Elam’s Classic Prep
This year the Bassmaster Classic will be held in Knoxville, Tenn. and the Tennessee River, as well as two adjoining lakes, will be part of the boundaries.
Both Fort Loudon and Tellico will be part of the competition, and along with the river itself, the playing field will be huge.
There is a lot of water to cover in a short practice, and many anglers made scouting trips before the off-limits period to check it out.
Professional angler James Elam qualified for the Classic but opted not to make a pre-practice trip there.
He is going to rely on his Lowrance electronics to quickly break it down once practice begins.
His “Eyes and Ears”
Since Elam is headed to Knoxville without any experience, he will trust his electronics to help him formulate a game plan.
“The first thing is simple, but the water temperature is going to be a big factor in this event, and I’ll be watching it closely. There will be areas with slightly warmer water, and that could make a big difference in finding the right areas,” Elam believes.
Elam couldn’t point to just one Lowrance technology that he will rely heavily on the mapping and StructureScan. “I am going to use it all, they will be my eyes and ears. Mapping and scanning are two ways I can quickly break down a new body of water.”
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Scanning for Bass
With so much water to cover in a limited amount of time, Elam and other competitors will no doubt be using StructureScan to locate bass quickly. It’s no secret that this technology helps to find bass and structure and Elam says that river systems make it even easier.
“I am going to be looking for staging areas on my StructureScan (video) and what I like about river systems and places with sandy bottoms is that the fish stand out because of how they are positioned. It makes it easy to see the fish,” he shares. “The current makes bass set up differently than they do in places without it and StructureScan is a great way to see where they are.”
He will also be using DownScan and StructureScan to locate vegetation if there is any.
“I’ll also be looking for any areas that have grass, and that shows up great both down and to the side,” he says. “I don’t know how much grass there will be in the lakes, but this time of year if there is any it can be a big player, even if it is just a little bit.”
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Mapping
With so much water to cover, Elam has already begun looking at his C-Map electronic charts on his Lowrance HDS LIVE units. He has a general idea of what the fish will be doing when he arrives and is also looking for places he can safely run his Phoenix boat.
“The fish should be staging at this tournament, and I will be looking for protected areas and shallow bays,” he says.
One feature on his mapping that he believes will help him is the depth-shading feature. These custom colored ranges will allow him to quickly see specific depth zones.
“I set them to a different color every ten feet and will also adjust it so it only shows depth contours that are less than 30-feet. I plan to fish shallow and won’t be looking for any deep water spots,” he says. By changing the contours to only show water less than 30-feet he can eliminate those areas from showing up and possibly creating a distraction.
“The different colors make it easier to see as I am driving around. At the Classic, there are a lot of distractions and pressure, and I want those specific depths zones to pop out and allow me to see them quickly. Doing this makes me much more efficient with limited time to practice.”
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Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Predictions
The Classic waters hold plenty of both species, but Elam plans to stick with the largemouth as he feels it will be his best chance to win.
“That is why I am going to be looking for those shallow areas on my map. I don’t think smallmouth will be enough to win an event this far south,” he believes. “Plus, they change and move so often that it can be a bad idea to count on them. It’s just their nature to move a lot.”
When asked about patterns and predictions for the tournament, Elam said he is unsure how the fishing will play out.
“I don’t have any pre-conceived ideas of what they will be doing since I have never been there,” he says. “If I had to guess, I would say around 17-pounds a day would be great and could win it.”
This year’s Classic will be an exciting event mostly because it is such an unknown to professional bass fishing. James Elam is banking on his ability to quickly break down the massive tournament boundaries with the help of his Lowrance units.
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