Living the Dream: Wheeler Lake, Part 6
Dave Andrews details final day of competition at FLW Series event on Wheeler Lake
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Editor’s note: This is the sixth piece in a series of journal entries from Dave Andrews, winner of the 2007 TBF National Championship, detailing his second stop on the 2008 FLW Series Eastern schedule. Entries will be published at FLWOutdoors.com throughout the course of the season. As winner of the “Living the Dream” package, offered by FLW Outdoors through The Bass Federation, Andrews had his entry fees paid to test his club skills on the pro tour with the use of a fully wrapped boat and tow package. Andrews will chronicle his adventure in pro bass fishing, having most recently competed on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake. After Andrews has submitted his journal following each FLW Series event, segments will be posted approximately weekly. (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5) (Read his Okeechobee journal; this links to the final entry, which provides links at the top for each preceding part)
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Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division
Stop No. 2: Wheeler Lake
March 26-29, 2008
Tournament competition: day three (Friday, March 28)
The day dawned cloudy with diminished winds. It was still quite mild, maybe 54 degrees in the morning and heading for a high in the low 70s. I drew boat No. 172 and would be in the very last flight. This meant I could fish until 5 p.m. My co-angler was Tim Endris from Florida.
By now, the morning routine was going off like clockwork. Once the boat was in the water, Tim and I had about 45 minutes in the morning darkness to work on tackle and mentally prepare for the day. Again this morning, I had two rods on the deck, but unlike the previous two days, there were no Rat-L-Traps tied on. Instead, I had out my spinning rod with the jighead worm and also my pitching stick with a big jig tied on.
Following the morning prayer and National Anthem, the boats were released right on time. Finally they got down to the last few boats, and I was on my way. I had already decided to forego the Decatur Flats this morning and head straight for my preferred section of bluffs.
Following a 20-mile run, I pulled up in the small pocket where I had my two best bites the day before only to find two boats already working over the area. I settled for a nearby point near the mouth of the tiny cutback. I grabbed the spinning rod and threw the 3/16-ounce Gambler Giggy Head with a 6-inch Zoom Trick Worm out away from the shoreline. The very first cast resulted in a bite, and soon a decent 14-inch keeper was in the box. A few casts later and I felt the familiar tick on my line. I reared back, set and called for the net. This fish was heavier then the first one and fought much better. Soon enough, she tired and came up alongside the boat; my partner netter her and a solid 3-pound fish went in the livewell.
I was casting out toward the deep water that was well off from the shoreline. I noticed some brush piles on my graph that was out from a big dock. I fished slowly, dragging the worm through the brush. Soon another bite came and another 14-inch fish was in the boat. A few casts later and I was on again. This fish was another decent keeper, but managed to elude the net and escape right by the boat. No matter, as a few casts later I set on another bass, and this one made keeper No. 4, a 1 1/2-pound largemouth. The other two boats could only helplessly watch. I have to admit, it felt good to be making the right decisions again.
When the bite tapered off, I motored up a short distance and worked into the next small pocket. This 
was the area that I had broken off the big fish the day before. My partner caught his first keeper on a crankbait right at the mouth. This time, I worked the lay-down with my heavy pitching rod and 30-pound braid, but I couldn’t get any bites off of the wood. I eased back to the midsection of the entrance of the little cut and soon had my fifth keeper, another 14-inch fish, on the worm. I looked at my watch and it was only 8:15 a.m.
I stayed with the worm and worked up the bluffs. I was casting parallel to the steep rock walls and keeping the bait in 20 to 25 feet of water. Without the current, the fish were out from the walls, just roaming around. The bite was hot, as I continuously caught keepers with the worm. The problem was these fish were all clones. All were identical 1 1/2-pound largemouths, and I was culling ounces.
I stayed with it for another hour or so, boating another 10 keepers, before I decided I should run up the Elk River and try for a big bite by flippin’ docks with the jig. I made the move and worked a section of deep docks by the mouth of the Elk River. I boated a few more small keepers and some shorts, but didn’t help myself here.
It was noon, and I was at a crossroads. I had an average bag already secured in the livewell, but needed a couple of big bass to make a check in this event. These are not easy fish to catch the third day of a major event, especially on Wheeler Lake, which isn’t known for numbers of big bass. I again considered making the long run to the creeks by the dam, where I figured some good keepers were probably making the move to the banks in preparation for the spawn. But I also knew that they’d been pounded, and it would be “take a number” time with them. The Decatur Flats area was known for having big fish in its vast maze of stump fields, but I had not caught any quality bass in all of my days down here from this region. So I opted to stay where I was along the bluffs and try to pick off a big fish or two.
I mixed it up throwing both the worm and the big jig, but could only manage small keepers the rest of the afternoon. The bite remained decent, but not spectacular as I worked my way back north along the bluff banks. At 3 p.m., I headed back to the Decatur area to hit a few spots near the ramp. The first area was the milfoil line I had worked the first two competition days. It produced a few small keepers, but none that would help me. I tried a nondescript rock shoreline that had some lay-downs on it, but without any current, the bass were not holding along the bank.
Late in the day, I pulled up to a bridge and threw the worm along the pilings. I boated five or six keepers in short order, but only one helped the cause, and it only gained an ounce or two. I finished up on the pilings and checked in a few minutes before 5 p.m. It was a long wait in line, and I was very near the last angler to weigh in on the day. Despite catching roughly 30 keepers on the day, my limit of five largemouth bass weighed just 8-11 and left me in 129th place overall, about 5 pounds out of the money. Raime Colson Jr. went on to win the event in a very exciting final-day weigh-in. Colson, a veteran of fishing Wheeler and the other Tennessee River impoundments, spent most of his time in the creeks by the dam, throwing worms and jigs and fishing tediously slow, out away from the heavily pressured banks.
I loaded up the boat and stored my equipment. I met up with Scott Leppanen, who got a decent check on the co-angler side, and we left Decatur around 6:30 p.m. We drove North past Lake Guntersville and into Tennessee before wearing down just before midnight and grabbing a room for the night, just outside of Knoxville.
We awoke at 6 a.m. the next morning to a cold rain. Scott and I were on the road in no time, chewing up miles in the “Living the Dream” wrapped Tahoe. We drove throughout the day, stopping only for gas, and made it home late Saturday night to Massachusetts. It took roughly 20 hours to complete the drive from Alabama. The only delay we encountered was in New York City.
I’ve got the summer off, as the next FLW Series event is on Lake Champlain in September. Well, I don’t really have the summer off; I’ll be very active fishing local events, and with Champlain being only five hours from my house, I’m hoping to put some time in up there prior to the FLW Series event. I’ll be ready come September.
Until next time,
Dave
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Editor’s note: Stay tuned for the next segment of Andrews’ adventures in the FLW Series, after he competes in the next event on Lake Champlain.
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