2021 Top 150 Solo Series Wraps At Chickamauga

By John N. Felsher

After a highly successful inaugural year, the American Bass Anglers Top 150 Solo Series 2021 season concludes with the sixth and final tournament, set for June 25-26 at Lake Chickamauga.

The anglers will launch at the Dayton City Ramp, located at 175 Lakeshore Street in Dayton, Tenn. The Dayton Boat Ramp sits on Richland Creek in Rhea County near the middle of the 36,240-acre serpentine impoundment on the Tennessee River. Rhea County is about 30 miles north of Chattanooga, 70 miles south of Knoxville and 110 miles east of Nashville. 

Named for the Chickamauga Cherokees who used to live in the area, the lake snakes for about 60 miles along the Tennessee River between the Watts Bar Dam and the Chickamauga Dam. Lake Chickamauga offers anglers 810 shoreline miles. Chickamauga Creek, the Hiwassee River and several other tributaries feed into the system.

The Tennessee River impoundment dates to 1940, but only recently earned legendary status for regularly producing monster bass after the state of Tennessee began stocking Florida largemouths into it in 2000. In the past few years, the lake delivered many lunkers in the 10- to 14-pound range.

In 2015, Gabe Keen landed a 15-pound, 3-ounce bucketmouth, setting a new Tennessee state record. Lake Chickamauga also produced the Tennessee record spotted bass, a 6-pound, 1-ounce fish. The lake also holds some giant smallmouth. The lake could produce a new record for any of those species on any cast.

“Lake Chickamauga is still a great lake for producing giant bass,” advised Jacob Foutz, a professional angler who won the 2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship and competed in the 2018 Bassmaster Classic. “This year, it seems like the big fish numbers have been down a little bit from years past. I think that’s due to pressure. The biggest one I’ve heard caught in 2021 weighed about 13.5 pounds. The biggest one I’ve personally seen was a 9.5-pounder. Big bass are definitely still out there and they are susceptible to being caught.”

When not fishing tournaments, the Charleston, Tenn. angler runs Jacob Foutz Guide Service (330-827-4047, jacobfoutzfishing.com) on the lake. Look him up on Facebook. With summer officially declared on June 20 and scorching heat bearing down across the South, Foutz predicts the winner of this tournament will need to fish in deep water.

“The lake is in good shape right now, but it has been heavily pressured for some time,” Foutz explained. “The bass are really biting. The water is up to summer pool. I think the tournament will be dominated by anglers fishing offshore ledges. In late June, the bass could be anywhere from 10 to 35 feet deep. I wouldn’t be surprised to see people catch bass in the four- to six-pound range offshore.”

In the summer, many bass drop into the depths to escape the broiling summer sunshine and boat traffic. Deeper waters maintain relatively stable water temperatures throughout the year and fishing pressure doesn’t affect them as much in the depths. The constant roar of outboards overhead in the summer won’t disturb fish in deeper holes as much as props and wave action affect fish in shallower waters.

“Lake Chickamauga gets a lot of pressure,” Foutz remarked. “I’d put it up there as one of the most pressured lakes in the country, but it still kicks out good fish. I predict that an angler will need to catch 18 to 20 pounds a day to stay competitive. I wouldn’t be shocked if it took 23 pounds a day to win. On the other hand, someone catching 17 to 18 pounds a day might win. It wouldn’t surprise me to see one or even multiple bass weighing more than 10 pounds coming to the scales. It all depends on the fishing pressure and how much water they’re running through the dam.”

The impoundment drops to about 72 feet deep in places. With modern electronics, anglers can discover deep creek channels, ledges, brush piles and many other bottom contours or cover that might hold big bass in the summer. Some units show incredible detail of the underwater world. Anglers can also study topographic maps that indicate water depth, channels, submerged humps and other places to scan with electronics.

“Deep-running crankbaits are efficient tools for covering deeper water,” advised Kevin VanDam, a four-time Bassmaster Classic champion. “I like to do a lot of deep cranking for suspended fish. I’ll throw different bait sizes to run at different depths until I find the right crankbait that gets to the best zone. In the summer, I like to crank ledges with a Strike King 6XD. It can be very effective at that time. It looks like a giant gizzard shad, bluegill or crappie to a hungry bass.”

When fishing ledges with crankbaits, use lures that dive slightly deeper than the water depth so the lip digs into the dirt. This creates a silt trail like a crawfish scurrying on the bottom. When fishing deep vegetation, run the bait so the lip tickles the grass tops. Around vertical structure, deliberately bang crankbaits into objects and pause the retrieve so the lure hovers a moment to simulate a stunned baitfish. Often, what looks like a wounded or incapacitated shad can prove too tempting for any bass to resist.

Anglers might not want to fish too deep. Frequently in the summer, the cold, dense and deepest water layer in many lakes might not hold sufficient dissolved oxygen to maintain fish life. In the summer, bass commonly hover right above the thermocline. With quality electronics units, anglers can usually find the thermocline. They might want to run deep-diving crankbaits, swimming jigs or other lures just above the thermocline.

“People can catch fish in a variety of ways at Lake Chickamauga in late June,” Foutz commented. “The hot techniques could be anything from a drop-shot rig to a magnum spoon. It all depends on the mood of the fish and how much pressure they had been getting right before the tournament. I recommend fishing a Chatterbait, big worm, a big shaky head, a football jig, a swimbait, or a big crankbait like a Strike King 6XD or a Strike King 10XD. People could also catch some big bass fishing a Texas rig or a jig in deeper holes.”

Anglers could also probe deep honey holes with jigging spoons. A 1/4- to 1-ounce chrome jigging spoon makes an excellent vertical presentation for fishing the depths. As the spoon sinks, it flutters down like a dying shad. Bass often hit spoons as they fall, but if nothing hits, jig it up and down a few times off the bottom. Try different depths to target suspended fish.

Practically anywhere in the lake, anglers could also try dragging a Carolina rig tipped with a creature bait through deep holes. Leader length depends upon the type of bottom cover in an area. In open water, use longer leaders. In thick woody or grassy cover, use shorter lengths.

“If I was fishing this tournament, I’d head to the lower end of the lake,” Foutz recommended. “I think the area around Harrison Bay will dominate the tournament. That’s typically where the vast majority of offshore fishing holes are. It’s a really healthy area of the lake. Many major tournaments are won in that area, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone win while fishing all the way up to the upper end of the lake either. The whole lake is good now, but it seems like the lower end dominates when it comes to fishing offshore.”

Not everyone likes to fish deep. Even on the hottest days of a sweltering summer, some bass always stay in the shallows. They burrow into the grass, which blocks the sun and keeps surrounding waters cooler. Vegetation also provides bass with an oxygen boost. Docks shade the water and cool it so many bass seek the darkest sections far up under docks or moored boats.

“The lake has quite a lot of grass,” Foutz detailed. “If someone can find some fish up in the grass, that person can do well. Some people could find good fishing in the upper end of the lake. Look for docks or shallow banks with grass. The upper end also has a lot more wood and bank grass cover, so it’s better suited to anglers who like to fish shallow. For fishing the grass, I recommend throwing a frog, a swim jig, or flipping jigs. Texas rigs could also work in the shallows. The grass won’t be nearly as big a factor in late June as it would have been earlier in the spring, but it will definitely still be a player.”

The ABA Top 150 Solo Series includes two divisions. The Southwest Division kicked off the first season on Feb. 5-6, 2021, at Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Louisiana-Texas line near Many, La. Cody Pitt from Hineston, La. won the very first ABA Top 150 Solo Series tournament.

From Toledo Bend, that division fished Lake Sam Rayburn near Zavalla, Texas, from March 26-27. Zach A. Clark of Center, Texas, won that one. The Southwest Division ended its first season on April 30-May 1 at Lake Eufaula near Eufaula, Okla. with Clark becoming the first and so far only back-to-back division winner in the Series.

Anglers in the Southeast Division, which includes Chickamauga, began at Lake Eufaula near the town of Eufaula, Ala. on Feb. 26-27, 2021. Shane Powell of Dothan, Ala. won the first divisional event in the Series. Next, the division headed north in Alabama to fish Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro, Ala. on April 30-May 1. Jesse Wise of Erwin, N.C. won that one.

Anglers can register to fish in either or both divisions. Anglers pay $600 to enter each tournament. Up to 150 anglers can sign up to compete in an event. If 150 anglers participate, the winner will take home $20,000 in cash. If fewer competitors register, the top 20 percent of the field will each earn a portion of the prize money, based upon the number of entries. 

In addition to earning major cash awards, the winner of the Chickamauga tournament plus all the previous divisional tournament winners and the two-division Anglers of the Year will each earn the right to compete in the 2022 Ray Scott Championship. A former ABA angler, Bryan D. New of Belmont, N.C. won the 2019 Ray Scott Championship, collecting about $100,000 in cash and prizes. He now fishes the Bassmaster Elite Series and won the first Elite event he ever fished in early 2021.

For more information about American Bass Anglers visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406. For more information on the ABA Top 150 Solo Series, see www.americanbassanglers.com/Top150. For Dayton, Tenn. area information, see rheaecd.com or www.tnvacation.com.

American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, Triton Boats, Mercury Motors, Motor Guide, Berkley, Abu Garcia, T-H Marine, Power Pole, Garmin, Monster Energy, Lucas Oil, Engel Coolers, OPTIMA Batteries, REKS Sunglasses, and HotelPlanner.com.