Jake Lawrence is hunting back-to-back wins on the Tennessee River. Photo by Rob Matsuura. Angler: Jake Lawrence.
May 10, 2025 • Jody White
COUNCE, Tenn. – With modern sonar set aside for Day 2 of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 Presented by E3 Sport Apparel on Pickwick Lake, it was a foregone conclusion that the weights would go down. Still, the pros that either had some sort of backup or didn’t need forward-facing sonar to be effective were able to make big moves on the leaderboard.
Totally changing his game plan overnight, Jake Lawrence ran to the tailrace and blasted 23 pounds, 14 ounces to move into the lead. Behind him, Banks Shaw dropped into second, staying offshore and making hay on a shad spawn pattern in the morning to the tune of 21-11. Lawrence leads the pack with a 49-5 total, Shaw is right behind with 48-1, and Jacob Walker, who has set up shop at the tailrace, is in third with 45-12 – very much within striking distance.
Heading into the final day, all sorts of sonar will be turned back on, and we’re probably in for a heck of a finish. The Tennessee River reservoir has been kicking out all kinds of 30-pound bags this year, and at the top, Lawrence and Shaw are two of the best on the Tennessee River, no matter what particular pool of water they’re on. Behind them, the Top 30 is stacked with similarly excellent talent and pros catching them all kinds of ways.
Helping hand puts Lawrence ahead
Lawrence and Walker have worked together all year, which is not an unusual arrangement in pro fishing. However, given the nature of the Invitationals, with the possibility of a pro needing multiple different patterns throughout the event, it can look a little odd. Rest assured, when Lawrence set his Phoenix down near the concrete at the Wilson Dam, Walker was fully expecting his presence and had briefed him on what to expect.
“The first event at Sam Rayburn last year, we shared that main drain that both of us utilized, and we just kind of hit it off,” Lawrence said. “He hollered at me over there and he had forgot his water, forgot anything to drink that morning. So, I threw him a couple bottles of water, and each time we’d pass each other in that drain, we’d kind of talk.”
Lawrence ended up second in that Invitationals event, starting his run to the Bass Pro Tour. Walker finished 25th, earning $10,000, and later that season, sharing water again with Lawrence, he won the Invitationals event on Champlain.
“After the event, I actually ran into him at The Stump, and we just hit it off,” Lawrence said. “And what a great guy. I mean, he’s an absolute blast to be around and such a great fisherman.”
At REDCREST this year, Walker and Lawrence hatched a plan to figure out every inch of Pickwick for this event, and so far, it’s paying off handsomely.
“Obviously, I’m a big offshore guy,” Lawrence said. “I know where the vast majority of these schools live from guiding here so long. The game plan going into this event was I was going to spend my time idling and looking for these groups. He was going spend his time up there. And whichever of the two showed more potential, we would both kind of lean on it.”
With very few schools out offshore at the moment, Lawrence didn’t end up shelling out waypoints to Walker.
“Had this been what we all expected, I’d have given him 20 or 30 schools, and we’d just divvy them all up,” he said. “I can’t say enough about our partnership, our team effort. We’re able to cover a tremendous amount of a big body of water very quickly, and we seem to jive pretty well together.”
On Day 1, Walker ran to the Wilson Dam and mined smallmouth, while Lawrence leaned on ‘Scope down the lake. Today, Lawrence rolled up to join Walker in the current for a wild day of fishing.
“That was the most mentally and physically challenging tournament day, fishing day, period,” Lawrence said. “I’ve never worked that hard.”
Fishing in heavy current, Lawrence was hooked up almost constantly – it was probably more common for him to be reeling in a fish than a bait. The problem was most of them were not bass.
“If I caught one, I bet I caught a hundred drum and catfish and gar – everything imaginable except a smallmouth,” he said. “But it worked out super, super fortunate. You know, there in the last couple minutes before I left, I was able to get in a good position where I could hit where most of those smallmouth were set up, and it made all the difference in the world. I went from catching a drum every cast to catching a smallmouth every cast.”
It took Lawrence almost all day, but he got five over the rail and got out – and those five were mighty strong. On Day 3, he’s planning on leaving the smallmouth to Walker and chasing the win on the section of Pickwick he knows best.
“I’m looking forward to turning the ‘Scope back on tomorrow and getting after a few of these deep bedders,” Lawrence said. “I’ve got several big ones – of course, I haven’t been to them in four days now, I don’t know if they’ll be there. But if they are, we’ve got a shot at catching a great big old bag. I’ve got no doubt in my mind that I have the waypoint or the dot to the five winners, it’s just a matter of making those five stops in the right order and getting them in the boat.”
Offshore shad spawn keeps Shaw in contention
A local to Pickwick thanks to his status as a University of North Alabama student, Shaw was a favorite going into the event and has fished like one so far. While he caught most of his fish offshore on Day 1, targeting some of the few schools off the bank, he turned to offshore shad spawns on Day 2.
“I knew I was going to get some bites off the shad spawn, but I didn’t know exactly how it was going to be,” Shaw said. “I got some quality bites right off the bat, which made me fish comfortable, I had 20 1/2 pounds off a shad spawn by, like, 10:30. So, I can’t complain about that. I just ran around, looked for some new water, found one decent place that I didn’t really know was as good as it is now, and I’m going to mix that in tomorrow with some other stuff.”
Raised on Chickamauga, Shaw is no stranger to fishing offshore without LiveScope, and, remarkably, this is actually the first Invitationals event of the year where he’s dropped down the leaderboard on Day 2.
“This year, Day 2 has definitely been the moving day for me,” Shaw said. “I just feel like I kind of do it like I used to. Before, I fished offshore all the time. I know how to line up on a place, how to line up on a waypoint and make that one cast.
“Another thing, I pay a lot of attention on the first day to what the fish are doing,” he added. “I make certain waypoints to help me out, so I know exactly where to sit and make what cast.”
Going into the final day, Shaw figures to be a threat, and he’s close enough that this is no runaway. Given how the lake is fishing, and the possibility that the ledges could still come alive any day, it seems like it will take over 25 again on Day 3 to win.
“I have one really good place that I haven’t fished yet that I’m kind of excited about,” Shaw revealed. “It’s the deal out here if I’m going to catch 30 pounds. I’m excited to see how that goes, there might not be any fish there, they were on the move, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Top 10 pros
1. Jake Lawrence – 49 – 5 (10)
2. Banks Shaw – 48 – 1 (10)
3. Jacob Walker – 45 – 12 (10)
4. Jimmy Washam – 40 – 2 (10)
5. Andrew Nordbye – 39 – 4 (10)
6. Keith Poche – 38 – 9 (10)
7. Carter Nutt – 37 – 15 (10)
8. Jon Canada – 37 – 13 (10)
9. Levi Thibodaux – 37 – 5 (10)
10. Colby Miller – 37 – 3 (9)