A current affair

Of the pros who competed in the 2010 Toyota Trucks All-Star Week, every one fished spots from last year. Most agreed they weren’t as good as last year, mainly due to the lack of current.

WETUMPKA, Ala. — Of the pros who competed in the 2010 Toyota Trucks All-Star Week, every one of them fished spots from last year. The anglers agreed that they weren’t nearly as good as last year for a number of reasons. The most notable cause was the lack of current from Mitchell Dam.

Skeet Reese fished a few of his 2010 spots, but says that the water level was too different for it to hold fish.

“I fished a little bit of history here, but it didn’t pan out for me,” he said. “I got on a little deal yesterday and I had probably 15 bites in a fairly short amount of time – and there were some decent fish – but I thought it’d be there today and I could get 10 pounds. But, they sucked the bottom out of where I was fishing. They dropped it about 10 inches.”

Not only was the water level different, the water flow was roughly a third of what it was last time this year. Kevin VanDam relied less on his 2010 holes than did most, but agrees that the fishing was tougher all around.

“The lack of water was a big reason that it wasn’t as good this year, plus the pressure,” VanDam said. “You’ve just got to be aware of what the water is doing and be on the right kind of place at the right time based on the conditions. I’ve got spots for when they’re pulling water and when they’re not.”

Aaron Martens fished a number of spots he hit last year, which are typically known to be good spots. He fared the best today because of his fast pace.

“I’m sure some of my spots are community holes, but I also ran some newer stuff,” he said. “It’s just a matter of moving a lot. You have to keep moving. It was hot, and there wasn’t a lot of water moving. That was part of what killed it. The conditions just weren’t that great. Plus, the big spots get smart. If there are a lot of boats, they’ll shut down.”

Edwin Evers relied heavily on his areas from last year.

“I think that the fish are a little different this year, you know,” he said. “We don’t have near the current we had last year for one thing, but in practice I caught some good fish on some of the stuff I fished last year, but I think it was the lack of current.”

After fishing several events on Jordan, Evers says that there is no such thing as new water here.

“I’m running over my trails looking for spots that I haven’t hit hard already,” he said. “I’ll definitely see if I can find something new tomorrow, but there may not be anything.”