Fantasy fishing waters of FLW Tour

Tour anglers play schedule maker for 2003 season, weigh in on dream fishing locations

After logging thousands of miles exploring some of the nation’s best fisheries, most anglers on the FLW Tour know a thing or two about what comprises a good tournament lake. Some of the variables are obvious. You want a lake that has a lot of fish. You want a location (and time of year) that minimizes the chance of inclement weather. And you want a lake that has enough variables to allows anglers to employ a diverse array of techniques and styles. However, as bass-fishing veterans know, there are a host of other factors that determine what is and what isn’t an ideal tournament lake. But could the experts agree on what those factors are?

To answer that question, the editors at FLWOutdoors.com spoke with some of the most knowledgeable anglers on the FLW Tour after the conclusion of the 2002 season. FLWOutdoors.com asked anglers to pretend they were in charge of coming up with the perfect 2003 FLW Tour schedule. Specifically, anglers were asked to list their favorite tournament lakes for each month of the schedule and explain the reasons behind their choices. While some lake choices turned out to be fairly predictable, many selections were quite surprising.

Clark Wendlandt

January: Lake Okeechobee – Clewiston, Fla. It’s a very big lake and, in my opinion, good tournament lakes should always be big. You always want the fish to dictate the next move you make, not the number of anglers on the lake. And because of Okeechobee’s size, anglers don’t have to battle over a few small areas. Another advantage is that you have a real good chance of having a super cold tournament if you head north of Florida in January. And I think Okeechobee is by far the best lake in Florida.

February: Toledo Bend Reservoir – Many, La. It’s a massive lake covering about 180,000 acres. It’s about 70 miles long and about 4 miles wide. It has creeks, grass, timber and rocks. I would say there aren’t many lakes better lake than Toledo Bend. To me, a great tournament lake offers a lot of different variables. And that’s the kind of place Toledo Bend is.

March: Sam Rayburn Reservoir – Jasper, Texas. It’s similar to Toledo Bend in that it offers a lot of good variables. It has big fish and it also has a lot of fish. And during March, you’re able to take advantage of the spawn. By including Sam Rayburn in early spring, it would allow you to fish a pre-spawn tournament at Toledo Bend and immediately follow it up with a Sam Rayburn tournament held during the spawn. Overall, Sam Rayburn is probably one of the top five lakes in the country.

April: Beaver Lake – Rogers, Ark. I think Beaver Lake is a great tournament lake. It’s got both spotted bass and largemouth bass. It also has huge numbers of fish in it, especially spotted bass, so you generally get a lot of bites and catch lots of fish. The water is usually pretty clear and I really like to fish in clear water.

May: Mississippi River – Memphis, Tenn. Out of all the places I’ve fished in May, I think my favorite place to fish is on the Mississippi River. It’s an unbelievable fishery. But you need the water to be high because you need to get into the backwaters of the Mississippi River because that is where most of the fish are. Very few of the fish are on the actual river because the river’s current is so strong. When the Mississippi River floods the backwaters areas, the oxbow lakes get tons of nutrients without a lot of the silt and build-up. And that’s where some of the best fishing is.

June: Lake Champlain – Ticonderoga, N.Y. This is second easiest decision I had to make. You have to go fishing for smallmouth at this time and there’s no better place than Lake Champlain. It’s far and away the best lake in the country. No other lake comes close to it. Pound for pound, fish for fish, Lake Champlain is the best lake in the country. With Lake Champlain, you have the added strategy of fishing for largemouth or smallmouth bass. The lake has fish everywhere as well. You can travel 90 miles or 2 miles and catch all the fish you want to. It’s a gorgeous place, the anglers can spread out and the people are very warm and friendly. It’s just the best lake.

September: Lake St. Clair – Mt. Clemons, Mich. For starters, it’s an unbelievable smallmouth fishery. It rivals some of the best smallmouth lakes in the country. In September, the whole lake is wide open. You can fish on the Canadian side, the Indian Reservation (which is off limits in June) or you can go into Lake Erie. There are a bunch of different options. It has just got incredible fishing.

Honorable mention: Louisiana Delta – New Orleans, La. The key thing that makes it great is how big the fishery really is. You can run four different directions 120 miles each way. The fish dictate your every move so it’s a great place to fish. Every time I fish the delta, I just sit there and think to myself that I just might find a place that few, if any, people have ever fished before. And that’s kind of neat.

Jay Yelas

January: Lake Okeechobee – Clewiston, Fla. You’ve got to be in Florida because everywhere else the weather is too cold. And Okeechobee is the best lake in Florida. I think the whole place is cool. There is nothing else like it in the country. It’s a big natural lake and the weather is usually beautiful during that time of year.

February: Sam Rayburn Reservoir – Jasper, Texas. February is my favorite month to fish that lake. There are a lot of big bass in there. In February, you’ll see a bunch of 10 pounders caught. I really like this lake because it’s far enough south to have decent weather and the fishing is always very good.

March: Guntersville Lake – Guntersville, Ala. It’s one of the top three lakes in the country right now. The fishing is also great. It’s so good that 15 pounds a day usually doesn’t even come close to putting you in the money rounds of a tournament.

April: Sacramento River Delta – Sacramento, Calif. Every time there is an April tournament, it seems like another bass-fishing record is set. A guy usually needs to catch about 25 pounds a day to win a national tournament there. It might just be the best place to fish in the country for bass. The weather is usually dynamite there too.

May: Lake of the Ozarks – Laurie, Mo. It’s just an unbelievable fishery, just loaded with bass. It’s late enough so you won’t be hitting any cold fronts. It’s also one of the premier fisheries in the country. The fishing would be fabulous in May. Another benefit of a May tournament is that we’d be there before the recreational boaters really hit the water.

June: Lake Champlain – Ticonderoga, N.Y. Champlain is just plain fun to visit. It’s one of the prettiest lakes in the country. The weather is lovely. The fishing is really good. It would also be the one few good smallmouth fisheries on the tour.

Sept: Thousand Islands – Clayton, N.Y. I’d love to have the championship up at Thousand Islands. The fishing is excellent and you’d definitely have a great time up there. I’d love to spend my summers up there. That place is getting better each year. I’ve been fishing up there since 1989 and the smallmouth bass weren’t nearly as big as they are now.

Scott Martin:

January: Lake Okeechobee – Clewiston, Fla. It’s the only place to go. First of all, you just have excellent fishing. And over the last two years, it’s really improved. There are a lot of fish and everyone always has a good time. You’re able to fish grass beds and other good cover. And in January, it’s the only place in the country that has decent weather. The drought we had a couple of years ago really helped the lake. Now it takes about a 5-pound average per fish per day to win a tournament.

February: Sam Rayburn – Jasper, Texas. It’s just a great fishery and the weather is still fairly decent in February. During that time of year, the lake also produces huge fish. You’ll see a lot of 20-pound stringers. It’s probably one of the best times of the year to fish that lake. It’s just before the spawn and you’re usually able to catch some large females on rattletraps and plastic worms.

March: Lake Murray – Columbia, S.C.; Lake Santee Cooper – Manning, S.C. These are two completely different lakes in many ways, but they’d both be perfect lakes for March. It’s right around the spawn and there are a lot of big fish to be had in both of those fisheries. It’s really hard to argue with either of those two locations.

April: Clear Lake – Clear Lake, Calif. It’s a shallow lake that’s basically a lot like Okeechobee. Clear Lake has a lot of shallow shoreline and the fish are humongous. The females would be close to spawning during that time of year so there would be a lot of big limits. It’s a very clear lake and really fun to fish. It’s very easy to catch a 30-pound bag there.

May: Guntersville Lake – Guntersville, Ala. Guntersville is an awesome lake. It has a lot of submerged vegetation. There is a tremendous amount of fish there. There would be lots of 15- and 20-pound bags weighed in. You would be guaranteed lots of action. It’s definitely a fun place to fish. During most tournaments, you’ll catch 40 fish a day easily. Everyone would have a lot of fun there. It’s probably one of the best places to be in May.

June: Lake St. Clair – Mt. Clemons, Mich. The smallmouth fishing is just incredible on this lake. You’re definitely going to catch a lot of fish and have a lot of fun. The lake is loaded with 3- and 4-pound smallmouth. That time of year you’ll have good weather up there as well. You’re not going to win the tournament on largemouth bass at that lake, so that’s makes it kind of challenging.

September: Lake Champlain – Ticonderoga, N.Y.; Thousand Islands – Clayton, N.Y. One of these lakes should be our September stop every year. The weather is great and in September, the fish are feeding and getting ready for winter. And because of this, the bass are very aggressive because their main objective is to eat as much as they can before winter. These lakes have some good largemouth bass, but you can also see giant schools of smallmouth bass following your lures. Champlain is possibly the best double-tiered lake – having both largemouth and smallmouth bass – in the country.

Editor’s note: Carl Svebek, Wesley Strader and Aaron Martens weigh in on their ideal FLW Tour schedule during part two of “Fantasy Fishing Waters,” scheduled to run next week.