Bass East Pre-Tournament Predictions for ”Women’s Bassmaster Tour” on ”Neely Henry Lake”
Tournament Trail: Women’s Bassmaster Tour
Lake: Neely Henry, Gadsden, Alabama
Dates: March 26-28th 2009
Angler: Christiana Bradley, Bealeton, VA
Christie Bradley is looking to start the 2009 Women’s Bassmaster Tour on Alabama’s Lake Neely Henry with a little revenge! “In 2006 I finished 12th on Neely Henry, however last year ‘Henry’ didn’t treat me so well and I stunk-up the place!!!” For an added amount of insurance this year, Geico Insurance that is, Bradley has done her homework, spending countless hours logging into her game plan every possible transitional highway available for springtime migratory movement.
www.ChristianaBradley.com www.Geico.com www.TritonBoats.com www.MercuryOutboards.com www.HotShotLures.com
Q. What does Lake Neely Henry have for predominate Structure and Cover?
A. “Lake Neely Henry has a willow type grass that can be excellent, as well as areas with milfoil. Boat docks provide cover as well as ambush refuges, while rocky areas including rip rap can be located quite readily.”
Q. What do you believe will be the Tournaments Prevalent Patterns?
A. “The weather has held a steady course, and the weather forecast come tournament time appears to be in an anglers favor! With that I am anticipating water temperatures to range in the lower 60’s, add in the moon phrase turning to ‘New Moon’ and the ladies should fine Pre-Spawn Bass moving up towards spawning flats?”
Q. Considering normal Spring Patterns, which Techniques do you believe will be utilized?
A. “We have to add in another factor at Neely Henry and that is the water level! Traditionally, the water level is lowered to summer pool the first week of April, and that means the water level for the first WBT event will most likely be high. Although Neely Henry’s water level remains fairly constant it is utilized to generate electricity, which in turn provides current similar to a river system. Normal techniques will rotate around a variety of applications; shallow-medium diving crankbaits, lipless crankbaits ripped in the grass areas, while jigs replicating spring crawfish will most likely be utilized?”
Q. Which Type of Baits will most of the bass be caught on?
A. “As I mentioned earlier weather patterns, current and water temperatures will dictate fish activity. From everything I have gathered we should see a lot of limits brought to the scales. My choice for baits will cover all water depths with a strong concentration on shallow running crankbaits, a Hot-Shot-Lure Shakey Head with a finesse worm and a flipping jig. My go to rig will be a G-Loomis 6’6” spinning rod and the Shakey head finesse worm, while G-Loomis rods paired with Shimano Curado reels
Q. What do you look for during your Practice Days?
A. ”I have three days of practice and my game plan calls for covering a lot of water! I will spend my time on the water in specific areas, dissecting them into sections with the warmest water, while concentrating on rocks and harder heat holding bottoms. I believe the sections towards the dam including the southern creeks have an abundance of natural rock, and I should find stained water clarity there as well. From here I hope to determine where the bass are staging and then look for the areas they will be moving toward.”
Q. With everything taken into perspective how much weight will you be looking for each day at the scales, and what will it take to win this event?
A. “This is an excellent question that keeps haunting me! In 2006 I placed 12th on Neely Henry by sticking with my predetermined game plan, while making changes as needed. Come 2008 when the WBT returned I expected the same game plan to hold true……..It didn’t and I wasted to much time speculating a reoccurrence of 2006. This time I have established a well-formatted game plan and believe that a five-bass sack weighing 12-15 lbs per-day can be expected at the scales. It will take weights between 40-45 lbs to win. I will be looking for bass averaging 14 inches as the legal length on Neely Henry is 12 inches.”
