can make fishing better for the anglers who work for it.


Receding water has pluses and negatives. As the water levels decrease, it sucks bass our of the flooded woods positioning them  in cuts, creeks, sloughs, dredged canals or along the outside edge of the wood. For the angler who can adjust and focus their casts to where the bass have relocated, its a sure way to vault to the top of the leader board. If the water drops too quickly it will crash the shallow water bite entirely.


Smallmouth anglers tend to like a little less current. It allows them to maintain more control over the fishing. It also allows the bass to spread across a wide geographical areas of the tailwater area. Which set of conditions are best is up to the fish and the angler who capitalize on the changes.


Tournament fishing is all about making good decisions. This tournament will be won by the angler who adjusts to the conditions on Pickwick Lake.


Stay tuned! 

Bassmaster Elite Alabama Charge Day 2: Hite At Top

Battle Over the Dam. Davy Hite Takes a Slim Lead

Pickwick Lake — Florence, Ala

April 6-10 | Weigh-ins at 4 p.m. CT

Deb Johnson
Bassmaster.com
Bassmaster.com Press Release

Davy Hite Take The Lead.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

It can be tough to do when the honey hole is small and within sight of other anglers, but Davy Hite and Keith Poche have learned how to work side-by-side over the first two days of the Alabama Charge on Pickwick Lake.

Hite pulled 42 pounds, 15 ounces, out of the two-man spot, enough for first place on Thursday and up from second place in the Bassmaster Elite Series' third stop of the season. Poche was 1 pound, 2 ounces behind the leader with 41-13. Poche improved his position from seventh place.
In contrast to the top two, Bobby Lane landed third place by going solo in shallow water about 20 miles downstream from where Hite and Poche are working a rocks-and-current area just below Wilson Dam. Lane had 40-5 over two days, up from 10th and now in range of the winner's circle.
Paul Elias and Jared Lintner stayed in the top five Thursday. Elias had 39-10, again for fourth place, and Lintner fell from third to fifth with 39-8. Day One leader, Denny Brauer, fell to sixth place with 37-12.
Hite said he had to discipline himself to stick with his section of the hot spot, a 20- to 30-yard stretch he worked all day Thursday for six bites.
"I promise you, at 10 o'clock I had one in the livewell, I'm thinking, 'I won't even cash a check at this pace,'" he said.
Not panicking and abandoning the hole to go to his second spot, 30 miles away, was the best thing he could have done. He felt he had to stay to protect what he had.
"I started there today because I felt I had to claim my little area. I kept thinking about going down (to his secondary spot), but people kept leaving, and that's when I made my hay, so to speak."
He boated four largemouth and one smallmouth. A sixth fish broke off in the rocks, and Hite lamented the loss as a potential winning fish.

Quarter Million Dollar Derby Days Away,
Excitement is Growing

With the lure of over $250,000 in prizes, the 22nd Annual
Isabella Lake Fishing Derby sponsored by Berkley, is
shaping up to be one of the best ever!

The anticipation has been in high gear for the 2011
Isabella Fishing Derby, to be held on April 16, 17, 18,
2011. With a load of Alpers trout delivered to Isabella
Lake this past week, and another load scheduled to be
delivered days before the start of the derby, the
excitement is growing. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/fishing/fishdescrip.html

Bassmaster Elite Alabama Charge Day 1: Brauer Bests Them All

Brauer Battles to the Top on Day 1

Pickwick Lake — Florence, Ala

April 6-10 | Weigh-ins at 4 p.m. CT

Deb Johnson
Bassmaster.com
Bassmaster.com Press Release
FLORENCE, Ala. -- Denny Brauer's five largemouth were not unusual on Wednesday. Trick was, his five included a 7-pound, 12-ounce lunker and four look-alikes, enough bass to be boss for the day at the Alabama Charge on Pickwick Lake.

Chasing smallmouth in the fast tail water will be a 
factor. (Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Brauer, with 23-10, was just 2 ounces in front of Davy Hite, who had a mixed smallmouth-largemouth bag that went 23-8. Brauer was also 8 ounces ahead of Jared Lintner's 23-2 worth of largemouths. Those three put a little distance between themselves and Paul Elias, fourth with 20-11, and Matt Herren, fifth with 20-10.
The leaders in the Bassmaster Elite Series' third stop of the season successfully targeted largemouth bass on a lake known for its smallmouth. A rough estimate by observers was that 90 percent of Wednesday's bass were largemouths, a flip from the 2010 event, when many more smallmouth bass -- about 75 percent of the total -- were brought to the scales.
Brauer, the 1997 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year and champ of the 1998 Bassmaster Classic -- just one of his 16 Bassmaster career wins -- said he didn't expect the weights to be as high as they were.
"I attribute that to the prespawn, rather than to the postspawn when we were here last year," Brauer said. "Some of the fish are as fat as any I've seen. It's a very, very healthy fishery and the timing could not be better."
Brauer targeted largemouth by flipping and pitching, using stout equipment to pull them out of heavy cover.
"Nothing special," he said. "Just covering a lot of water, trying to get one or two of the right bites, which I did. That's the key in a tournament like this. I had one in practice over 8 (pounds) so I knew the possibility existed there for a big bite."

Running the flooded timber and shoreline cover
will also be a factor. (Photo: Rob Russow BASS)

Brauer said he would have locked up into Wilson Lake to get away from fluctuating water levels of Pickwick, but with the lock closed for repairs, he had to figure out how to work around the swelling, then falling levels.
A drop in water might help him Thursday when he tries to repeat his pattern and go for at least one big bite of the day. Despite the fact he's sharing water with many other anglers, he'll go back to the same area and try to repeat his first day.
"I don't know another way to catch a big bag right now than what I'm doing," said Brauer, who lives in Camdenton, Mo.
Hite, two-time AOY and 1999 Classic winner from Ninety Six, S.C., said he ran up and down the lake several times, hitting spots up near the Wilson Dam for smallmouth, then down the lake for largemouth.
"I had two groups of fish, and unfortunately they were a long way from one another," he said.
On the lower end of Pickwick, he fished what amounted to private water, but it was the reverse up near Wilson Dam, the smallmouth community hole.

Japan's coolest Bass Fisherman, Takanori Hiraiwa, Gan Craft creator.

Gan Craft is a life style more than a brand.

Takanori creates world class, ultra primium rods, lures particularly swimbaits, eye wear, jewerly, watches

and custom painted lures that are works of art.  

Takanori displaying his famous swimbait.  

Young, urban street shiek is the Gan Craft way.

Beating the Winter Blues Part 4: Toronto Sportsmen's Show

The Toronto Sportsmen Show is one of the longest running and largest outdoor show in North America. It is certainly Canada's best show. A lot companies were there that I missed or I caught them at a very busy time. If I missed you, I am sorry. Some companies had booths. Others were found in the many stores at the show.

The Toronto Sportsmen Show is always great fun.  I got the chance to have dinner with Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine's Senior Editor, Gord Ellis from Thunder Bay, Ontario. He is always interesting to talk with. He told me of a place he did a tournament in North West Ontario that is teaming with big smallmouth in standing timber. Sounds like a future road trip for ibassin.com. The show is always a great time to see old friends. Here are a few companies that had new and cool products for 2011 at the show.

SHIMANO

Shimano Canada has some tough guys promoting their great rods and reels. Steve has the new Shimano Curado and Caenan reels and a look that telling you need one too. Steve's a great guy so mind the serious look. (Sorry Steve, the photo just was too funny to leave out.)  Really, Shimano has been king in Canada for decades and their line of reels: casting, trolling and spinning are top notch.

The creator of the Punisher Mini Jig, Jarrod Dean, knows a good rod when he sees one and this year Shimano has a 7' 7" Cumara Punching rod. Whacking the heavy weed mats is a red hot technique and this new Cumara might be the answer this season.  Not too sure if we love the winter look on Jarrod though. 

RAPALA

Rapala's Clackin' Rap Crankbaits (top) are the bait of choice if you spend anytime listening to their pros. Last year they helped a few pro-staff guys put some big money into their pockets. This year, you'll have a chance to cast one. The Clacking Minnow Jerkbait (bottom) has been equally hot. It casts very well, stays deep and has a super loud knocker. Great colour patterns and good hooks will keep any wild smallmouth pinned.

Grant Mills (top)shows off Rapala's new Shift rods. Only available in Canada, Rapala has developed a great selection of Shift rods and reels. New Shift and R-Type rods and reels are hitting the stores now. Check them out. The price is a huge selling point but the quality is very good too. Their new R-type flipping rod (middle) is a sweet rod. American can jump the boarder to snag one for themselves.  Shift Hero reel (bottom) looks like it should cost double than it does.