SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. — Kyle Welcher may have best summed up the bass fishing conditions at Lay Lake now. “Everything is working, but nothing is working well,” said Welcher. “It’s super tough.” He is one of 14 Alabama residents competing in the four-day Whataburger Bassmaster Elite here, which begins Thursday.
In other words, the three previous days of practice haven’t given the 104 Elite Series anglers many, if any, clues about a winning pattern. The water fluctuations on this 12,000-acre Coosa River reservoir haven’t helped. But the puzzle is mostly a result of the time of year.
“I think we’re two weeks too early and two weeks too late,” said Elite Series rookie David Gaston, who lives only 28 miles from Beeswax Creek Park, where the daily 6:30 a.m. takeoffs and 3 p.m. weigh-ins will be held. “It’s the worst time to be here.”
There are still a few bass on spawning beds, but very few. Most are in post-spawn mode. There is a major shad spawn occurring all over the lake for a few hours at first light each morning, but the 6:30 a.m. takeoff time leaves a small window of opportunity, especially for the anglers in the later two flights.
“You may not get a lot of bites,” said Gerald Swindle. “You’ve got to will them into biting. You might fish for hours and not get a bite, then catch two in a row. The key to winning this tournament is just fishing hard and not getting discouraged. You’ve just got to put the trolling motor down and go.
“I’m going to tie on a buzzbait, a spinnerbait, a ChatterBait and a frog, and I’m going to let the good times roll.”
Will Davis Jr., 30, is an Elite Series rookie, but he might have more experience on Lay Lake than any other angler in the field. Davis and his father, William Sr., have been competing in tournaments here since Will was seven years old. Davis’s home is only 19 miles from Beeswax Creek Park. Both with his dad as his partner and solo, Davis estimated he’s won 60 tournaments at Lay Lake, if you include the Tuesday night jackpots, etc.
“I think you’ll have to weigh-in a mixed bag (including spotted bass),” Davis said. “It’s probably the toughest time to catch a big bag. The majority of the fish are post-spawn.”
Steve Kennedy is coming off an 8th place finish at Santee Cooper Lakes, where bites were hard to come by. This one is playing out in similar fashion.
“A lot is going on, but nothing is great,” said Kennedy, noting the shad spawn, a bluegill spawn and a mayfly hatch. He said there are still a few bass on spawning beds in some of the creeks where water temperatures are cooler.
“It’s just so hard to get a bite,” he said.
As for estimates to make the Day 2/Top 50 cut, Kennedy and Welcher think it may take only 11 pounds a day. Davis said 12 ½ pounds a day. And the winning weight? Most estimates were around 60 pounds. Swindle guessed it would take only 57 pounds total to win this event.
So, yeah, Lay Lake is fishing awfully tough right now. But someone is going to win the $100,000 first-place prize and a big blue trophy Sunday.
“If this lake was full and stable, I don’t think we’d be cussing Lay Lake right now,” said Swindle.
There’s always a chance that’s what this lake becomes over the next four days – full and stable.
