FISHERY SPOTLIGHT
Pickwick
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRANDON ROWAN pickwick , guntersville and watts bar
What to expect from these Tennessee River battlegrounds in 2022
By Joe Sills he most storied lake in bass fishing , a perennial star and an underappreciated gem are on deck for Major League Fishing competitors this season , as Lake Guntersville , Pickwick Lake and Watts Bar Lake play host to full fields of anglers vying for serious cash . The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit is set to visit Guntersville and Pickwick this year ; meanwhile , Bass Pro Tour anglers are in for a showdown at Watts Bar , the oft-overlooked sibling to Chickamauga .
Few waterways in bass fishing can claim the legacy of the Tennessee River , but while it ’ s been a tournament staple since the sport ’ s early days , fishermen who know the river best say its waterways are beginning to present new challenges to tournament anglers . picwick lake
Last October , Brent Crow stepped to the front of the Toyota Series Championship stage at Pickwick Lake and hoisted a $ 235,000 check . The Hartselle , Alabama guide climbed from 28th place on Day 1 to the pinnacle of the Toyota Series by the end of competition . In the process , Crow changed his life and cemented himself as a Pickwick expert .
Crow says Pickwick should be in postspawn by the time Stop 3 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit blasts off April 21 . However , he says the fishery is undergoing changes in the wake of new flood control strategies .
“ I ’ ve fished Pickwick for a long time , and I ’ ve seen things in the last two years that I have never seen in my entire life ,” he says . “ Most of
78 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2022