A brief rain Friday afternoon brought a brief hope that the heat would break and water levels rise. Brief hope was all it brought, however, as temperatures climbed high on both Saturday and Sunday and the drought conditions persisted.

 

Conventional wisdom said Douglas Lake fish would follow the water out into the main lake; that the bass would school in channels and along drops where they could find deeper water. Most observers predicted drop shot rigs would rule the day. But other, more experienced, Douglas anglers knew better.

 

“I’ve never seen it this low in all my years here,” said one local Sevierville angler in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot during dinner and registration. “It gets low sometimes but never like this. I think the fishing will be great for those who find the fish but for others, on the hunt, it’s going to be a tough weekend.”

 

Asked to further explain local fishing conditions, he said, “This lake (Douglas) is well-known for high numbers of small bass but this year has been different. It’s been tough all year. The usual patterns haven’t held up like in past years. It’s different. There’ll be a lot of limits but there’re won’t be as many as usual and the fish will be bigger than many guys think. The little ones aren’t biting like they usually do.”

 

Saturday’s weigh-in told the tale. The local angler was right. Team after team weighed limits and, in some cases at least, the fish were bigger than most anglers expected.

 

The local team of Ralph Loveday and Bob Gamble — Cherokee Lake Division — took top honors. Their experiences on the lake tell it all. “We fished main lake flats with lots of rock both days. We had three or four spots, about an acre each, and just kept fishing them time after time.” said Loveday.

 

Their techniques were simple enough — throw jigs and drag Carolina rigs. “I make jigs at home. They’re flippin’ heads with a rubber skirt. We used a 3/8-ounce model in black with a green pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk most of the time. When the bite got slow we would drag a Carolina rig with a Brush Hog or an Okeechobee Craw tied on. It worked real well for us.”

 

All our fish came from 10 to 15 feet of water right out in the bright sun. Most guys were fishing the channels because of the low water but we found ours on the flats.”

 

For their efforts they won the first place prize of a Z-7 Nitro bass boat powered by a 150 HP Mercury OptiMax. It is valued at $27,000.

 

The second place story is much the same. George Hazelbaker and Randy Dyke also found fish on the flats. “We bounced crankbaits off the rock and slowly worked Texas rigged 7-inch worms around to catch ours,” said Hazelbaker.

 

“This is unbelievable. We were going to go home Friday because we couldn’t find any bass. But then, Friday afternoon in the rain, we caught one over 8 pounds on that flat and decided to stay. I was surprised to find them on the flats right out in the sun but that’s where they were.”

 

Hazelbaker and Dyke will split the $8,000 second place award.

 

The third slot went to the Hooter’s team of Robert Baker and Brad Wall. Their 23.15 pound total weight netted them $6,000.