MOST OF THE TOP
10 FISHED JIGS
At least eight of the top 10 profes-
sional anglers on Lake Chickamauga
were fishing primarily with some vari-
ety of jig. However, very few focused
on the deep river ledges that Lake
Chickamauga is famous for in the
postspawn. According to local reports,
recent flooding rains and higher-than-
normal current had prevented bass
from setting up on the deeper tradi-
tional postspawn ledges. Most anglers
focused on mid-depth ranges of 5 to
15 feet, and many caught fish in 1 to 2
feet of water where the lake was flood-
ed into weedbeds and thick cover.
Weidler needed only one lure – a swim jig – to target Chickamauga’s shallow bluegill eaters.
“First was swimming the jig 6 to 8
inches under the water and killing it
beside key ambush areas,” he says.
“Second, I’ve watched bluegills that
have been injured, and they tend to
stay at the surface of the water. Most of
my better bites came when I would
keep the swim jig on the surface, twitch-
ing the rod to create a spitting action.”
keys to victory
Though he’s not a local, Weidler had
some great recent experience on Lake
Chickamauga that helped him find his
way to the top. The Alabama angler
fished the Bassmaster Southern Open
on Lake Chickamauga two weeks prior
to the Costa FLW Series event and
came in sixth. Then, the next week he
captained a high school team that took
fifth place in a prep tournament on the
lake. He says the confidence he gained
from what he learned in those tourna-
ments helped him.
“I feel staying focused and not giving
up on the shallow bite made the differ-
ence,” Weidler adds. “I knew there were
still some big females shallow protect-
ing fry or feeding on bluegills. The key
for me was just having patience. [On
the last day] I didn’t have much weight
in the livewell, and I started hearing the
little voices in my head. But the sun
came out and it warmed up, and then
some clouds moved in and it got a little
overcast. I just knew that they were
going to start biting, and they did.”
july 2017 I flWfIshIng.com
CO-ANGLER CHAMPION
Name: Chase Whisenhunt
Hometown: Trussville, Ala.
Winning Weight: 28-07 (8 fish)
Winning Program: On the first day of competition,
Whisenhunt primarily fished jigs to catch a limit of five
bass weighing 21 pounds, 14 ounces. However, in Saturday’s
final round he only managed three bass. He fished a jig all morning on the
last day and had only two fish. But around noon he decided to switch to a
crankbait and picked up his third fish on a Strike King 6XD (sexy shad).
“Without that fish I probably would have finished second or third,” he says.
“I’m a jig fisherman. I love flipping and throwing a jig, but sometimes you’ve just
got to pick up something different.”
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