Contingency programs are becoming more common throughout the ranks of tournament bass fishing. Toyota Bonus Bucks offers anglers an opportunity to make extra money simply by towing your boat with a Toyota vehicle. You just have to own or lease a 2015 or newer Toyota truck, sign up free for Bonus Bucks, and be the highest finishing registered participant in one of the dozens of tournaments supported by the program. Toyota will be holding their 8th annual Toyota Trucks Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament October 26-27, 2019 at Pickwick Lake. Register here.
Like most fisheries around the country, the Fall of the year at Lake Chickamauga is all about finding the bait. As the water temperature cools and the bass start feeding up for Winter, their primary focus is being in areas that have an abundance of forage. Mimicking that forage is key in consistently catching fish this time of year. One of my go to tactics in this scenario is fishing a Big Bite Baits Suicide Shad on either a belly weighted wide gap hook, or a jig head, depending on the type of cover I'm targeting. The ideal rod for this tactic in my opinion is the Denali Lithium Series 7' MH (L843WJ). Paired with a 6:3:1 gear ratio reel and 16lb Sunline FC Sniper, this rod allows you to make long accurate casts, while still offering a soft enough tip to allow the bait to embark the subtle action needed in cooler water conditions. I encourage you to give this tactic a try the next time you are on your local fishery in the Fall.
5. Baits Not Being Talked About
Z-Man’s latest addition to the Ned Rig style of baits, the 2.75-inch TRD TicklerZ is available now. Made from Z-Man’s 10x tough ElaZtech material, the Z-Man TRD TicklerZ stand up off the bottom and features tail tentacles that spread apart at a 45-degree angle to produce a tantalizing action with minimal bait movement and tempt the most finicky of fish into biting.
Bob Downey won the Bassmaster Central Open on Grand Lake without a jersey covered with sponsors. He kept his lures simple to win with a Sweet Beaver and All Terrain Tackle Jig and kept his jersey just as simple with a t-shirt featuring the B.A.S.S. logo. Fishing all the Central Opens and winning one qualifies him for the 2020 Classic and he may be able to parlay that into a jersey with more sponsors on it.
B.A.S.S. recently announced their 2020 Elite Series schedule and the potential new rookies for that trail have qualified from the Eastern and Central Opens. That brings up some interesting questions about what anglers will do for the 2020 season. At the top of that list is perennial FLW Tour stalwart John Cox, after an impressive season in the Opens. Cox double qualified for the Elite Series if he chooses to accept the invitation, by finishing 4th in the Eastern Opens and 2nd in the Central Opens. He also earned $79,064 dollars fishing the Opens in 2019. Bryan Schmitt, Buddy Gross, and Austin Felix will also have choices to make about their futures on the FLW Tour as they all are qualified for the Elites Series now. Their timing in qualifying for the Elites could be very good if the FLW Tour undergoes major changes following a possible change in ownership. The Elite Series should also gain another Japanese angler in 2020 also as Taku Ito qualified 3rd in the Central Opens.
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