Chad Pipkens has learned a valuable lesson that seems to be panning out in his favor, at least after Day 1. The lesson is about adapting to the changing conditions during spawning tournaments when the fish are on the move, either toward the shore to spawn or back out to deeper water in postspawn.
Pipkens’ lesson has evolved over the entire season with all five events, Lake Fork included, having been held during the spawning cycle.
“So far this season I have done a great job in practice, but I have not been changing with the conditions in these spawning tournaments,” he told me this morning. “The deal to win is being on the fish where they are going, not where they have been, and setting up the right rotation to keep maximizing on their movement all day long.”
Then he talked about reading clues from the fish and reacting accordingly.
“It’s interesting how it plays out if you are observant,” he continued. “When you see the marks on the fish it’s a dead giveaway about what to do next.”
Those marks, of course, are the worn tailfins of spawning fish, or other evidence proving those fish are postspawn and moving out into deeper water.
The key to all of the above, and the lesson learned, is searching for new water during a postspawn bite.
“That’s what I haven’t done well enough, and what helps set that up is fishing the timing with the shad spawn,” he explained. “I have two places where if you roll in there at the right time they will be coming in there.”
Pipkens validated that theory yesterday during a flurry of activity that began at 11:05 a.m. with a largemouth weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Ten minutes later he caught a 7 pounder. Then the action picked up again about an hour later after he changed spots—to yet another postspawn spot. There he caught fish weighing 6-8, 5-4 and 6-14 when the action subsided at 12:50 p.m. That was when he went searching for new water.
“Those are two places where I got them good, they are there, and there are more coming,” he said of the postspawn staging area.
“Yesterday didn’t go right in the morning with the lack of a shad spawn,” he admitted. “What I would have liked was to already have had a good weight, then switched over to the postspawn fish out deeper.”
Today he gets that chance after yesterday’s 30-minute delay. Pipkens did admit he’s got a couple of 7-pound or better largemouth staked out on beds. He was unable to find them, or see them, after the shallow water got muddy. He shook off both fish in practice.
Andy Crawford just called me and said Pipkens is throwing a topwater near the shoreline. So far there is no evidence of a shad spawn.
