Guide Chris Coleman just gave me an education on Chickamauga Lake
using his Lowrance unit to tell the story. Chris tells me that in the
past five years most tournaments here are won on the lower half of the
Chick. "Since the grass started coming back about 5 years ago, the
lower half of the lake has been where tournaments are won," he said.
And sure enough, the BASSFest competitors have figured that out. We're
sitting just south of mid-lake and seeing lots of anglers.
Coleman tells me that many years ago TVA "eradicated" the grass here.
When the grass started coming back about five years ago, that's when
fishing on the Chick got hot. Last year Bassmaster magazine ranked
Chickamauga the 6th best bass lake in the country. This year the
Bassmaster Top 100 has the Chick at number 7.