Digital scales and balance beams will get a workout over the next four days of the TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Elite at Smith Lake.
“The fishing isn’t bad,” said Jacob Powroznik, who won a Bassmaster Open here in October 2021. “I think it’s going to be like a Sabine River tournament, where one pound will separate 20 places (in the standings).”
That was the consensus of the anglers polled Wednesday evening after three days of practice on this 21,000-acre lake located less than an hour’s drive from Birmingham.
“It’s actually fishing better than the naysayers said before we got here,” said Brandon Palaniuk. “The numbers of fish caught will be impressive. The weights are not going to be impressive.”
There’s a 15-inch minimum length limit for all black bass species in this lake, which is dominated by spotted bass.
“Guys are going to catch a lot of fish scoping,” said Jordan Lee, who lives in Cullman, the host city for the tournament. “They’re going after fish chasing bait balls. Those fish tend to be the same size, keepers or barely keepers, no 3- and 4-pounders. (The standings) are going to be stacked tight.”
How tight? Let Palaniuk explain: “I think it will be the tightest weights of the entire year. The (Day 2/Top 50) cut will be determined by one ounce or a tiebreaker. Everybody is going to catch a lot of fish. If you have a 2-pound average, you might finish 65th. If you average 2 ¼ pounds, you might finish 35th.”
In looking for an edge in bigger fish, some anglers will explore the far reaches of Smith Lake, especially in search of a largemouth bite. Lee, who has spent most of his life in Cullman, said he has fished Lake Guntersville more than Smith. But he knows well every part of Smith.
“It will probably take a mixed deal to win this, largemouth and spots,” Lee said. “One or two (largemouth) can make a huge difference. It’s all about catching quality. Typically, you’ve got to be doing something a little bit different to catch bigger fish on this lake.”
And Lee has a little bit different game plan, saying, “I’m going to gamble and fish shallow, where there’s not near as many fish, maybe one-tenth as many, no, more like one-hundredth as many. There are so many bluegill on the banks. (After Tuesday’s practice) I felt pretty confident. (Wednesday) I didn’t see crap. The fish up there are few and far between.”
Powroznik said he’s going to take a different approach, fishing over 125 feet of water out in the middle of the lake. That’s how he won the Open here in 2021.
“There weren’t many people doing what I was doing then,” he said. “I’m going to be fishing dead in the middle of the channel, 10 to 20 feet deep. The thermocline is at 35 feet now. Most of the better fish are in that 10 to 20 range.”
What’s it going to take to win this four-day tournament?
“Fifteen pounds a day would do it, absolutely,” Lee said. “But I think it will take less.”
“Thirteen-and-a-half pounds a day,” Powroznik said. “Someone might catch 15 pounds one day and 12 the next, but an average of 13 ½ should win it.”
“I think it will take 13 ½ a day to win,” Palaniuk said. “And the (top 50) cut weight might be 11 pounds a day.”
That would be the definition of tight, stacked standings.
