After preparing Player’s Advantage pre-tournament videos for the Chevy Open on Lake Guntersville for the last several days, I’m now making my last-minute pick adjustments to include a lot more local pros than I had originally picked.
Several out-of-town pros I’ve spoken with are crying the blues while every local I’ve interviewed has a fish-catching smirk on their face.
In general, local pros have more of a tournament advantage on lakes that are dominated by vegetation. This is because the more vegetation a lake gets in it, the more area-oriented (as opposed to pattern-oriented) the lake becomes.
As an example, take a look at the first FLW Series event on Okeechobee recently: six of the top 10 were locals.
Similar to Okeechobee, Guntersville is a vegetation based lake and area is everything. Locals know where the subtle underwater ditches and ridges are in the grass, key features to attracting big pre-spawn females.
So for that reason, I’m currently making some substantial changes to my Pundits’ Picks before the start of the Chevy Open. To see those changes, check out the “Tournament Picks” section in Player’s Advantage.
Also, if you’re looking for more locals to put in your picks, be sure to check the “Local Finder” section in Player’s Advantage as well.