Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - May 2018

-nomenon for all of the fishermen getting out on the water. Smallmouth bass have shown up in droves. Using the current to ambush baitfish and feed, large numbers of quality smallmouth are be- ing caught out on this body of water right now. Will the smallmouth bite play a key role in the event during May? The answer is, probably not. Barring any more major rain causing consistently strong current, five fish limits of four pound smallies will not be seen. That is not to say these anglers will not catch quality smallmouth during the event however. There is a good chance mixed bags will cross the stage, and these smallmouth will be some of the larger fish in that bag. Assuming the current calms down, and Pickwick Lake is in stable condition for the BoatUS Colle- giate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Cabela’s , let’s take a look at the patterns and baits that could play a significant role in determining the outcome of this event. The first main focus over the past few years has been the ledges and offshore structure. It never seems to fail, every year we return to Florence, AL for the Champion- ship, the winning team finds their success fishing ledges. This is due in large part to the fact that a majority of the lake’s population of fish goes out deep for the summer months; however, the fish are behind this year, so it’s still to be determined if ledges will be key again or not. If the fish are out on the ledges, bait that might play a role, and The SPRO Little John Super DD 90 deep diving crankbait could be a big player for tar- geting these offshore fish. When targeting fish on deep structure, firing up a school is key to trigger- ing numbers of bites. A crankbait is a great lure for achieving this. Running this bait through a school of hungry fish will start a competition between the school for the bait. So expect crankbaits to be used by a good portion of the field at some point during the event.

Smallmouth Bass like this one will be the quality of fish that anglers will be looking for.

Collegiate Anglers stack up and share the water on a ledge during the 2017 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Cabela’s

The Little John Super DD 90 has a unique vibration, a sub- tle sound and a major vibration in the water. Click the pho- to to learn more!

Sticking with offshore ledges, another tactic that

Click the photo to see all the things to do in Florence, AL.