DAYTON, Tenn. – As he surveyed the hustle and bustle around Dayton Boat Dock before takeoff Tuesday morning on Day 1 of the first-ever FLW Pro Circuit Super Tournament (June 23-26 in Dayton, Tennessee), MLF pro John Murray was matter-of-fact about his opinion of the tournament’s boundaries, which allow the 204-angler field to lock out of Lake Chickamauga to Watts Bar Lake.

“You’ll have to find fish on (Chickamauga) if you want to win,” said Murray, who lives on Watts Bar. “If you leave Chickamauga to go to Watts Bar, you’ll just be fishing for a check, or (AOY) points if you’re an FLW angler. If you see me fishing Watts Bar, it’ll mean that I haven’t found them on Chick.”

That was a consensus opinion among the 56 MLF pros competing this week in East Tennessee, including Wesley Strader, who has lived on Watts Bar his whole life. As reported on FLWFishing.com, Strader says that the time required to lock up the Tennessee River – and the quality of fish in Chickamauga vs. Watts Bar – will keep the contenders downriver.

“You’re not gonna win off Watts Bar,” Strader said. “You’re just not going to, because you’re not afforded that much time (because of the lock). And, in the history of me living on Watts Bar, I’ve never caught 20-pound stringers four days in a row.”

Strader is one of several anglers with an FLW Live camera on board for Day 1 of the four-day event, as is fellow Chickamauga veteran Andy Morgan (who won a Bass Pro Tour event on this lake in 2019).

Live streaming coverage of the Super Tournament begins at 7:40 a.m. EDT daily on FLWFishing.com.