Submitted by Gary Harlan #15437

Date Fished: 8/28/2012
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet

I’ve written before about the moon, stars and planets all lining up just right. This is our way of saying conditions are just right for some fantastic fishing. That’s exactly what we have here on Pickwick this fall. We have “A” which is an abundance of aquatic vegetation, Milfoil and Hydrilla beds all over the lake and “B’ a tremendous amount of shad. Take “A + B” which equals “= C” a bunch of healthy and hungry bass. The equation sounds simple but there are many factors that played into to what has happened to make things optimal for fishing this fall, this is a very dynamic situation. First of all let’s look at “A”, for the grass to be as prolific as it is several things had to happen. We had a very mild winter and have had a severely dry spring. The rains will stain the water and thereby hamper the growth of the vegetation, sunlight penetration is critical. Then, we had a very hot June, July and August. The heat and clear water allowed the grass to have a huge growth spurt. The same is true for the shad, the mild winter allowed most of the shad that hatched last year to survive. When the water temps drop down into the low 40’s and high 30’s massive amounts of shad will die off. This year they all survived and multiplied. We have more shad right now than I have ever seen. One afternoon recently, I was heading into the dock after a days fishing and as far as you could see in any direction were schools of shad up on the surface. This makes for a tremendous forage base for the bass and other species. The timing of the shad spawn was just right as well because this year’s crop of bass were just big enough to take advantage of them. This will not affect fishing this year but there will be a really healthy bunch of year old bass next year and the years to come that we can enjoy. The grass also offers cover for the young shad and bass as well. They have plenty of hiding places to avoid predators and ambush their prey. Taking all things into consideration the equation is more of a quadratic one. Where (A+B) x (C+D) =F, the rainfall, temperature, sunlight and quality of spawn we had, all are factors in the high quality of the fishery we have right now. Roger (Stegall) and I often talk about how Pickwick has gotten better every year for quite a few years now. We remember the days when if you had 12-14lbs at the weigh in you were considered a hero. Those days are long gone! Most tournaments are taking well over 20 to win and sometimes just to get a check. The largemouth just keep getting bigger every year, there have been two that I know of over 12lbs caught this year. Typical patterns in the fall are to throw something that mimics a shad. Look for the “jumps” (schools of bass chasing shad). There are often 3 or 4 different species chasing the shad at one time. Largemouth, Smallmouth, Striped and White bass will all be on the prowl when this starts. Soft plastic jerkbaits like the Strike King Z2, Zulu and Caffeine shad and Topwaters. Poppers and walking baits will catch them as well. I always try to match the bait to the size of the forage. My favorite bait this time of year is a half to three-quarter ounce white or chartreuse and white KVD model, double willow-leaf spinnerbait. The weight allows me to fish it in two to ten feet of water as well to cover a great deal of water, as you can work the spinnerbait a bit faster than other type lures. The fall is a very special time here on Pickwick. Most of the recreational boaters have packed things up for the winter and a good many of the anglers have turned their attention towards the woods. This makes the fishing a lot less crowded and much more pleasurable. The scenery is really nice as well once the leaves begin to change. Please use caution when operating your boat on Pickwick. TVA will begin the winter drawdown the first week of September. The lake is at full pool right now at 414’ TVA will pull it down to a level of 409’. At 409 Pickwick, has numerous stumps, rocks and ridges that are just under the surface and virtually impossible to see.

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