There were only two 20-pound, five-bass limits caught in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic held on the Tennessee River in mid-March. Chris Zaldain weighed the heaviest — 21 pounds, 12 ounces. That bag on Day 2 rocketed him from 28th place into third, less than 2 pounds out of the lead. It was Zaldain’s other two days in that Classic which showed just how tough the Tennessee River can be this time of year — four bass, 9-0 on Day 1 and two bass, 3-4 on Day 3.
Zaldain thinks this place is fishing even tougher now, earlier in the year with colder water temperatures.
“Weight-wise, I don’t even want to guess what it’s going to take to win this,” Zaldain said after practice Wednesday. “Five (bass) a day is going to be good.”
Zaldain said he is going to take a two-pronged approach to this fishery: 1) smallmouth bass the first half of the day, 2) largemouth bass the second half.
“I’m going for those 18-inch smallmouth first,” he said. “The smallmouth are in swift current, and they’re not as affected by the cold water. Then I’m going for largemouth in the warmer, muddier water. I think the rain (in the forecast for later in the tournament) will help them bite better.
“I have some history here. There’s a 20-pound bag swimming here. When it happens, it happens fast.”