Big Crappie Bash: Bigger and Better
By Greg McCain
The stage is set for one of the most anticipated spring crappie tournaments in the Southeast.
For the 6th consecutive year, the ACC Crappie Stix / Crappie Cove Big Crappie Bash returns to Watts Bar Lake on April 25. With potentially stable weather and water conditions and a prime fishing window, anglers can expect a big-fish showdown with serious weights – and money – on the line.
Late April is widely considered peak crappie season on Watts Bar, part of the Tennessee River chain in east Tennessee. The fish – both black and white crappie – will be in various stages of the spawn. As water temperatures stabilize in the upper 60s to low 70s, crappie are typically in shallow spawning patterns or staging just off the banks. This creates ideal conditions for a variety of techniques — dropping on individuals found on forward-facing technology, casting jigs to shoreline cover, spider rigging in transitional zones, or shooting docks where pre- and post-spawn fish stack up.
“It just keeps getting bigger and better,” said Andy Lehman, ACC Crappie Stix owner. “I think one reason is that the fishermen really like our approach to the tournament. We’ve avoided the drama that has plagued tournament fishing, stuck to our rules, and offered a consistently good event through the years.”
Tournament director Matt Xenos (Wired for Crappie on Facebook and other social media platforms) conceived the idea for the first Bash in 2021 and pitched it to Andy and to Crappie Cove owner Blake Hauk. The tournament is staged out of the mid-lake section of Watts Bar. Terrace View Marina (3367 Euchee Chapel Road, Spring City, TN 37381) will serve as the host for the 5th straight year.
“It’s hard to believe that we are getting ready for the 6th annual Big Crappie Bash,” Matt said. “It’s been a great journey to experience and to see the tournament grow from that 1st event.
“We talk about it getting bigger and better, and it’s shaping up that way,” Matt said. “We’re up to 94 boats registered this year (as of mid-March). We’ll hit (the) 100 (boat cap) easily.”
(To secure one of the last remaining spots in the tournament, contact Matt at Big Crappie Bash. Registration closes on April 22.)
One of last year’s winners, Joel Nash, has teamed up with Matt to tournament fish in the last year, and they will fish the Bash together. Joel and Skeeter Hayes won last year’s overall big fish with a 2.27 crappie.
“We’ve fished all of them,” Joel said. “That’s the most looked after tournament that we have around here. We always look forward to it, and everyone that we fish around looks forward to it as well. It’s fun, the format, the competition, the camaraderie. There’s people you don’t always get to see all the time, maybe you talk to them on the phone or message back and forth. It’s great to get people together every year.”
The tournament pays $5,000 for the overall big fish and $1,500 for the hourly prizes. Competitors are targeting that one “kicker” fish rather than a set limit of crappie. They can choose the hour in which to weigh their fish, making strategy an important part of winning an individual hour.
The sponsors for the event remain largely the same as in previous years with a couple of new ones involved this year. In addition to ACC Crappie Stix and Crappie Cove, other sponsors include Thump Gel, Big Bite Baits, Bonehead Tackle, and ATX Lures.
“Big Bite Baits and Bonehead are new sponsors who have come on board this year,” Matt said. “They have sent a huge amount of baits to give away.”
He added that the sponsors are a big part of the overall success of the tournament.
“I really want to stress the sponsors and Andy’s willingness to keep the entry fee low,” Matt said. “We are providing the anglers as much as possible for the $160 entry fee, the pre-tournament dinner, giveaways, dinner at the awards banquet, the social aspects, a fun time, and a well-run tournament. Plus, win an hour or even catch the big fish, and win a lot of money.”
Other than the sponsor additions, the tournament remains largely unchanged. Competitors seem to like the timing of the event with the move from early in the month to late April. Snow fell throughout the tournament day on one of the early April dates.
“You’re going to see a mixture of post-spawn and pre-spawn,” Matt said. “People have been saying, ‘We’re going to have an early spawn.’ They say it every year. But then we have the cold spells, just like the one we’ve just had (when morning lows were in the 20s in east Tennessee). Those cold fronts always push them back. So some pre-spawn fish will most likely still be available on tournament day.”
The fishing format remains the same as last year. After blastoff at 7 a.m. (all times listed are Eastern Daylight Time) from Terrace View, competitors will get an extra 30 minutes of fishing time in the first “hour,” which runs from 7:30 until 9. In the past, teams had to wait an hour or more after takeoff before they could put lines in the water.
Other hourly segments (9-10, 11-12, etc.) remain the same with the final hour ending at 4 p.m.
Matt stressed that all anglers should be familiar with the rules for the tournament. Those rules were included in the return e-mail that Matt sent to fishermen after they registered. Boat check takes place from 5:30 until 6:30 prior to tournament hours at Terrace View.
“That’s one of the reasons that people like this tournament so much,” Matt said. “We follow the rules. I don’t always like to have to enforce the rules, but you have to do it to maintain a good tournament environment. We’ve had a few teams DQed (for late check-ins), even friends of mine. That’s part of it. All teams need to be aware of the rules and follow them.
Events like the Big Crappie Bash are about more than just competition—they bring together a passionate community of anglers. With support from sponsors like ACC Crappie Stix and Crappie Cove, participants can expect a well-run event with strong payouts, giveaways, and plenty of storytelling at the weigh-in. With a measure of luck and skill, maybe a giant slab crappie is the mix as well.