NEWS

Brewers Believe Timing Will Decide Wheeler Lake ABT North Division Tournament

By Jason Duran

The Alabama Bass Trail North Division heads to Wheeler Lake on May 9 for what could become one of the more timing-driven and unpredictable tournaments of the 2026 season. Rising water, incoming rain, warming temperatures, postspawn fish, and TVA current all appear set to collide at once, creating a tournament where decisions and timing may matter just as much as finding the fish themselves.

For Hunter and Nathan Brewer, Wheeler Lake is more than just another stop on the schedule. It is home water. It is history. It is the lake they know best.

“I feel like it’s probably the best lake in the world for us,” Hunter Brewer said. “No matter when or what, we just somehow always catch fish there.”

The team has deep roots on the Tennessee River impoundment. The family has a lake house on Wheeler, Hunter spent much of his college years fishing there constantly, and Nathan has decades of history on the system. That experience showed during the 2025 ABT Championship on Wheeler, where the Brewers finished inside the top five and sat second after Day 1 before a difficult rotation on Day 2 derailed their chances at the win.

“We still felt like we had a shot to win it,” Hunter said. “We just got a really bad rotation the second day and it cost us quite a bit.”

That idea of timing and rotation may define this entire tournament.

According to Brewer, Wheeler is entering a unique seasonal phase after weeks of low, clear water conditions across the Tennessee Valley. Until recently, Wheeler remained nearly three feet low, leaving very little shallow cover available and forcing many fish to spawn offshore in unusual places.

“All the fish were spawning in 10 to 15 feet,” Brewer said. “You could tell every fish had just spawned on the points. Every irregular place off a point had one.”

Now, conditions are rapidly changing. Water levels are rising toward full pool, heavy rain is expected during the week, and Brewer believes that could trigger another major movement of fish shallow.

“I still think there’ll be a lot more fish caught shallow than there would have been last week,” he said. “There’s still going to be a lot of fish flood shallow into the bushes and creeks.”

Even with that movement, Brewer estimates nearly 75 percent of the fish population is already postspawn, leaving Wheeler in a transition period where multiple patterns could produce.

“I think there’ll be people catching them in every phase,” he said. “But most likely it’ll be won with postspawn fish.”

That setup opens the door for a wide variety of approaches throughout the lake.

Brewer believes the strongest section of Wheeler will likely center around the mid-lake region from the nuclear plant through Ingalls Harbor, including major creek systems like Beaverdam and Swan Creek, along with the expansive flats that traditionally play this time of year.

If TVA begins generating current following this week’s expected rainfall, those flats could become major feeding areas.

“They weren’t schooling last week because there was no current and the water wasn’t up,” Brewer explained. “Now they should start to school a little bit.”

The lower end of Wheeler may also factor heavily, although Brewer noted the unusually clear water has changed the behavior of those fish dramatically.

“The water is clearer than I’ve ever seen it,” he said. “Those fish are really smart right now. It’s fishing a lot different than Wheeler normally does.”

While some anglers may target deeper fish on the lower end, Brewer still believes shallow fish and flats fish will ultimately dominate the event.

A wide range of baits is expected to play, including swim jigs, flipping baits, Carolina rigs, chatterbaits, jighead minnows, and shad spawn patterns early in the morning. Brewer specifically pointed toward the Carolina rig as a technique that could become a major player throughout the tournament.

As for the winning weight, Brewer expects Wheeler to produce.

“I’d say somewhere between 22 and 25 pounds,” he said. “With this many boats, somebody’s probably going to catch a big one.”

Still, the defining factor may not simply be finding fish. It may be hitting the right places at exactly the right moment.

“I think it’s all timing,” Brewer said. “A hundred people could fish the same spot all day and not get a bite, then the ninety-ninth guy pulls up and catches 25 pounds.”

That reality also makes boat draw critically important, especially on a TVA fishery where schools can activate suddenly with current generation, sunlight changes, or feeding windows that may only last minutes.

“Boat number is probably the most important it’ll be all year,” Brewer said.

The AOY race itself remains extremely tight entering Wheeler. Chris McGregor and Smith McGregor currently lead the North Division standings with 623 points, followed closely by Bill Mayo and Walt Roberts with 620 points and Elliott Gault and James Swindle with 610. With only Wheeler and Weiss Lake remaining before the AOY title is decided, every finish and every fish could dramatically impact the race for the top spot.

With rising water, changing conditions, and fish transitioning daily, Wheeler Lake appears poised to reward anglers capable of adjusting quickly and capitalizing on short feeding windows. For the Brewers, that combination of local knowledge and history on Wheeler could make them one of the teams to watch this weekend.

The Alabama Bass Trail North Division Wheeler Lake tournament will launch from Ingalls Harbor in Decatur, Alabama, on May 9. Blastoff is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. or safe daylight, with first flight due in at 2:30 p.m.

Fish size limits for the event are 12 inches on largemouth and spotted bass and 15 inches on meanmouth and smallmouth bass.

Follow the Alabama Bass Trail live on Facebook, YouTube, and at AlabamaBassTrail.org throughout tournament day for live coverage, standings updates, and weigh-in coverage.

The 2026 Alabama Bass Trail Team Series is made possible through partnerships with industry leading brands: Phoenix Boats, AMFirst, Larry Puckett Chevrolet, 13 Fishing, Rapala, VMC, CRUSHCITY, Buffalo Rock, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Jack’s, Garmin, Thompson Tractor Company, Pirnah02, Alabama State Parks, Halo Fishing, Snag Proof, NetBait, Bait Fuel, Alfa Insurance Thomas ALFA MAN Shelton, TH Marine Supplies, Power Pole, Pro Guide Batteries, Yamaha, SCUM FROG, E3 Sports Apparel, FishAlabama.org, Sweet Home Alabama, and Alabama Mountain Lakes.