Elite Series rookie Jake Whitaker has fished Lake Chatuge many times in his 26 years. He sums up the bass fishing as follows: “This lake is known for ‘here one minute, gone the next.'”
That would describe the much-discussed Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race on Day 1, when Josh Bertrand was closely tailing leader Justin Lucas, then he was gone by the end of the day with a 50th-place finish.
Can the first-day results reverse themselves on Day 2? It’s certainly possible, especially on Lake Chatuge, which is dominated by the fickle nature of spotted bass chasing blueback herring. That left a lot of guys shaking their heads yesterday, none more so than Bertrand.
Forty-five of the 50 anglers caught five-bass limits ranging from James Elam’s 16-pound, 10-ounce tournament-leading bag to Jordan Lee’s 5-pound, 14-ounce 48th-place limit. The average bass brought to the scales Thursday weighed 2.14 pounds. Keith Poche caught the biggest example of the game-changers swimming in Lake Chatuge – a 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth bass.