Tucked Away Bass

A Yadkin River lake that’s overshadowed by more well-known impoundments is a favorite April spot for two pro anglers.

When Todd Fulk started bass-fishing at Tuckertown Lake regularly a handful of years ago, he didn’t find what he expected.

“I knew there was some kind of slot limit on the lake, and I thought you’d maybe hit a real big one every now and then,” said Fulk, a building inspector from Mount Pleasant who fished professionally in the early 1990s and qualified for the 1993 Bassmasters Classic. “But I didn’t expect as many 20-pound days.

“It really isn’t odd to have one, because when we go, I always feel like we’ll catch fish from 2 1/2 to 6 or 7 pounds every time, with the majority around 4 to 4 1/2.

“You don’t catch a lot of small fish there — especially during early April.”

Fulk and Kevin Chandler of All-American Guide Service at New London understand there’s a lot anglers miss when they drive past 2,600-acre Tuckertown Lake to fish the bigger reservoirs at the Yadkin River system: High Rock, Badin and Tillery.

Tuckertown is a bass factory, and it’s probably never been better than during the past two or three years. Chandler pointed to the 12- to 16-inch slot limit, under which the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission managed the reservoir for much of the decade of the 1990s, removing it only a couple of years ago and replacing it with a straight five-fish, 14-inch regulation.

Chandler said the slot limit helped Tuckertown really blossom into a quality bass fishery, and nothing has changed since the slot limit was removed.

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