the guide begins his search for prime areas by graph-
ing, but he does his searching for winter in May. that’s
because the water at chickamauga is drawn down each
year starting in early fall, leaving prime cold-water areas
too shallow to properly graph late in the year. Instead,
wheat prefers to look in late spring, before much aquatic
plant growth occurs, and when water levels are high
enough to allow him access to areas that set up right for
prespawn bass.
he focuses on isolated current breaks on river bars,
usually in 3 to 12 feet of water.
“on every tennessee river lake that’s drawn down –
every one – the big fish are shallow in the winter,” wheat
adds.
usually the band of water with the ideal depth range is
very narrow; about as wide as a bass boat is long.
“the front of the boat will be in 3 feet; the back in
about 12,” wheat says. “It’s like a 20-foot-wide trough.”
these “troughs” on the sides of river bars feature the
best current flow, broken up by the best cover objects.
“ditches, tongues, current breaks, shell beds, stumps,
drops – anything different out there on that river bar,” says
wheat, referring to ideal targets that he’s searching for.
shell beds are particularly attractive.
“living mussels will only exist in places out of the cur-
rent and with hard bottom,” wheat explains.
what he describes are naturally good places to come
in contact with a giant. they might also exist in the small
current breaks created by other objects, such as a stump,
or a swing in the overall bottom contour along the “wall,”
or side, of a river ledge.
wintertime fishing usually coincides with a steady cur-
rent flow compared to the fluctuations of summer, when
power generations vary. wheat insists the biggest fish live
on the ledges throughout the year, and they simply ride
out the conditions, setting up on the best places to hunt
large, main-lake forage.
despite conditions that, at times, seem like a raging
river, if you’re throwing in the right spot, says wheat,
there’s really not that much current – the benefit of locat-
ing current breaks.
the 5-inch driftwood bait is a favorite among
chickamauga stalwarts. wheat fishes it on the company’s
super 8 weedless jighead, aptly named for the head’s
robust 8/0 hook. It has a screw-lock bait keeper and chin-
weighted design.
“It’s a front-loaded head that can fish through any-
thing,” wheat says.
he insists naturally swimming options replace any bot-
tom bouncing that goes on in the postspawn.
“In summertime, you slam everything on the bottom.
In winter, you swim everything through the column,” he
explains.
the driftwood swimbait is key for this presentation
because, according to wheat, it swims at any speed, and
it swims on the fall, which is critical when the bait is tum-
bling through the current.
wheat’s rod of choice is a heavy-power denali just under
8 feet in length, matched with a high-speed daiwa reel.
“the big fish want to go back to that timber, or what-
ever they’re on,” wheat says. “you need to hit them and
pull them away from that, out into the current.”
a hunter of Big Bass
all throughout the year, billy wheat continues to work
toward his passion of “pushing people to become better
big-bass fishermen.” he doesn’t hide the fact that he
enjoys educating his clients on the lifestyles of the fish,
how to read current and the importance of being patient,
as well as understanding nature and the underwater
environment as a whole. like just about every big-bass
expert I’ve interviewed, wheat is a hunter and a student
of the game.
that passion flows into each outing.
“I know where to put people – and what to put in their
hands – to give them the best shot at a big fish,” wheat adds.
“that’s what I love to do. that’s my love for the sport.”
Billy Wheat with a pair
of Chickamauga giants.
Riding the Bait
beginning in November, wheat spends the majority of
his time out on the drawn-down river bars, keeping his
lure in the realm of the giants.
“you have to be patient,” he says. “you’ve got to stay in
that zone; on that wall.”
wheat will often use his Minn kota trolling motor’s
spot lock feature to hold on the down-current side of a
given target so he can present casts naturally with the
angle of flowing forage. he describes the proper presen-
tation as “riding the bait.”
“you’re really managing your line,” he says. “your line
gets pulled by the current, and you have to keep your
lure on that wall.”
as the line flows down, the lure trails, often tumbling
down into the mouth of trophy bass lurking below.
Not surprisingly, wheat’s arsenal of lures throughout
the year consists of oversized offerings, including flashy
umbrella rigs and jigs with bulky trailers. however, in win-
tertime, a driftwood custom baits swimbait nearly
always gets the call.
Fall 2019 I FlWFIshInG.com
39