FLW Tour pundits present their picks for the Kentucky Lake FLW Outdoors Fishing Challenge and tell you why they picked them.
Editor’s note: In an effort to let readers in on some of the prodigious squawking that goes on among the pros and pundits, we present as the introduction to this month’s picks an internal e-mail floated by the Beaver Lake winner shortly after that tournament ended.
From: Jeff Schroeder
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 5:39 PM
To: Randy Blaukat (E-mail); Koby Kreiger (E-mail); Gerald Swindle (E-mail); Clark Wendlandt (E-mail); Gary Mortenson (E-mail); Rob Newell (E-mail); Dave Washburn (E-mail)
Subject: Mayor reelected at Beaver
Oh, happy day, pros and pundits! The official results from Beaver Lake are in:
Jeff – 883
Rob – 815
Gary – 728
Dave – 714
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Total – 3,140
Pros:
Emily (a.k.a. Gerald) – 800
Clark – 774
Randy – 722
Koby – 714
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Total – 3,010
Where to begin?
As you all can probably imagine, I’m sitting here in my cubicle on a Monday afternoon, the fluorescent glare of the overhead lights beating down on my slowly receding hairline, wallowing in extreme satisfaction at the notion of having won yet another round of the picks. A feeling of such self-righteousness, such Ruthian confidence, such sheer triumph consumes me at this very moment that you cannot imagine my contentment. (Judging by most of your picks records, of course, many of you truly have no idea what this feels like.) Well, I’ll tell you what. It makes me feel so good that I honestly think those fluorescent lights are actually making my hair grow back today, like in a greenhouse.
But no, it is not just the overall victory at Beaver that has me all a-twitter, much less the top pundit score. At beautiful Beaver Lake, I posted the highest score recorded by any of us this season. Write it down, boys: 883 points. It’s a mark that won’t soon be beaten (unless, of course, my genius decides to shine again at Kentucky Lake). It’s a mark that would have landed me in seventh place had my picks been eligible to compete with the 2,370 other Fishing Challengers out there. Most satisfyingly, that seventh place would have won me an “official FLW Outdoors pen,” according to inside sources, plus a membership to FLW Outdoors.
And that means my manhood is now complete.
But it isn’t just my manhood, pens and genius that lead me to write you today. Actually, the point that gives me the greatest pleasure of all about the Beaver Lake picks is the fact that our illustrious collection of pros (all-stars each of you in your own right, competing in a sport that, in the words of Rick Clunn, “takes more intelligence than any other sport”) were collectively and soundly defeated by a GIRL! A 9-year-old girl, to be precise.
And that, friends, means that the world is going to be all right. Tall buildings might keep falling out of the sky, the Twins might keep losing to the Yankees and Anna Nicole Smith might put on another hundred pounds, but we can all sleep soundly knowing that Emily Wendlandt is the smartest pro of them all.
Justice is served.
Now, the nitty-gritty analysis. I won at Beaver because three of my five picks top-10ed, plus I picked Morehead. Combine that with the fact that my lowest pick (who, incidentally, was Clark, who, incidentally, also lost to his own 9-year-old daughter in the picks) finished in 58th place, and you have the ultimate recipe for Pundits’ Picks par excellence. Study it, gentlemen. It will show you the way.
My teammate, Rob, made a good run, especially with that Eakins call, but Bernie ultimately brought him down. He also nailed three top-10s.
I can’t say enough about Emily, whom Swindle maybe ought to consider as his permanent stand-in for the remainder of the year. She posted his highest score of the season for him. We, of course, greatly anticipate your return in Kentucky, Gerald, (especially us pundits) but remember a little girl’s wisdom when considering the relative merits of adding a Jim Tutt or Carl Svebek to your list.
Clark, all I can say is that you lost to your daughter. I’m not repeating myself, am I?
Morty, condolences on that Tracy Adams. You should know that you gotta go with the horse that brung you. He’s a good fisherman, but Adams wasn’t even in the stable last week.
Blaukat, just a tip: It’s okay to pick a few top-ranked pros. See, they HELP your score. And I sincerely hope that picking yourself to win had absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the tournament.
Dave and Koby, both of you won the respective bragging rights at the last tournament, Lake Murray. I hope you didn’t break any bones in the fall.
Oh, I almost forgot this because it’s almost not even newsworthy anymore since it happens so often, but the pundits trounced the pros. For the third tournament in a row. By 130 points. The gap is widening, fellas – pundits: 12,016, pros: 11,659 for the season.
Okay, gotta run. Time to go get a haircut.
Humbly submitted,
Jeff, Exalted Mayor of Punditville
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Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop No. 5
Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Ky.
May 14-17
Jeff Schroeder
Editor, FLWOutdoors.com
Previous tournament score (Beaver Lake): 883
Yearly total: 2,985
1) Greg Hackney. I’m going with Mr. Nice Guy to grab his first FLW victory despite his having – by his high standards – a relatively lackluster 2003 FLW season with only one top-20 so far. This is strictly a numbers ploy: Hackney has never finished worse than 21st place at Kentucky Lake in four EverStart Central tourneys there. His latest Kentucky Lake effort, 18th place at last week’s EverStart, tells me he still knows the lake well enough to win there.
2) Craig Powers. Hello? Third place at the Kentucky Lake EverStart tournament this year, plus two more top-10s at the same tournament the last three years? In fact, for two years straight, C.P. only fished one tournament in the Central Division: Kentucky Lake. Why? Well, it’s not for his health. Try the health of his pocketbook. The junk-fisherman from upriver at Watts Bar promises yet another high-powered attack on the lower end of the Tennessee.
3) Koby Kreiger. Like his buddy Powers, Kreiger tends to fish the EverStart Central Division exclusively for the Kentucky Lake tournament. Like Powers and Hackney, he also hasn’t finished out of the top 20 there in four years (11th place last week). Since he collected his first emotional FLW Outdoors victory there in 2001, Kreiger has established a certain kinship with Kentucky Lake, and that can only help an angler.
4) Wesley Strader. Might as well round out the trifecta. Strader’s another Watts Bar guy with a penchant for the other end of the Tennessee River. He hasn’t missed the top 20 there except once (1998 FLW Tour, 32nd place), and just finished second there last week. Pals on tour, he, Powers and Kreiger make a powerful one-two-three punch anytime they show up at Kentucky Lake.
5) Dan Morehead. Has a chance to make history with back-to-back FLW victories as well as extend his Angler of the Year lead. He’s the overwhelming home-lake favorite and he knows it, perhaps too well. I say he falls to fifth because of the pressure.
Rob Newell
Contributing editor, FLW Outdoors
Previous tournament score: 815
Yearly total: 2,970
1) Dan Morehead. Whoowee! What an original pick for Kentucky Lake, I know. But here’s the deal: We (the pundits) are accumulating a nice lead on the pros and I want to keep it that way. Not picking Morehead is just giving away points. Isn’t that right, Blaukat?
2) Andy Morgan. Morgan is my new hero. This is his breakout year. He is going to bring it at Kentucky Lake.
3) Wesley Strader. As you have probably figured out by now, I’m basically going down the Tennessee River Gang directory. Kentucky/Barkley is huge and the FLW has not been there in a long while. I just think the local card is going to play big this time.
4) Craig Powers. Another big surprise pick. Hey, C.P., can I get a couple of those homemade flat sides from you before the tournament starts?
5) David Fritts. Just in case the postspawn cranking bite is in high gear.
Gary Mortenson
Editor, FLWOutdoors.com
Previous tournament score: 728
Yearly total: 2,955
1) David Dudley. It’s official. The Manteo Machine is this year’s version of 2002 Pundits’ Picks ringer Aaron Martens. What does that mean exactly? Last year, when I needed an angler who was guaranteed to do well, all I had to do was select the Castaic Kid. In 2003, that angler is now Dudley. He hasn’t let me down all year turning in one stellar performance after another. In addition, Dudley is coming off a pretty darn good performance on Kentucky Lake at last week’s EverStart tourney and is in the running for Angler of the Year. You do the math.
2) Gary Klein. Because Klein didn’t fish the last FLW tournament, I’m sensing he’s hungry for the bright lights and big stage of the final-day Wal-Mart weigh-in tent. Plus, he has a great track record on Kentucky Lake to boot.
3) Wesley Strader. I’ve been waiting all year to pick the resident of Spring City, Tenn. Simply put, Strader is a machine on Kentucky Lake. He is very familiar with the water, and you can’t ignore that second-place finish at the EverStart there last week. I like his chances.
4) Dan Morehead. There’s nothing left to say about Morehead that hasn’t already been said. He leads all FLW Tour pros in the standings and he’s won an FLW title on this lake already. One more solid tournament and he’ll all but wrap up the 2003 Angler of the Year title. He’s got the incentive, focus, drive and experience to clobber the field. And he’s as hot as any angler has ever been on the tour.
5) Clark Wendlandt. This will be a risky pick only if the Dallas Stars ultimately lose to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the NHL playoffs. Why? Well, Wendlandt, a huge Stars fan, has all but admitted to me that their dismal performance against the Ducks didn’t allow him to focus at the previous EverStart Kentucky Lake event. Consequently, if the Stars were to lose, he might drift into a deep depression and consider giving up fishing altogether.
Dave Washburn
Executive editor, FLW Outdoors
Previous tournament score: 714
Yearly total: 3,106
1) Dan Morehead. This Evinrude pro is as hot as they come, and he couldn’t have scripted a more perfect season. His win at the Wal-Mart Open last month was his fourth top-10 finish this season. In fact, he has only missed the top-10 cut once this year when he finished 23rd on the Atchafalaya Basin. He won the FLW Tour’s last stop on Kentucky Lake in 1998 and finished 27th at the FLW Tour stop in 1997. He earned an EverStart Series victory on the sprawling reservoir in 2002. He’s the closest thing there is to a sure bet in this sport.
2) Wesley Strader. Despite cracking the top 10 on Lake Murray, Strader is having his toughest season since joining the FLW Tour full time in 1998. That said, I’m expecting great things from him on Kentucky Lake. Specifically, I’m looking for a repeat of his second-place performance in the EverStart Series tournament on the reservoir earlier in the month. The Fujifilm pro just missed the top 10 at the 1997 FLW Tour stop on the lake and has finished no lower than 20th in EverStart Series competition on the reservoir since 2000. It’s time for him to make a move up the standings.
3) David Dudley. Like Morehead, this Team Castrol pro is having a remarkable season. Dudley currently ranks second in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points race. He also has a solid track record on Kentucky Lake, most recently finishing 12th at the EverStart Series event on the lake earlier this month. He finished 26th and eighth, respectively, at the last two FLW Tour stops on Kentucky Lake, but this time he is headed for the No. 2 position.
4) Koby Kreiger. This has definitely not been Kreiger’s year on the FLW Tour. Kentucky Lake, however, has been awfully kind to him in recent memory. Like Strader and Dudley, he turned in a solid performance at the EverStart Series stop earlier this month, finishing 11th. He also finished 19th at last season’s EverStart Series tournament on the lake and won the 2001 Kentucky Lake stop. At the 1997 FLW Tour stop on the reservoir he finished fifth. I look for him to improve on that finish this time around.
5) Andy Morgan. Morgan is a mild-mannered Stratos pro who has flown under the radar all season despite earning a top-five finish on Lake Okeechobee and ranking fourth in AOY points. This will be Morgan’s moment to shine with another top-five performance. He placed 14th and third, respectively, at FLW Tour stops on Kentucky Lake in 1998 and 1996. He also finished 19th and eighth, respectively, at EverStart Series events on the lake in 2001 and 1999. Watch for him to grab a well-earned share of the spotlight.
Check out the pros as they weigh in with their picks for FLW Kentucky Lake.
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