APPLING, Ga. – For the second time in a row, the Walmart FLW Series BP Eastern Division is visiting Clarks Hill Reservoir in eastern Georgia for the series season finale. Last year, the Eastern Division of the FLW Series finished up on this very lake as well.
After this fourth and final regular-season event, 30 pros and 30 co-anglers will already have their ticket punched to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup to be held in Atlanta.
Conditions on Clarks Hill this time around, however, are much different. Last year pros faced a lake that was some 16 feet below normal pool. In fact, the lake was so low that the boat ramps at the FLW Series host site, Wildwood Park, were unusable. Also, that tournament was held the third week in October with water temperatures already dipping into the 60s. Baitfish, and consequently bass, were already well into their fall patterns.
Crankbait great David Fritts dominated that event with a four-day total of 59 pounds, 10 ounces, including a day-one limit weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces, which blew the gunnels off the competition. In the end, Fritts won with over a 10-pound margin.
With such drastically low water last year, bait and bass were compressed into a much smaller body of water, making them easier to pinpoint.
At Clarks Hill this year, there is both good and bad news. The good news is the water levels in the Savannah River chain have come back up, much to the relief of residents in this area who witnessed the record lows last year. Although the water is not back up to full pool, it is some 9 to 10 feet higher than last year, so at least the boat ramps at Wildwood Park are back in operation.
The bad news, however, is that an earlier tournament date has found Clarks Hill still in summer mode. With daytime temperatures reaching the low 90s and water temperatures holding above the 80-degree mark, bass are still in the summer sulk. In short, warmer water, and a lot more of it, will likely make things a little more challenging for the 138 pros looking to score five-bass limits.
National Guard pro Scott Martin finished third here last year and, coincidentally, sits in third place in the Eastern Division points. Before takeoff this morning, Martin revealed that he plans to return to the same areas up the river where he caught his bass last year.
“There’s a lot more water on the bank now,” Martin said. “And obviously I can’t target the precise stumps and current breaks that I fished last year. But my thinking on this lake is that the better quality fish live up the river. The average keeper up there seems to be in that solid 2-pound range as opposed to the slew of non-keepers I’ve caught down the lake this week. So I’m going to put my eggs in that basket up the river again.”
Western pro Thanh Le finished second here in 2008, and he currently sits in 17th place in the FLW Series Eastern points. Last year he concentrated on main-lake grass points that protruded far out into the lake. This year, such defined grass lines are hard to find due to the influx of water.
“It’s been pretty rough on me this time,” Le said before takeoff this morning. “I’ve caught just three keepers in four days. There is plenty of shallow grass back in the pockets, but I can’t find many of those hard, defined edges out deep like I did last year.”
Other anglers have alluded to a schooling fish bite out in open water, but all have noted the schoolers are so here-today-gone-tomorrow that relying on them is risky.
With that, many pros contend that 10 to 11 pounds per day will make the top-10 cut to fish on Saturday.
Logistics
Anglers will take off from Wildwood Marina located at 6212 Holloway Road in Appling at 7 each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m.
Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 4471 Washington Road in Evans, Ga. beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart. All activities are free and open to the public.
The entire field competes for the first three days of FLW Series events. Co-angler winners are determined on day three based on the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days. 
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:12 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 70 degrees
Expected high temperature: 90 degrees
Water temperature: 82 degrees
Wind: ENE at 5 to 10 mph
Day’s outlook: warm and muggy