RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Chocolate milk and bass fishing have little in common unless comparing the drink to water clarity. Anglers use the term to describe muddy water.
There is plenty of that on the main channel of the Arkansas River, site of the GoPro Bassmaster Elite at Dardanelle presented by Econo Lodge. Lake Dardanelle has 34,000 acres of fishable water for the Bassmaster Elite Series pros. Much of it is “unfishable” due to muddy water.
“It’s at about 20 percent of it’s potential,” said Jason Christie, the Oklahoma pro whose home state sent the water into the river following a period of heavy, prolonged rainfall.
“The upper half of the lake is basically blown out,” he continued.
Escaping the crowds and finding a potential tournament winning area all to himself are competitive strengths. Christie, who won the Elite event here in 2014, knows finding his competitive advantage will be tough this week. The fishable water, also known as clearer water, will get lots of attention by everyone.
“Usually, you can catch fish in the backwaters, out on the main river and everywhere in between. “It’s going to fish very, very small.”
What else will make it smaller are the tournament rules. Locking through to other pools is not allowed. Adding to the challenge is a 14-inch minimum length limit for largemouth. Smallmouth and spotted bass must measure 12 inches.
Jacob Wheeler recognizes that muddy water on the main river channel is a given. So is the fluctuating water level.
“The upper end is about five feet higher than the lower portion of the pool,” he explained. “So you must factor that into whatever you plan to do.”
What Wheeler wants to do is fish his strengths. Those are finding sweet spots along deepwater current and structure breaks. He’s not certain his favored offshore bite will happen here.
“This time of year fishing offshore is usually productive when post-spawn bass migrate out to the main river channel for the summer,” he continued. “They come to you and that creates a replenishing supply of fish.”
Wheeler hasn’t found much success in betting on the come. He also realizes Arkansas River bass thrive in backwater areas the year round. That creates a gamble for someone like Wheeler, who must decide between fishing shallow or deep. Time will not allow him to test both sides of the water column.
“What it will come down to is a shallow water angler who can find a stretch that somehow gets less pressure.”
Jordan Lee agrees. He believes the lake will fish small with a twist.
“It will come down to a very subtle adjustment, or a lure, that is different from what everyone else is using,” he said. “That could be something simple as a retrieve speed or a pattern.”
The reigning world champion knows there will be much more of a temptation to steal a glance at what the next guy is doing.
“There will be a lot of guys watching each other,” he added. “There are so many of us in a concentrated area that it will be very tempting.”
Don’t count Stephen Browning among that group. His eyes will be focused on what he does best. That is fishing moving water, of which there is plenty of on the river.
“It’s not at all about the water clarity,” said the Arkansas pro, regarded by his peers as the ultimate river rat.
According to this Arkansas River expert it’s not at all about chocolate milk. It’s all about the flow.
“The bass in this river are very acclimated to muddy water,” he continued. “What they can’t tolerate is too much current.”
Too much flow prevents the bass from setting up on the deepwater areas, such as those favored by Wheeler.
Browning has a knack for finding what he often refers to as the “pattern within a pattern.” That is much like the description provided by Lee. Maintaining a high level of focus will be key to make that happen.
“Sometimes it can be something simple as the way the fish set up on a given type of wood or even boat positioning,” added Browning. “Dialing into those types of subtle things will be huge this week.”
Christie said it best when summing up all of the nuances of the river.
“Poor conditions, unstable water. I guarantee you that somebody will figure out how to make both work together and make us look silly.”
Christie hopes to not play the part of the fool. Chocolate milk or not.