Pundits’ Picks: Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes

Tournament site

The second stop for the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour is technically uncharted water, but by no means is it unknown. While they have never before hosted an FLW Tour event, Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes are on the eastern Tennessee River, a veritable breeding ground for top bass-fishing talent. Many of the tour’s best anglers grew up fishing these waters, and you can bet they’re scouring their mental almanacs for past hot spots and techniques. The trick, though, will be finding the current hot spots and techniques. Dock-fishing and shallow cranking will certainly come into play. Look out for some sight-fishing, as well, thanks to a warming trend. Whatever the case, there’s no shortage of Tennessee River rats to choose from in your picks, but it can’t be stressed enough to look out for the long shots. To wit: How many of you picked Aaron Hastings at Lake Travis?

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Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop No. 2

Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, Knoxville, Tenn.

March 29-April 1

Gary Mortenson Editor FLWOutdoors.com Record: 1-0 Points: 758	VS.	David Dudley FLW pro Lynchburg, Va. Record: 0-1 Points: 669
1) CRAIG POWERS.Don’t expect any originality points for me this week as I’m going with a heavy contingent of Tennessee anglers. That being said, Mr. Powers has all of the tools to clean up on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico river chain. He’s a great river fisherman, and he has some good, local knowledge of the area. Plus, he’s a funny guy, which always adds a few bonus points in my book. 2) WESLEY STRADER.Wesley “Sweet Pea” Strader shares many of the aforementioned traits as Powers. He hails from the area, is an excellent angler and one of the funnier guys on tour. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to include him in my picks recently, so I’m very excited to finally put him back on the list. 3) DAVE LEFEBRE.As I’ve said before, Lefebre is the reincarnation of Aaron Martens, at least in fantasy terms. What does this mean? It means that in any given tournament there is a very strong likelihood that he’ll finish no worse than the top 30. In fact, I picked Lefebre last tournament and he finished seventh overall. Why is this interesting, you ask? Well, I was picking against Lefebre in our head-to-head pundit matchup last month, and because he failed to pick himself, I wound up crushing him in our contest. Note to Lefebre: Use the Force, Luke. 4) ANDY MORGAN.I’m a little hesitant to go with the Dayton, Tenn., pro solely because I have an unlucky track record with Morgan. Usually, if I pick him, he turns in the worst tournament of the year. If I don’t, he finishes in the top 20. However, I’m going to shake up my karma and select Morgan this time around. He’s a good angler, he knows the river system, and he’s been fishing well lately. However, if Mr. Morgan turns in a 150th-place finish at this tour event, he will be permanently blacklisted by yours truly. 5) DAVID WALKER.What else can you say about Walker? He’s had three top-five finishes in the FLW Tour AOY race, won it once and has $455,000 in career earnings at FLW Outdoors events alone. He’s obviously a great angler, hails from Sevierville, Tenn., and knows this river system like the back of his hand. Throw in the fact that Walker is perhaps the mellowest angler on tour today, and you have a nice formula for a top-five finish.		1) ANDY MORGAN.First of all, he’s my hero. Second, he’s got the best all-around skills that will be needed for this tournament: He’s got the sissy skills, and he’s got the manly skills. 2) DAVID WALKER.I reckon this used to be his stomping grounds, so you’d be a fool not to go with him. 3) CLARK WENDLANDT.There are still some wobbling-bait fish around here – meaning crankbait fish – which he’s good at. And there’ll also be some sight-fishing, too. So he’s got the best of both worlds. 4) WESLEY STRADER.You’d be a fool not to go with him. The Tennessee-talking guru will feel right at home in his Tennessee waters. 5) DAVE LEFEBRE.This possum-talking, Pennsylvania fisherman will somehow make his bait play possum, too, and catch enough to make a top 10.

Clark Wendlandt FLW pro Leander, Texas Record: 1-0 Points: 751	VS.	Patrick Baker Editor FLWOutdoors.com Record: 0-1 Points: 648
1) ANTHONY GAGLIARDI.I don’t really know how this place will fish since I have never been there before, so I’m going with the hottest fishermen on tour. Gagliardi does well everywhere he fishes. 2) DAVE LEFEBRE.Understands prespawn bass as well as anyone. The fact that we have never been there before will favor guys like Lefebre. 3) DAN MOREHEAD.Dan is very good on the Tennessee River, and I look for that to be a big advantage here. 4) CLARK WENDLANDT.I really like fishing new places. I also really like the Tennessee River and big smallmouths. I think it will be a fun week. 5) SHINICHI FUKAE.Another really good fisherman who will put the pieces together in Tennessee.		1) JACK WADE.After a multiyear hiatus from the FLW Tour, Jack is back, and he’s got home-lake advantage. Check his 31st-place start to the season at Travis, check his mailing address, check his season-ending standing any year he fished a full schedule, and then check your head if he’s not on your picks list. 2) WESLEY STRADER.Like Wade, Strader is also essentially fishing a home-lake tourney at Loudoun-Tellico. But he’s a points play too: After a decade on tour, his average ranking at season’s end is 39th. At Travis, he finished admirably in 30th place after a runner-up finish at Okeechobee in the FLW Series to kick off 2007. If Strader doesn’t succumb to the pressure of being a local favorite, he’s going to make the top 10. 3) ANDY MORGAN.You may notice a pattern in my picks. So far, they all hail from a state with three sets of doubled-up letters in the name, and it’s not Mississippi. I know this trifecta of Tennesseans comprises an unimaginative roster, but I just couldn’t get past these guys’ numbers – and not just their zip codes. Like Strader, Morgan is a longtime veteran of the tour who consistently finishes well in the year-end points standings. And Morgan is simply on a tear right now. He finished a respectable 34th at Travis, but he also top-10ed in the FLW Series to kick off the season, following up a top-10 FLW Tour Championship finish and a fourth-place ranking in the FLW Series last year. He likes to power fish, so betting against him on Loudoun-Tellico just seems foolish. 4) DARREL ROBERTSON.Robertson had one of the best seasons of his long and storied career on tour in 2006, and his eighth-place finish at Travis seems to indicate he’s ready for another banner year in `07. 5) DAVID FRITTS.I’m not going to discard the Crankbait King despite a middling return on my Lake Travis investment. Fort Loudoun and Tellico are reportedly pattern lakes that give up limits to crankbait casters, so Fritts should fit right in. Plus, the man hit the top five three times last year, so he’s due to fall back into the groove at this point in the season.

Art Berry FLW pro Hemet, Calif. Record: 1-0 Points: 720	VS.	Brett Carlson Editor FLWOutdoors.com Record: 1-0 Points: 648
1) GEORGE COCHRAN.With an ultrashallow fishing forecast, this tournament will prove why he is one of the all-time money winners. 2) WESLEY STRADER.A Tennessee River rat, he is another shallow-water specialist that could take advantage of home waters. 3) ANDY MORGAN.Nobody dissects a dock better than the Tennessee native. With hundreds of docks to choose from, it’s a sure thing that he’ll find the best ones every time. 4) CRAIG POWERS.“C.P.” stands for “Crankin’ Power.” He’s a master with the shallow crank and deadly near home. 5) DAVID WALKER.I think he’s been thinking about this derby for a while and could possibly come out on top of the Tennessee backyard brawl.		1) ANDY MORGAN.On paper, this looks like your average local pick. But in reality, Morgan’s fishing has really turned on as of late. In fact, the Dayton, Tenn., pro quietly finished fourth in the 2006 FLW Series points race. The level of competition on that trail (top FLW pros and former BASS stalwarts) cannot be understated. He also finished ninth at the 2007 season-opening FLW Series event on the Big O and 34th at the FLW Tour event on Travis. Add his countless top-10s in the BFL Choo Choo Division, and this pick is an absolute no-brainer. 2) WOO DAVES.I wish they were all as clear-cut as Morgan, but this one gets a little dicey. The veteran Daves, one of the true founding fathers of competitive bass fishing, has found his groove with FLW Outdoors. Daves recently cashed a $10,000 check on Travis. But more importantly, Daves’ first top-10 in FLW Outdoors competition came last year in the Volunteer State, albeit on Old Hickory Lake. 3) BRYAN THRIFT.Tough not to like what this young kid has done – and probably will continue to do. He has 10 top-10 finishes in only 29 FLW Outdoors events. That means the kid top-10s in over a third of his tournaments. Those are numbers I can work with. He seems to catch them everywhere too, from Okeechobee to Travis to Lake Murray and especially in his home state of North Carolina. Why not in Tennessee? 4) OTT DEFOE.Like Thrift, Defoe is one of the true up-and-coming pros in our sport. Unlike Thrift, young Ott lives in Knoxville and has plenty of tournament experience on this fishery. Will the float-n-fly be the ticket to $125,000? If the weather is cold, this pundit wouldn’t bet against it. 5) CLARK WENDLANDT.Former FLW Outdoors pundit Rob Newell may chastise me for picking Clean Shoes again, but I say go with what works. A Northern boy myself, I’ve never visited Fort Loudoun and the surrounding lakes. But since they’re in the densely populated Knoxville area, I’m guessing they’re lined with docks. Wendlandt will sort through the better ones like always and come away with his 25th tour-level top-10. I thought about throwing in Wesley Strader here, but apparently he thinks Lance Armstrong was the first man to walk the moon. (See the Stren Series Championship TV show on Fox Sports Net for proof.)

Jennifer Simmons Editor FLWOutdoors.com Record: 1-0 Points: 704	VS.	Dave Lefebre FLW pro Erie, Pa. Record: 0-1 Points: 676
1) DAVE LEFEBRE.I want my esteemed opponent to know that every ounce he catches only helps me in my pundit points. 2) MARK MAULDIN.I stupidly ignored advice the last time around regarding a sleeper pick. I won’t do that again. Mauldin, make me a winner. 3) OTT DEFOE.Someone “in the know” recently called Defoe the Bobby Lane of 2007. If that’s the case, his top-10 at Lake Travis is the first of several. It can’t hurt that he has a Knoxville address, either. 4) KOBY KREIGER.Because Craig Powers is going to give him all the good east Tennessee info anyway. Plus, Kreiger’s got the momentum, coming off a history-making Stren Series win on Lake Eufaula. I’m hoping to “Gain” points with this pick. 5) ANDY MORGAN.This one’s a no-brainer. If I wanted to catch fish in east Tennessee, I’d want Andy to be the guide.		1) DAVID WALKER.He laughed when I told him I was going to pick him at Travis, but this time he didn’t laugh. So I’m going with the Walkster. Having local knowledge here will go a long way in this heavy transitional tournament. 2) CLARK WENDLANDT.With an extremely rare FLW tournament-time warming trend forecasted, coupled with the full moon, I’m betting there is going to be some spawning going on. Who better than the man? Clark is also good at changing with the fish, which will be very important in this event. 3) LUKE CLAUSEN.I picked Darrel Robertson at Travis on a whim, and that is why I’m picking Luke here. This lake simply looks like his type of water. 4) KEVIN VIDA.This place has some giant smallmouths. Even though we’re not up North, Vida has proven that he can catch the brown ones wherever he goes. I look for him to have a huge kicker in his bag everyday. 5) CRAIG DOWLING.Craig finished third at Travis, and if you look at his profile, you will see that even though he is a rookie at the tour level, he’s definitely no slouch. We’re camping next to him again, and he has that same smirk on his face that he had at Travis, which I translate to mean that he’s on `em again. Back-to-back top-10s for C.D.

Keith Lebowitz Co-host “FLW Outdoors” on FSN Record: 1-0 Points: 690	VS.	Randy Blaukat FLW pro Lamar, Mo. Record: 0-1 Points: 608
1) WESLEY STRADER.It’s his home state, and he’s been yapping about this tournament for months now. 2) LUKE CLAUSEN.Nobody’s been more consistent than this guy over the last couple of years. He’s due for a regular-season win. 3) DAVID DUDLEY.Just because he’s Dudley, and I have high expectations for him. 4) CLARK WENDLANDT.I firmly believe he’ll be the Angler of the Year this season on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. His consistency over the last several events has shown that the man we like to call “Clean Shoes” is ready to claim title No. 3. 5) SHINICHI FUKAE.It’s hard to believe that he’ll stay in his minislump for much longer, so I’ll continue to pick him until he breaks out of it. And then I’ll pick him again.		1) BILL CHAPMAN.Chapman is probably the most underrated angler on the FLW Tour. He has quietly put together a very consistent career on the tour, which is a hard thing to do given the fact that the FLW Tour has huge fields that are usually held on small, tough, overfished waters. He seems to find techniques that are off-the-wall compared to other anglers. 2) DANNY CORREIA.Coming off two straight tour championship appearances, Danny is overdue for a high finish. He has adapted well to fishing in crowds and tough venues, which unfortunately is the key to doing well on the FLW Tour. He’s probably the best drop-shotter on tour, which should be a top technique at Fort Loudoun. 3) ART BERRY.Art is off to a good start this season, so his confidence is high. Coming from the West, he has quickly adapted to the patterns of fishing across the country and has racked up some really consistent finishes the past few seasons. He is one of about 10 anglers on tour I regard as overdue for an FLW win. 4) JOE THOMAS.Joe and I started fishing our careers about the same time, and we both migrated from the BASS Tour to become full-time FLW pros. Mentally, a move like this takes some time to process, but I think the renewed energy he will get from the FLW Tour will help him in this event. He is coming off a top-10 finish at the FLW Series in Florida, so he still has some good momentum going. 5) MARK ROSE.Mark is the type of angler I want to see do well at each event: humble, quiet, hard-working and focused. He has the vibe of an excellent angler – a quality some anglers try to achieve, but never do. He doesn’t play the game that some pros do of trying to draw attention to themselves. He is another one on my top-10 list of FLW Tour anglers overdue for a win.

Carl Svebek FLW pro Siloam Springs, Ark. Record: 0-1 Points: 650	VS.	Jeff Schroeder Editor FLWOutdoors.com Record: 0-1 Points: 639
1) ANDY MORGAN.It is no secret that Andy is going to be a threat. He is familiar with the water and is a for-sure threat to win this tournament. In addition, he is a great guy. 2) WESLEY STRADER.Another big-time threat in this tournament. He will do great on Tennessee water and knows all the little secrets. Look for him to have a top-five. 3) DAVID WALKER.A great fisherman, this is hometown water for him, and he knows how to catch them. David will be working hard to have a top finish. Plus, I love to see the fellow Evinrude guys do well. Go get them, David. 4) LARRY NIXON.Another Evinrude buddy. He is always going to catch them wherever we go. I am sure he has done is homework and will have a good finish. You just can’t count Larry out in any tournament. 5) CLARK WENDLANDT.How can I not pick Clark? Coming off a great tournament in Austin, Texas, his hometown, a little of the pressure is off. He will fish his strengths and catch what he needs to have a top finish.		1) WESLEY STRADER.Bring on the Tennessee Power Brigade. Leading off my round of all-local picks is Wesley, if only because he’s already shown that he can win an FLW tournament. Word is that Strader’s been squawking in anticipation for this tournament near his home, and that’s generally a good sign. The only remaining question is whether he can stave off the dreaded pressure of being the local favorite. 2) CRAIG POWERS.Also a past FLW champion and a local favorite, he takes a backseat to Wesley at this one only because Strader talks a little faster in that eastern Tennessee drawl. The Craig Powers-Koby Kreiger tag-team tandem has shown it can milk victories out of the Stren Series like a starving calf, but they’ve had less success doing it at the top level. But with this one in Powers’ backyard, look for Craig and Koby to make their presence felt with a vengeance. 3) ANDY MORGAN.If there’s a more consistent pro without an FLW win than Andy, I couldn’t name him. That said, probably no one deserves it more than Morgan. How righteous would it be for him finally to grab the brass ring on the eastern Tennessee River? Don’t think he’s not dreaming about it. 4) DAVID WALKER.Like all of these guys, Walker cut his teeth on the Tennessee River. His lengthy track record of top-10s began in the BFL Mountain Division, and he hasn’t looked back since. The only thing missing from his resume is a big-time victory. After an off year or two, he had splashes of brilliance last year, so he could be ripe for a push at this one. 5) MARK MAULDIN.A dark horse in name only, Mauldin’s a heavy in the BFL Mountain Division and also the Stren Southeast Division. He anted up for the FLW Tour again this season after fishing just one top-level event as a co-angler nearly 10 years ago. I’m betting the motivation behind that decision came as soon as he saw Knoxville on the 2007 FLW Tour schedule.

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