TW_Staff
05-05-2009, 05:15 PM
About a month ago, Tommy Biffle went shallow at Lake Wheeler during rising water and won the Bassmaster Elite Series there. His fish were pre-spawn.
Last weekend, Alabama competitor Chris Payne went shallow at Wheeler during rising water. His fish were post-spawn. He weighed a 15-pound average for 3 days and won the Wheeler Bassmaster Southern Open.
During official practice Payne focused on a deep-water creek. "I told myself that was the creek to work on, so I continued to find some different ways to catch fish there," he said. "Every fish was post-spawn, and I caught some males that I felt were guarding fry. The big ones were post-spawn females. I was throwing reaction baits."
Another key during practice was that he spotted a hump outside the spawning cove that came up from 18 feet and topped out just below the surface.
"The last day of practice was windy and cloudy," he noted. "I made a couple of casts and got two big ChatterBait bites in two casts. I told myself then that I'd start there the first morning."
Payne started competition at his hump and caught a 3-pounder on his first cast.
"You could sit there and watch the shad boil up," he said. "I'd throw where the shad boiled and I caught them real well. Every once in a while I'd see the shad move on top of that hump, and the fish looked like redfish with their backs out of the water. I'd put the trolling motor on high, then fire the bait across the shallow part of the hump."
Every fish he weighed that day came from the hump, including a 5-08. He had a limit within an hour on both the ChatterBait and a Super Spook Jr.
On day 2 Payne caught some keepers in the grass, then came upon some wood. He hadn't caught a good fish off wood since he first got the lake, but he fired his ChatterBait over and landed a 6-10.
"It was one of those miracle bites – where you know right then it's your time," he said. "I think that was my fourth fish that day."
The morning of day 3, Payne's friend Chad Hall got to the hump first, but after Hall recognized Payne, he surrendered the hump.
"It was thundering, lightning, raining hard, and my co-angler caught a 4-pounder on a jig," Payne said. "I caught a 2 1/2 and a 12-incher. "I saw Chad catch one in the grass and I told my camera crew, 'We've got to get going to the grass.'"
"I stayed on high and kept looking for more productive water and came across a 100-yard stretch that was clear," he said. "It was like all those fish had moved into that one area with clear water.
He caught nearly all his fish that day on the ChatterBait. His biggest was a 3 1/2 and he beat runner-up Mark Menendez by a little more than 4 pounds.
"I was trying to keep it close to the thicker patches of grass, and bring it over the top of anything submerged. A lot of grass hadn't topped out yet, and I was just bulging the ChatterBait right under the surface."
Winning Gear:
ChatterBait gear: 7'3" heavy-action Powell 734 rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PCR), Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel (7:1), 50-pound PowerPro braid (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PPSL), 5/8-ounce Rad Lures ChatterBait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=CHAT38) (chartreuse/white), Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSDC) (white).
Spook gear: 6'8" Powell Topwater rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PCR), same reel, same line, Xcalibur Super Spook Jr. (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=EXSS) (bone).
He replaced the stock hooks on the Spook with Gamakatsu round-bend trebles (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GTREBBR) – No. 4 on front, No. 2 on the rear.
Performance edge – "There were a lot of dead fish weighed in – post-spawn fish are bad about that – but I didn't have any problems, so I'd have to say it was my Oxygenator system (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=OMPLM) and livewells."
TW Staff
Last weekend, Alabama competitor Chris Payne went shallow at Wheeler during rising water. His fish were post-spawn. He weighed a 15-pound average for 3 days and won the Wheeler Bassmaster Southern Open.
During official practice Payne focused on a deep-water creek. "I told myself that was the creek to work on, so I continued to find some different ways to catch fish there," he said. "Every fish was post-spawn, and I caught some males that I felt were guarding fry. The big ones were post-spawn females. I was throwing reaction baits."
Another key during practice was that he spotted a hump outside the spawning cove that came up from 18 feet and topped out just below the surface.
"The last day of practice was windy and cloudy," he noted. "I made a couple of casts and got two big ChatterBait bites in two casts. I told myself then that I'd start there the first morning."
Payne started competition at his hump and caught a 3-pounder on his first cast.
"You could sit there and watch the shad boil up," he said. "I'd throw where the shad boiled and I caught them real well. Every once in a while I'd see the shad move on top of that hump, and the fish looked like redfish with their backs out of the water. I'd put the trolling motor on high, then fire the bait across the shallow part of the hump."
Every fish he weighed that day came from the hump, including a 5-08. He had a limit within an hour on both the ChatterBait and a Super Spook Jr.
On day 2 Payne caught some keepers in the grass, then came upon some wood. He hadn't caught a good fish off wood since he first got the lake, but he fired his ChatterBait over and landed a 6-10.
"It was one of those miracle bites – where you know right then it's your time," he said. "I think that was my fourth fish that day."
The morning of day 3, Payne's friend Chad Hall got to the hump first, but after Hall recognized Payne, he surrendered the hump.
"It was thundering, lightning, raining hard, and my co-angler caught a 4-pounder on a jig," Payne said. "I caught a 2 1/2 and a 12-incher. "I saw Chad catch one in the grass and I told my camera crew, 'We've got to get going to the grass.'"
"I stayed on high and kept looking for more productive water and came across a 100-yard stretch that was clear," he said. "It was like all those fish had moved into that one area with clear water.
He caught nearly all his fish that day on the ChatterBait. His biggest was a 3 1/2 and he beat runner-up Mark Menendez by a little more than 4 pounds.
"I was trying to keep it close to the thicker patches of grass, and bring it over the top of anything submerged. A lot of grass hadn't topped out yet, and I was just bulging the ChatterBait right under the surface."
Winning Gear:
ChatterBait gear: 7'3" heavy-action Powell 734 rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PCR), Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel (7:1), 50-pound PowerPro braid (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PPSL), 5/8-ounce Rad Lures ChatterBait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=CHAT38) (chartreuse/white), Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSDC) (white).
Spook gear: 6'8" Powell Topwater rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PCR), same reel, same line, Xcalibur Super Spook Jr. (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=EXSS) (bone).
He replaced the stock hooks on the Spook with Gamakatsu round-bend trebles (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GTREBBR) – No. 4 on front, No. 2 on the rear.
Performance edge – "There were a lot of dead fish weighed in – post-spawn fish are bad about that – but I didn't have any problems, so I'd have to say it was my Oxygenator system (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=OMPLM) and livewells."
TW Staff