WTBY - Browns Creek Lake

April 10

West TN Bass Yakkers will be visiting Browns Creek Lake for it's 3rd trail event of the 2021 season. This small TWRA lake is always a favorite for the WTBY crew and shows up on the schedule year after year, and for some big reasons. We'll be hitting this lake at a great time of the year. The fish should be thinking about the spawn and on the move to the shallower water. This lake tends to fish even smaller than it's size with a handful of spots that usually kick out the bigger fish, but with the bass in their spring patterns and on the prowl it should have them spread out more. To win this event, it usually takes over 55 inches so anglers will be looking for a couple good kicker fish to have a run at the trophy. This little lake has single handedly been the reason why so many in the west TN area have fallen in love with kayak fishing. It's the perfect size for kayaks and with it's rule of idle only for bass boats, kayak anglers can move around freely. Come out and join us. This is sure to be a slugfest. 

Tournament Recap 

Ashley Ault took 1st place with an impressive stringer measuring 62.5 inches anchored by a 22 inch giant - Heading into this tourney I told myself  "don't fish based on the past/memories you have of this place."  So prefishing Friday, I really just went out to explore/observe as much water as I could.  In doing so a few 20" fish "showed" themselves as I tossed a buzzbait around.  All fish I came across that day were pre-spawn to full out spawners, scattered in pockets amongst the thickest cover or on that first break/deeper water nearest these areas. The forecast for Saturday, rain, wind and overcast, TOPWATER weather, so tourney morning I headed straight to the area one of the 20"'s was hanging out the previous day.  About 5 minutes in, a 22" ate the buzzbait.  A few moments later, not 10 yards away, a 20.75".  Both fish ate on casts parallel to the cover/bushes, sitting in 3 to 4 feet. The next 5 hours tested me, nothing, notta!  How, that's Browns.  During this stretch I abandoned the buzzbait briefly, maybe an hour.  Skipping a soft jerkbait into the thickest cover I could find in the backs of pockets.  This produced a few bites but they would NOT committ to eating it.About 11:30, I run in to Matt Skelton and decided to take a moment and chat, trying to get my mind out of dumpster fire mode.  Doing this turned things around!!  The wind had picked up, so I picked up a spinnerbait, one of my confidence baits. 15 minutes later I had a 15", finally!  Sitting at 58" you'd typically feel pretty good, not at Browns. Having caught my two better fish on the buzzbait earlier, I immediately went back to it.  My final bite of the day came shortly after doing so.  An even 20", she hit in the exact same type area/presentation as the other two earlier that day.  Parallel presentation, small pocket, thick flooded bushes with fresh grass growing in/near by. 62.75" and I still wasn't sure that would get it done, it's Browns.

Justin Patrick took 2nd with 56 inches and Big Bass with a 23 inch prespawner - I have done well on Browns Creek in the past and giving it's size I decided to not practice and just put the pieces together on tournament day. Going into the tournament I suspected the fish would be up shallow and in transition to spawn if not already on beds. I heard some rumblings about some guys seeing fish up on beds the day before, but I had my suspicion that giving the rainy and cloudy forecast for the day they might pull back off a bit. I spent most of the first hour or so fishing main points to half way back in the creeks. I wasn't getting much luck flipping jigs or throwing a squarebill around cover, so I picked up the buzzbait. The temps were right for it, so I tied it on. Not 3 casts later I connected with my first fish. What's so interesting is that I just worked that exact area with a jig and didn't get a bite. Throw back in there with the buzzbait and bam. Gotta let the fish tell you what they want. I stuck with the buzzbait and netted two more fish, one being a measurable and the other not. I gathered that the fish were mostly hanging around the second half of the pockets, so I moved into a major spawning flat and started fishing this little cut that had flooded grass in the back with about 2 ft of water over it. The wind was pushing into this section so I opted for a lipless crankbait over the buzzbait and started burning and ripping it out of the grass. Just a couple casts in I connected with a 17.5. I continued around the other half of the pocket and still fishing the lipless I caught my new personal best, a 23 incher weighing in at 10lbs. My two best bait were the Strike King Red Eye Shad and a Megabass Buzzbait. 

​Andrew Hanson finished 3rd with a strong bag at 54 inches - I prefished a week early since I knew I wouldn't have time the day before and went all day without a bite until I landed a 20.5' just before leaving. Tournament day I went right back to the same pocket I caught the fish in the week prior and using the same technique I flipped every bush in there. I was throwing a Strike King Rage Bug in the Junebug color with a pegged 1/4 oz tungsten weight. I went with the 1/4 oz to help me be a little quieter when the bait was hitting the water. I caught my first fish around 7 that morning and it measured 17.75", on my second pass through the cove I netted a 19.5". This proved two things for me, 1) keep fishing that same pattern the rest of the day, and 2) be patient as I spent almost 3 hours in that one little pocket. I finally got a limit fish around 11 that measured 14.75 and then I upgraded around 1 oclock with a 16.75". I threw a couple of other baits without any action throughout the day but all of my fish were caught on the Rage Bug. 

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