Dayton Boat Dock on Chickamauga Lake has become a popular headquarters for fishing tournaments large and small, and another FLW event will be held there next week.
It's FLW College Fishing's third and final Southeastern Conference regular-season tournament of 2016, and the winning team on Sept. 24 will get $2,000 and a place in the national championship event.
School teams can register until that morning, but nearly 60 two-person boats had entered as of Tuesday, including local anglers Robbie Moore and E.J. Crutcher from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Crossville residents Dylan Fehr and Wilson Tanksley in separate Tennessee Tech boats and Dalton's Cody Cleary of Valdosta State.
Michael Neal from FLW's top pro series is the operator of Dayton Boat Dock, and he predicted that the winners will have to total at least 24 pounds of bass in their five keepers.
"The lake is fishing a little tough right now, but it still took a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds to win a tournament here this past weekend," Neal said in an FLW release about the college tournament.
"There are still a lot of good fish being caught, but it's far from being fast and furious right now. It always happens this time of year. The fish are in transition and you're limited to a much slower presentation.
"I think that 90 percent of the fish that are weighed in at this tournament will be grass-related," Neal said, adding that "flipping a 1- or 1 1/2-ounce weight with a beaver-style bait will be strong."
He also predicted that topwater baits such as Zara Spooks and Lucky Craft Sammys would be successful early in the day.
Launch will be at 7 a.m. that Saturday with weigh-in beginning at 3 p.m. There will be no charge for spectators.
Neal, by the way, is fishing Lake Norman in North Carolina this weekend in the Walmart FLW Tour Invitational.
DeFoe wins $100,000
Ott DeFoe, a Knoxville fisherman well-known to many in the Chattanooga area, led the last three rounds of the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wis., last weekend and took home $100,000 with a four-day total of 63 pounds, 10 ounces.
Seth Feider of Minnesota was second with 62-7. Gerald Swindle of Guntersville, Ala., was 12th with 52-13 and has a 43-point lead for angler of the year with the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship still ahead on Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota.
DeFoe, 31, also had the big fish of last week's event.
Free fun at Floyd park
Saturday week, Sept. 24, also is National Hunting and Fishing Day, and Georgia has planned 10 "celebratory" events, including an "Outdoor Adventure Day" from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at James "Sloppy" Floyd State Park at Summerville.
Open to all ages, it will include fishing, canoeing, archery, laser shot, live animal displays, a snake show and a climbing wall, as well as fly-fishing and camping demonstrations. Hot dogs and drinks will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The event is free except for the $5 parking fee.
For more information call Lisa Bohannon at 706-295-6041 or Sam McDuffie at 706-857-0826.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.