Terry Scroggins and the rest of the Bass Pro Tour field kicked off O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 4 this morning on Lake Chickamauga out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This tournament features a unique split design, highlighting two fisheries on the iconic Tennessee River. The full field will fish the first two days on The Chick, before switching over to Nickajack Lake for the Knockout and Championship Rounds.
The BPT format always finds ways to keep these top sixty-six anglers on their toes, even for 23-year pro tournament veterans like Scroggins. “Big Show” didn’t pull any punches, his practice his not live up to his expectations for a lake like Chickamauga, where he knows it will take heavy weights to do well.
“I spent my entire practice time on Chickamauga because I simply didn’t find enough fish to feel like I could go down to Nickajack,” Scroggins said. “To be honest, I bet 75% of our BPT field spent all their time on Chick. For such a great fishery it seems to be fishing tough. It’s the typical late-spring funk bass can sometimes get in immediately after the spawn. I didn’t really find them grouped up out offshore yet, and they aren’t flooded in the shallows either.”
This ‘in-between’ stage can be cumbersome for anglers but is usually exciting for tournament fishing fans, as there will be multiple patterns at play with anglers leaning into their strengths to add weight to the SCORETRACKER. While Scroggins and every competitor he talked to was “singing the blues” after practice, you can rest assured the field is still going to catch ‘em. Sandbagging and outpacing expectations is par for the course for these guys.
“With our format, practice really doesn’t mean too terribly much,” the Team Toyota pro admitted. “Especially on a lake with as many fish in it as Chick. All it takes is finding the right group during competition and you can light them up. The winning school of fish is probably offshore somewhere, and I haven’t found them yet, but it can happen quick. I plan to sample some shallower spawning stuff early today before poking around offshore.”
Sampling the spawn(s)
Scroggins saw plenty of spawning activity throughout his practice days between the shad spawn first thing in the morning, brim and bluegill on their beds in the shallows, and the tail end of the bass spawn; but he doesn’t believe any one of these patterns is steady enough to propel him to the Knockout Round. Instead, Big Show plans to sample all three throughout the day, squeezing a few quality scoreables from each.
“The shad spawn is on here on Chick, but we’re not Lines In until 7:30A.M. each morning and that deal is pretty much over by then,” Scroggins explained. “I still saw enough to try and capitalize on the shad spawn first thing in the morning and then I’ll run and few bed fish I have marked. I didn’t find many, but there are a few up there. Then, there are always big bass hanging around bedding brim this time of year, too.”
This hodge-podge approach is the best way Scroggins knows how to break down a good fishery that’s fishing a little tough. Instead of being tunnel-visioned to one pattern that may be dwindling, he’ll explore several clues he got in practice and continue to dial in his game plan throughout the event. An open mind will win you more fishing tournaments than any lure, technique or piece of equipment.
Scroggins gave a few final predictions Wednesday night as he finished pouring and producing a few more soft plastic worms and Chatterbait trailers on the tailgate of his Tundra.
“I think it will take 25-pounds per day to make the Knockout Round,” Scroggins offered. “Which is light for Chickamauga with our every-fish-counts format, but with the fish being scattered like they are it’s just not easy right now. Our guys are so good, and we have several who live right around here. There will be a few dudes who blast ‘em, but it’ll be a bit of a grind for most of us. That said, this is still the Tennessee River, and you know it’ll show out.”
