Lake Chatuge has a big bass reputation, both for spotted bass and largemouths. While not many crossed the weigh-in stage on Day 1, the anglers have seen plenty. It’s both encouraging as to what’s possible here, and frustrating in the difficultly to get one to bite.
Keith Poche got one to bite yesterday – the 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth that was the big bass of the day. However, Poche was puzzled about why it was the only one he hooked.
“I’ve seen a lot of big ones,” Poche said. “They’re everywhere. Sometimes you’ll go down a bank and see one or two, then you’ll go back down that bank and they’re gone. They’re moving in and out.”
Poche said he had a “phenomenal, insane” practice, when he could have sacked a 20-pound bag one day. But that pattern didn’t carryover to Thursday.
“I’m really disappointed in my day,” he said after the Day 1 weigh-in, where he finished 10th with 12-12. “My early morning deal was just non-existent. I thought I would catch an easy 12, 13 pounds on my first stop.”
Ott DeFoe has some similar stories. He spent most of his Day 1 way up in a creek that had 65-degree water, much cooler than the low 80s main lake surface temperature.
“There’s a lot of 2- to 4-pounders – a lot of them,” DeFoe said. “I saw one that was probably 8 pounds. I’m talking about a giant. I saw some 5s too. If you take the 8 out, I still saw about a 22-pound bag.”
But seeing and catching are entirely different matters on Lake Chatuge this week.
“It’s the time of year more than anything,” DeFoe explained. “I don’t know (blueback) herring lakes very well. But from what I’ve seen, the only way you can get one to bite is when they’re feeding, while they’re chasing. And you’ve got to fish something faster than what they’re used to seeing. You’ve got to bring it to get a bite.”