THE BASS COLLEGE

Boater Wesley Helton of Calhoun, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win $5,766 in the BFL Volunteer Division tournament on Douglas Lake. Helton was using a jig near the I-40 Bridge to catch his limit.

Rich Wilson of Knoxville, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces to win $1,883 in the Co-angler Division on Douglas Lake. Wilson was in Flat Creek using a Strike King Zero Worm jig to bag his limit.

Helton outfishes BFL field on Douglas Lake

Douglas Lake was constructed in 1943 for the purpose of flood control and hydroelectric power generation. The lake was created by damming up the French Broad River. Jefferson, Sevier, Hamblen, and Cocke Counties surround Douglas Lake. The major towns around the lake are Sevierville, Dandridge, and White Pine. The major tourist towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg are located within miles of the lake.

Douglas Lake (Douglas Reservoir) has over 550 miles of shoreline with a surface area greater than 30,000 acres at full pool. The reservoir itself is 43.1 miles long, with a maximum depth of 140 feet, and collects water from a 4,541 square mile watershed. On Douglas Lake, the typical annual fluctuation of the water level is about 54 feet. The lake is fed by the French Broad River and Nolichucky River, both of which originate in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.

Most of the shoreline on Douglas Lake is privately owned. The TVA provides recreational facilities at Douglas Dam. Above the dam is a campground with hookups and showers, a picnic area, all seasons boat ramp, and swimming beach. For more information call 1-800-TVA-LAND.

Douglas Lake is renowned for its Large Mouth Bass and Crappie. Other popular sports fish species include White Bass, Sauger, Black Crappie, Striped Bass, Spotted Bass, Walleye, Blue Cat, Flat Head Catfish, Channel Catfish, Red Horse, Red Breast Sunfish and Bluegill. Douglas Lake is rated one of the top five Crappie fishing lakes in the nation, also in the top 10 in the nation for Large Mouth Bass. Spring and Fall are the more preferred times to fish in Douglas Lake