Elite

Lester’s lively morning on Chickamauga

Catch up with Brandon Lester as he gets to work early Day 1 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake!

Posted on
Photography by
Kyle Jessie
As the sun rose on Day 1 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee’s Brandon Lester made his way down the lake.
Lester has a history of sucess on the Tennessee River. Chickamauga is only about two hours from his hometown of Fayetteville, Tennessee.
Using a spinning rod, Lester broke down a row of docks early this morning.
Putting his bait in hard to reach areas, Lester took his time fishing each individual dock.
Chickamauga offers a good number of boat docks. These docks provide warmth, and a good place for the fish to stage before they spawn.
Lester pushed further back into the pocket and fished isolated targets before picking up the pace for just a bit.
The side of the creek that featured no boat docks had a number of trees and laydows.
Lester thoroughly picked apart each peice of wood.
Time to make a move.
Local pressure has been a big talking point amongst the anglers before the start of the event. Finding areas with fewer boats could be a key this week.
Lester’s next stop was to a pocket with marina-style docks.
Not long after reaching his second spot, Lester made another short move further back into a creek.
Scott Canterbury was fishing in the same area as well.
Lester’s second move paid off quickly, as he boated his first keeper of the morning.
Lester’s first keeper was one of the right ones.
Right after Lester landed his first keeper, John Cox made his way back into the same creek.
Just around the corner was Chris Johnston.
Just a few minutes later, Lester boats his second keeper of the morning.
This fish appeared to have came off of a bed.
“Slowly but surely,” Lester said after boating his second fish of the morning.

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