FLORENCE, Ala. — If you ask Jimmy Washam, Pickwick Lake is as healthy as it has been in a while. It has taken 30 pounds to win almost every winter tournament the Tennessee pro has fished there this year. A 20-pound bag didn’t even land anglers in the Top 10.
That is good news for anglers competing in the 2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Pickwick Lake presented by Lowrance.
“The average size of the bass is as good as I’ve seen it in the 20-plus years I’ve fished the lake,” the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN pro said. “I’ve heard a lot of grumbling and people talking about (how) the numbers in the lake are struggling, and to me that is absolutely not the case. It is as healthy as it has ever been. The population of threadfin and gizzards is unbelievable too.”
Tournament days are scheduled for March 12-14 in Florence, Ala. Pickwick as well as Wilson Lake will be inbounds. Competitors will launch from McFarland Park each day starting at 7 a.m. and will return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. The top finishers will earn a spot in the 2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance, to be held on the Upper Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wis., Oct. 22-25.
Pickwick Lake has been one of the top destinations in the Southeast for some time now. The Tennessee River reservoir has hosted every level of competition B.A.S.S. has to offer, from the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft all the way up to the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.
The last time it hosted an event during the spring, Bill Lowen claimed his first Elite Series title after heavy rains brought the lake level up in 2021. What spring rains do to the reservoir will be the X factor, Washam said. If stable conditions prevail, however, Washam expects prespawn largemouth and smallmouth to be feasting.
“March is one of my favorite months for big fish. The only hiccup you have is the weather is changing. But if things line up, it could be the best time to be on Pickwick. You’ll have a lot of staging female largemouth that are deciding that it is time to feed up and make the transition to the spawning areas.”
For smallmouth, Washam expects the Wilson Dam tailrace to be a popular area. Depending on the conditions, the brown fish could be in all stages of the spawn.
Washam believes good bags of green fish can be caught anywhere on the lake, from the Wilson Dam to the Pickwick Dam. Main-lake and secondary points as well as gravel bars will hold bass this time of year. Largemouth that move shallow will hang around any type of hard cover like laydowns, stumps and rock.
Isolated grassbeds could also come into play, although Washam said the grass coverage on Pickwick was not as impressive this past year as it usually is.
“I don’t think the grass will be as significant as what people [suspect],” he said.
A lipless bait like a Profound Outdoors Azuma Shaker Z will be a popular choice for anglers, Washam said, as well as a crankbait, a jighead minnow and a jerkbait.
Visit Florence is hosting the tournament.