Bass Fishing League Regional and Super Tournament events held in September or October , plus a pair of Weekend Series wins in the fall – all with topwater baits on Kentucky Lake . And he owes every one of his victories to the lessons he ’ s learned about targeting gizzard shad-eating bass .
Location
Summertime is ledge-fishing season on many Tennessee River lakes , particularly Kentucky Lake , when bass school up on main-lake river ledges and bars . Once those schools start to disperse in the fall , many anglers head toward creeks and the backs of shallow bays where keeper bass are often seen busting young-of-the-year shad at the surface . Those bass , while fun to catch , usually don ’ t win major tournaments , which is why Anderson takes a different approach beginning in early September .
His first step is to determine what section of the lake was most productive throughout summer . The biggest bass don ’ t move far , he reasons , and so he keys on the same stretches of main-lake waters that produced big bags in summer .
“ I look for any bar or flat offshore that ’ s 3 or 4 feet deep that ’ s got some stumps scattered around and deep water nearby ,” he says . “ It [ deep water ] can be 8 feet deep , or it can be 25 feet deep . You want to be sitting in water a little deeper throwing into the shallowest water . I stay on the main lake all the time .”
Some bass will stay on the same bars they occupied in late summer , but because autumn is reservoir drawdown season on Kentucky Lake , the fish have less water overhead in the fall and become more willing to rise for a topwater lure . But usually they ’ re within close proximity .
Also , it ’ s not as critical to cling to the edge of a drop-off in the fall as it is in summer . The better action often takes place up on top of broad mid-lake flats , provided gizzard shad are present .
Big Mouthfuls
Gizzard shad are the key element in Anderson ’ s strategy . He locates them visually as he trolls along – the areas being generally too shallow for searching overhead with electronics . Where there are mature gizzard shad , there are usually mature bass .
The other way to locate key spots is through constant casting and covering water . According to Anderson , the 4- to 5-pounders that he ’ s targeting don ’ t often show themselves on the surface with obvious schooling activity such as anglers see from schools of smaller fish . Yet , they ’ ll hammer a big , lumbering topwater bait that walks overhead .
Key areas can change from day to day as gizzard shad come and go .
“ I ’ ve had a lot of these places where I ’ ll be catching big ones and seeing gizzard shad , then all of a sudden the smaller shad move in and I don ’ t catch the big ones anymore ,” Anderson says .
Two Kinds of Targets
Anderson divides fishing spots into two categories . The first is what he calls a “ onesie , twosie hole ,” which is a spot that usually doesn ’ t hold a big school of fish , but might hold quality bass . He fishes them quickly and moves on .
“ Basically , you ’ ll pull up and fish a 15-yard stretch , and you may or may not get a bite , but if you do it ’ ll probably be a big one ,” he says . “ These are places I fish really fast , and I may hit them several times during the day .”
Onesie , twosie holes are spots that Anderson keeps to himself because they tend to produce year after year . Strangely , there ’ s rarely an apparent reason why the spots remain so good . Anderson has done some winter-pool recon when the water is very low , expecting to find a depression , large stump or some other type of “ spot on the spot ,” but there ’ s seldom an obvious piece of cover or structure . His best advice for finding the big-fish holes is to put the trolling motor down and cover water – and save every waypoint , even if the spot only produces one or two bites .
The other type of autumn spot is the “ mother lode hole .” It ’ s the kind of place that can produce a solid tournament stringer , possibly over multiple days of fishing .
“ Those are the ones that I ’ m willing to sit on and kind of wait on them ,” Anderson says . “ Normally , you don ’ t have to wait on them , though . Normally , when you get there it ’ s happening .”
Big schools usually span larger areas where there ’ s plenty of gizzard shad to go around , yet the fish aren ’ t predictable from year to year . In fact , according to Anderson , most of the spots that produced his big , tournament-winning schools never came close to providing the same sort of results in subsequent visits .
Autumn Weather
Weather patterns are as unpredictable as the bass in autumn , but Anderson believes that once the “ topwater season ” kicks off on the main lake in September , the weather won ’ t keep the fish from biting until the pattern changes a couple months later .
“ I have yet to find conditions they won ’ t bite in , but they ’ re almost impossible to find if it ’ s windy ,” he says . “ You need a little ripple for ideal conditions , and it ’ s good to have sun so you can see and look for the gizzard shad swimming around when you ’ re working your way down those bars . But once you locate those suckers and you locate the ‘ danger zone ,’ it ’ s on . I ’ ve caught them in 4-foot waves and even in muddy water .”
Tactical Topwater
There ’ s a particular Heddon Super Spook in Anderson ’ s boat that he ’ s used to pocket well into the six-figure dollar range during his career . It ’ s a sentimental favorite that is probably
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE TOMELLERI
OCTOBER 2017 I FLWFISHING . COM 31