Pro Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., qualifiied for the finals on the Potomac River in eighth place with a catch of 44-10. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Stetson Blaylock.

August 2, 2011 • Stetson Blaylock • Archives

In river lakes or tidal water, current rules. It activates the food chain and gets bass stirred up. Especially during the summer, you’ll struggle to catch fish when the water isn’t moving.

It’s important to remember that the current in an impoundment such as Guntersville or Kentucky Lake doesn’t just start everywhere all at once. If you’re fishing a lake and they start pulling water at the dam, the current picks up there first and then it increases gradually upriver. If you’re below the dam, the current is strongest there first and it gradually increases downriver. Ideally, you’ve got spots close to the dam, and other spots that will turn on as the current starts sweeping them later. It’s all a matter of timing. Fish the right spot at the wrong time, and you’ll strike out. But the next guy who gets there 15 minutes after you leave is liable to load the boat.

Hit your best spots when they’re pulling water; that means keeping up with the generating schedules at the dam and then figuring out from there when the current is really going to be washing your spots.

— AMP pro Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark.