CONDITIONS
Weather | partly cloudy on day one; cloudy with scattered showers on day
two; partly cloudy with isolated showers on day three
Air Temperature | upper 80s
Water Temperature | upper 70s
Water Clarity | approximately 2 feet of visibility
Wind | ENE at 5 mph on day one; E at 5 mph on day two; S at 5 mph on day
three
Moon Phase | first quarter
Predominant Lake Features | ledges, points, docks and submerged grass
Fishery Type | Tennessee River reservoir
Having pulled a modest 15 pounds
off the bridge spot earlier in the day,
and with check-in time still about two
hours out, Deakins decided to give the
shell beds near Kroger Island another
shot. Despite not catching anything
there during a previous visit, he had a
hunch that the influence of an
approaching storm might trigger a
flurry of feeding. It turned out that he
was right on the money, as he convert-
ed two big bites into a hefty upgrade.
“The wind was blowing really hard,
and it made a lot of current,” Deakins
says. “They [dam managers] hadn’t
been pulling that much water, so that
wind current must have made the fish
want to bite.”
The upgrade boosted Deakins’ two-
day weight to 45-1, giving him a lead of
10 pounds, 10 ounces going into the
final day.
the Natchez Trace Bridge. Deakins says
he marked fish all along the typical
rocky bottom, but one sweet spot
accounted for most of his action.
“There was a little jut-out that the
fish seemed to like,” he says. “It was just
a little pile of rocks. I don’t know if it was
from when they built the bridge,
because one of those columns was
right beside the drop. When I’d bring
my jig across that spot, it would kick
out, and that’s when they’d bite it.”
Deakins’ second spot was a main-
river ledge with shell beds upriver from
Kroger Island. Keeping his boat in 18 to
21 feet, he would cast into the 4- to 6-
foot-deep zone.
This area produced fewer bites, but
most were big fish. In fact, Deakins cred-
its this spot for converting a decent day-
two limit into a 20-pound, 11-ounce bag
to complement his 24-6 from day one.
Deakins primarily fished only two key areas, but after two days the pressure started to take its toll,
and fishing slowed.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
HESTER WINS BIG
FROM THE BACK
Co-angler Alex Hester’s winning
margin of 12 pounds, 6 ounces was
nearly as much as his first-day limit
catch of 12-15 at the All-American.
After placing seventh in the opening
round, the Crossville, Tenn., angler
added 15-3 and took over the lead
on day two before slamming the
door shut with a day-three limit of
20-14. The only co-angler to break
the 20-pound mark in a day,
Hester’s 49-pound total earned him
a $60,000 paycheck.
On days one and two, Hester
caught his fish on a broad assort-
ment of baits, including a Zoom Ol’
Monster, Zoom Trick Worm,
Carolina-rigged Zoom Brush Hog
and Zoom Centipede. He fished the
latter on a Carolina rig and a heavy
drop-shot.
Day three brought early fire-
works, as Hester nabbed a chunky
5-pounder within 30 minutes of
takeoff and then added a 9-4 about
90 minutes later. That first fish ate
a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm (plum
apple) on a 5/8-ounce Profound
Outdoors Edwin Evers Head Turner
Jig (green pumpkin). His biggest fish
ate a Zoom Brush Hog (black) on
the back of a Carolina rig compris-
ing a 1-ounce weight, a 4-foot
leader and a 5/0 round-bend hook.
“I like the round-bend hook
because I catch more fish on it,
especially big ones,” Hester says. “I
think with the way the hook is
shaped you get better hooksets and
better penetration, especially when
they’re bigger and tougher. In my
experience, that round bend does a
better job of sticking the fish. It sure
kept that 9-pounder buttoned.”
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