oN tour
NORRIS LAKE – OCT. 20-22
PRESENTED
BY
dIaLING uP tHe faLL buzz
Hosted by Anderson County Tourism Council
James Watson rocks a topwater approach to win Norris
J
by Rob Newell
ames Watson of Nixa, Mo., does not claim to be the
best springtime fisherman in the world, but when it
comes to fall fishing, he’s not bashful about assessing
his angling acumen.
“I love fishing in the fall,” Watson says. “I have the
most confidence from August through December. For
some reason I just have a better feel for what the fish are
doing that time of year.”
Watson has the record to back up his claim to fall fish-
ing fame. He has won both a B.A.S.S. Open (2015) and a
PAA event (2013) on Table Rock in the fall of the year.
Looking even farther back than that, Watson says he and
a friend won a big team tournament championship event
on Stockton Lake in Missouri in October 2009.
While naming a team tournament championship win
seven years ago might be a bit of a stretch for fishing cred,
it’s Watson’s most recent win at the Walmart FLW Tour
Invitational on Norris Lake in Tennessee in October that
proves he certainly has some mad fall fishing skills.
the “vacuum effect”
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Watson’s underlying premise of fall fishing rests in
how water levels affect bass behavior.
“I’m not claiming to be an expert in the spring, but I do
know this: Falling water in the spring is a negative, but
falling water in the fall is a positive,” he says. “In the
spring, bass are trying to reproduce, and a drop in water
level is a threat to their eggs and fry. In the fall, bass are
trying to eat, and a drop in water level helps bring food to
them.”
Watson is regarded as a top autumn angler, and
he backed up his reputation on Norris in October.
fLWfISHING.com I december 2016