The boat drivers for myself and Andy Crawford both had the same answers about which end of the lake this tournament will be won.
My driver, Travis Coffey, and Jeff Gottbreht, Andy’s driver, are both frequent visitors to Oahe, and they are both skilled anglers on the National Walleye Tour.
Both answered the lower lake, where most of the action is going down now. The reason is the presence of the lake’s baitfish population, and namely the lake herring.
Beginning in the early spring, the bait, (and the smallmouth and walleye) are uplake. That’s where the walleye tournaments are won. As the season progresses, the current moves the bait down the river system, and with it goes the walleye, bass and other predators depending on it. So by late summer, most of the bait is on the far lower end, which also explains why the 2018 Elite event was won there.
And there you have it, find the bait, find the bass. The key takeaway is the smallmouth here don’t relate to bottom features as they do elsewhere. Here, they relate to the bait.
