How I’ll fish Lake Wheeler

We’re back at it again this week with stop No. 4 of the Elite Series here on Lake Wheeler in Decatur, Ala. Before I get into what I think will go down here this week first let me say a huge congratulations to my buddy Randall Tharp for winning at Bull Shoals/Norfork last week. I’ve come to know Randall and his wife Sara pretty well since I started on the Elites, and as great of an angler as Randy is, they are even better people. I’m happy for them.

Now, let’s talk fishing.

Lake Wheeler is, of course, part of the Tennessee River and is actually a lake that I have some prior history on. Although I’ve never competed in a tournament here at this level, I fished several college and team tournaments here a few years ago. Ingall’s Harbor is actually only a little over an hour from my house, but in all honesty, most times when I go south to go fishing I go to Guntersville, so I’ve not spent a great deal of time here.

From what time I have spent on Wheeler, though, I must say it is a fun lake that is chock full of fish, much like the rest of the chain. Historically, Wheeler hasn’t been known to produce the massive stringers that Guntersville or Chickamauga can, but make no mistake, several 25-plus pound bags are weighed in here every year. It would not surprise me to see one like that here this week.

The only thing that will make this week a little tougher than most is I think the fish may be in a transition mode right now. By that I mean it is hard to find one thing and say “OK, this is THE deal.” You have some fish that spawned three weeks ago that have already moved out to the river, some fish are still spawning, and some that haven’t yet. On top of that it is time for the shad spawn to crank up, so we may see that play a role as well this week. With all that being said, the long and short of it is that there will be a lot of different ways to catch them here this week. Everyone will probably get the opportunity to fish their strengths and have a chance at a good showing by doing so.

As far as baits and techniques go for this tournament, I’ll narrow it down to two. First is some type of swimbait. Any time you are on the Tennessee River chain in April you better have a swimbait tied on. I’ve seen it time after time, just like Skeet did at Guntersville last year.  When Tennessee River largemouth get done spawning, they eat shad, plain and simple. I started practice with two soft plastic, hollow-belly swimbaits tied on. I’ve got one rigged weightless and one rigged on a new Mustad 3/4 jig head for fishing deeper, open water.

Another technique that will play a role this week is flipping bushes. Wheeler has “buck bushes,” as some people call them, and the fish certainly use them this time of year, especially when the lake is full. Pick your favorite creature bait or jig and take off until you find some bushes that are holding some active fish.

My setup for swimbaits is an MHX MB-874 rod that is 7 feet, 3 inches in length. I like a little extra length for making long casts and driving that Mustad home. I use 17-pound Vicious fluorocarbon so I can handle a big one when she bites. My favorite hollow-belly is a Strike King Shadalicious, but I do throw a couple others from time to time. For bush-flipping my setup will be an MHX FS-904. At 7 feet, 6-inches this rod is heavy enough to handle the job, and I’ll spool up with 20- to 25-pound fluorocarbon. There’s rain forecasted and that always make me happy to have Winn grips on all my rods.

It’s pretty awesome to realize a fishery the quality of Wheeler is within an hour of my house, and I have, for the most part, not explored it thoroughly. That makes me really happy to live in Fayetteville, Tenn., I will tell you that!