Pro Picks: Ouachita River

Tournament site

Despite repeated stops in Louisiana over the last few years, this marks the first time the FLW Tour has paid a visit to Monroe and its access to the Ouachita River. Still, despite the seemingly unfamiliar water, expect nothing less than good old backwater bass fishing when the tour rolls into town. The Ouachita River starts in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and flows down through northeast Louisiana where it eventually meets up with the Red River. At Monroe, FLW anglers have access to the Monroe pool, which includes the popular fishery of D’Arbonne Bayou, or they can lock up into Arkansas with access to the Felsenthal Wildlife Refuge. Right now, it appears the bass in most areas of this stretch of river have lots of refuge. High water levels have flooded the banks and up into the cypress trees. That, plus cool temperatures this time of year, could make this a tougher tournament for anglers. Word is that the flippers and pitchers should come out ahead of the pack, as well as anyone who can just plain find a hole full of fish among the miles of flooded timber. In that sense, it might be best to avoid pattern fishermen in your picks.

Hot picks

Not surprisingly, the pros like Louisiana favorite Greg Hackney, but they’re also predicting that Clark Wendlandt will rise from the ashes of his flameout start of the season. Each of them earned four picks from the six pro pundits. Flipping master Tommy Biffle and the jig-happy Dave Lefebre were next with three picks apiece. Sneaky Brent Chapman and itinerant lumberjack David Dudley also deserve honorable mention for earning two picks each down on the bayou.

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Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop No. 3

Ouachita River, West Monroe, La.

March 9-12

Randy Blaukat FLW pro Lamar, Mo. Record: 2-0 Points: 1,410	VS.	David Dudley FLW pro Lynchburg, Va. Record: 0-2 Points: 1,302
1) CLARK WENDLANDT . Like several of us over the past month, Clark was glad to see Florida in his rearview mirror. Despite the slowest start to his FLW career, Clark is too good an angler to maintain his current pace. The Ouachita River will be a major challenge to all the pros, and I look for Clark to bounce back here in a big way. The big keys to success here will be time on the water and/or getting local information. Like most pros with integrity, Clark avoids the latter, so look for him to spend a lot of time here. 2) TOSHINARI NAMIKI . Toshi has been fishing well and will spend a lot of time here. He is probably the most underrated Japanese angler on tour and has tremendous potential not yet realized. Look for Namiki to be in Hot Springs this summer. 3) MORIZO SHIMIZU . Morizo was at the Ouachita two days after Toho. Having nearly a month of practice here coupled with his success last year at the Atchafalaya Basin, I look for Morizo to be a real sleeper at the Ouachita. Again, my picks here are ones who will have a lot of practice. They deserve success more than the locally informed competitors. 4) DANNY CORREIA . Danny will have a lot of time on the water and has done well in past events here. He is a master of slow pitching, which is the way I feel this event will be won. With nearly two weeks of practice, Danny will be able to understand water fluctuations and fish movement in a real way. 5) SHINICHI FUKAE . Fukae also took a hard hit in Florida, but you don’t win the FLW Angler of the Year title by being a flash in the pan. No doubt Shin will have more on-the-water time than anyone here and will benefit in a big way from it. I really respect the Japanese work ethic, and its payoff is obvious from the success they have been enjoying the past few years.		1) GREG HACKNEY . No-brainer. There is no stress here since he’s in his home state. 2) TOMMY BIFFLE . Let me think this one through: floating wood and a flipping stick. Oh yeah, Biffle will take second place to Hackney. 3) JASON KILPATRICK . He fishes best on water where he’s comfortable. Stay calm, Jason. 4) RANDY BLAUKAT . Any time you can run to places that have oxbows and bayous, he is one of the top contenders. 5) DAVID DUDLEY . I like current, wood and backwater where I might be able to pull out the Poulan chain saw.

Mark Zona EverStart pro Sturgis, Mich. Record: 1-1 Points: 1,545	VS.	Carl Svebek FLW pro Siloam Springs, Ark. Record: 1-1 Points: 1,274
1) DAVE LEFEBRE . Starting to build momentum. This fishing should set up well for his style. 2) TOM MONSOOR . Old-school river rat who will be right at home on this cesspool. Bonjour, Monsoor! 3) CLARK WENDLANDT . Hoping he gets the wheels back on track this week. 4) BRENT CHAPMAN . Quietly sneaking around the top of the standings. It might be his time for AOY. 5) GREG HACKNEY . This was real sneaky. I bet no one picked this guy. I am the most original pundit ever.		1) CLARK WENDLANDT . Clark is glad to be out of Florida and is ready for revenge. You can bet he’ll be prepared for the Ouachita River and what it has to offer. 2) GREG HACKNEY . Greg is a steady pick on any lake, but when he’s fishing in his home state he’s a for-sure pick. I look for Greg to be ready and have a top finish. 3) TOMMY BIFFLE . Whenever there is a possible flipping bite you better look out for Biffle. This is the type of tournament that he can dominate. 4) TODD FAIRCLOTH . Todd has had a steady hand this year and that will continue on the Ouachita. He’s a great fisherman and will be ready for the challenge. 5) DAVID DUDLEY . David is always in the thick of things. He will have them figured out, and I look for him to have a good tournament. In addition, he’s a Castrol team member who can flat-out catch them.

Clark Wendlandt FLW pro Cedar Park, Texas Record: 1-1 Points: 1,434	VS.	Dave Lefebre FLW pro Erie, Pa. Record: 1-1 Points: 1,276
1) DAVE LEFEBRE . In my opinion, he’s one of the best in the country right now. He likes this type of fishing, so he will be hard to beat here. 2) ANTHONY GAGLIARDI . A great young fisherman who continues to impress. 3) SCOTT MARTIN . Practice time should be critical here and Scott will definitely put in the time. He is also fishing very well lately. 4) CLARK WENDLANDT . I have been pathetic lately. I guarantee that will change before long since I am harder on myself than anyone else. 5) RAY SCHEIDE . Another great fisherman who loves to flip. He is committed to doing well in the FLW. I look for good things from him all season long.		1) GREG HACKNEY . I’m going way out on a limb with this one, eh? The Hack Attack shall return with a vengeance. 2) KELLY JORDON . He’s on a roll, he’s confident, and the dude has sunglasses with satellite radio built in. He’ll jam to ol’ country Cajun tunes right into the top 10 again. 3) DAVE LEFEBRE . I can’t wait to finally get the jigs out. I’ve got a good feeling about this place. I’ll keep picking myself until we get to Beaver. 4) BRENT CHAPMAN . I’m not going to let Blaukat exploit us with this one anymore. Brent is fishing well and will hopefully continue his streak in Louisiana. 5) TOMMY BIFFLE . Gut pick. It was a tossup among three other guys for my gut pick in Monroe, but I really think that Tommy is due. And, from what I’ve heard, the conditions will favor the flippers.

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