The Forecast looks great for Saturday!
The Cherokee Chiller
We are just about two weeks from our first tournament of the year. I can already feel the cold of the morning launch chilling me to the bone, and the tug of an early morning bite. The end of February always has the potential to produce heavy limits of fish as the bass begin to feed up from their winter slumber, but the biggest catalyst in this concoction of anglers and bass will be nature itself. February could potentially present us with a taste of Spring or remind us of the harsh reality, that it’s still Winter.
Typically during the month of February, the water temperature on Cherokee Lake will fall somewhere between the mid 40’s and 50 degree mark. Last year the February Cherokee tournament, was won by the team of Ron Poss and Steve Legg. The team of Poss and Legg kept the entire field in check by bringing 5 fish each to the scales. Ron and Steve’s 10 fish weighed in at 23.8 lbs., a dominating 12 lb. advantage over the 11 lb., 2nd place team, of Nave and Nave.
Only 3 limits of fish were brought to the scales for the 2013 tournament and the majority of anglers brought 1 or 2 fish to weigh-in. Most anglers reported catching their fish on slow moving baits, such as small jigs or worms, with a few caught on crankbaits and jerkbaits.
Look for the team of Ron Poss and Steve Legg to be the odds on favorite again this year. With their knowledge of the reservoir and previous results, they will be tough to beat. We will likely be greeted by cold temperatures, so start praying now for a nice warming trend during the week of the tournament.
TNCBA 2014: Season at a Glance
The TNCBA will begin their year, in similar fashion to the previous 2 years, with a stop at Cherokee Lake, in February. History shows that small jigs, jerkbaits, and possibly crankbaits will be the weapons of choice. The club then returns to Cherokee in late March, which should see fish moving up and the crankbait bite going off.
As time moves on into the spawn, the TNCBA sticks with the midland reservoir trend and hits Douglas Lake just before the new moon in April. Throw the kitchen sink at’em, it doesn’t matter, its all going to come down to who can find the best section of lake. Next stop, who knows?! This year the TNCBA includes a *Hot Lake in the month of May, which will be voted on by the club at the meeting prior to the tournament.
The warm weather of June then welcomes the TNCBA’s out of town tournament, which will be held on Clarks Hill Reservoir, just north of Augusta, GA. The 71,100 acre impoundment is a carolina rigger’s paradise with thousands of points creating the shoreline. There is no doubt that lizards or worms, thrown deep, will play a key role, but fish should be found throughout the water column and someone who capitalizes on an early morning topwater bite, may rule the day.
After the out of town tournament in early June, the TNCBA goes over to the dark
side for 4 tournaments in a row. The first night tournament will take place on South Holston in late June where the go-to baits will possibly be the pig’n jig and finesse worms. Anglers will then stay close to home, on Boone Lake, during the month of July. The night tournaments continue in August, on Watauga, where competitors will be in search of giant smallmouth. This year’s night tournaments conclude on a club favorite, Douglas Lake, where Wily Gobble dominated the field in 2013, with 3 fish for a total of 12 lbs.
With the night behind us, the TNCBA concludes the season with another question mark. The club will again vote on a hot lake during the October meeting, prior to the tournament. The tournament committee also decided to move the TNCBA Classic to the month of November, which will allow for more excitement and participation. The 2014 season promises to be one of new opportunity and diversity. Good luck to all who compete and with that said, Lets GO Fishing!
2013 TNCBA Recap
The 2013 TNCBA battled a long, 12 tournament season to determine the TNCBA Angler of the Year. 2013 saw 6 different tournament winners and a tight points race that came down to the final event of the season. Robert Chatman had a consistent year, but two zeros were enough to land him in 6th overall. The 5th place angler, Ron Poss, had a slow start, but came roaring back to life in the end, jumping several positions late. In 4th, Keith Dison relied on a strong start to land in the top 5. David Crockett continues to be very consistent year in and year out, and this year landed in 3rd. Steve Legg finished strong in the last three tournaments to take 2nd. Cody Dison finished in the top 3, 9 out of 12 times to claim the 2013 TNCBA Angler of the Year.