Bass Fishing Oct - Dec 2019 | Page 40

FISHING COLUMN BIG BASS QUEST BIlly Wheat’s chIcKamauGa GIants I HOW A TENNESSEE GUIDE KEEPS HIS CLIENTS ON TROPHY BASS Joe BaloG joe balog is an accomplished tournament fisherman from the upper Midwest who relo- cated to florida to scratch his lifelong itch to chase trophy largemouths. photos courtesy bIlly wheat n order to make a living, a fishing guide must stay flexible. after all, the goal at the end of each day is a boatload of happy clients, anxious to sign up for another trip. If those clients are satisfied with catching little fish, so be it. I get the impression that, at times, billy wheat has to remind himself of this con- cept. a full-time guide on tennessee’s famed lake chickamauga, wheat is one of the most popular – and heavily booked – commercial operators on the lake, requir- ing him to keep the rods bent at all costs. but, I think he’d rather just fish for one bite. “you can catch a big fish at any time here,” wheat says. “but, if you’re out chas- ing schoolers, or finesse fishing, or just out to catch fish, it’s a no-go.” big-bass fans will recognize chickamauga as the Mid-south’s premier lunker destination, thanks to aggressive trophy management by the tennessee wildlife resources agency. florida-strain bass-stocking efforts began in 2000, but were tweaked a few years later to ensure better survival of the fingerling stock. the results were magnificent. by 2012, chickamauga was home to loads of bass exceeding 10 pounds apiece. catching them, however, is never as simple or easy as it may seem. locating loners wheat believes the entire procedure for targeting chickamauga’s monsters is different from the norm. he says even the most predictable big-bass locations are only occupied for short windows, for rea- sons we may never know. finding them starts with understanding their habitat preference. “they’re the most isolated,” he says, referring to both the biggest bass and their preferred locales. “It may be one big, isolat- ed stump. a single big fish will set up there. but you might have to visit that stump 20 or 30 times before you’ll catch it.” Driftwood Custom Baits Swimbait and Super 8 Weedless Jighead 38 FlWFIshInG.com I Fall 2019