Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, Day 2
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, Knoxville, Tenn.
Opening round, Friday
Davis back on track … By his standards, veteran pro Mark Davis did not have a successful 2006 season, although he did qualify for the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup through the 2006 FLW Series. This year, he’s having an incredible season by anyone’s standards. Davis sits third in this event, and he placed 16th at the season-opening FLW Tour event on Lake Travis. Plus, Davis recently finished sixth at the Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Kissimmee in Polk County, Fla. “I just wasn’t happy with a lot of things last year,” he said. “I’ve got my mind right now. You know, sometimes you just have to realize that you can’t change everything. My strength has always been finding fish. Here, (in FLW Outdoors events) all the fish have already been found before the tournament has started. You just adjust and make the best of it.” When the FLW Tour leaves Knoxville for Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C., Davis will be neck and neck with fellow pros Dave Lefebre and Darrel Robertson for the lead in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race.
Yo, Paulie … Yep, that was “American Chopper” TV star Paul Teutul Jr. on stage today. Better known by motorcycle fans as Paulie, Teutul failed to catch a keeper bass from the back of the boat today and finished his first tournament with a total weight of 2 pounds, 11 ounces. For the record, the Montgomery, N.Y., native caught several fish Friday, just not any that measured. On day one, Teutul fished with Slim Jim pro Michael Murphy, and today he drew Terry Segraves. While he is new to tournament fishing, Teutul describes himself as an avid outdoorsman. “The only difference between recreational fishing and tournament fishing is that you’re really working hard out there,” said Teutul. “It’s a real job. I don’t need another job. When you fish for fun, you don’t fish hard for eight hours.” For those not familiar, “American Chopper” is hit a reality television show detailing the events of a family that custom builds motorcycles. “American Chopper” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time on TLC. TLC was in town the past two days filming a feature segment on Teutul’s experience, which will air in approximately two months.
Williams goes guiding … It wasn’t a great tournament for BP pro Alfred Williams, but Williams did put his co-angler on some pretty impressive fish. While the pro from Jackson, Miss., caught a single keeper Friday that weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces, his partner, John Barrett, caught a limit that weighed 11 pounds, 8 ounces. In fact, Barrett finished the day on top of the leaderboard in the Co-angler Division thanks in part to Williams’ day-two honeyhole. “What do I get for a guiding fee?” asked the veteran pro.
Dobson rebounds … After catching only 2-5 on day one, Clarkston, Mich., pro Scott Dobson rallied in a big way. “Yesterday I just couldn’t see them,” said the renowned smallmouth angler. “Today was different; I caught all of them in 10 minutes. It feels great; I was so disappointed after yesterday.” It was no surprise Dobson put a lickin’ on the brown fish, but it was a surprise it took him this long. After all, the veteran angler has roughly a dozen top-10 finishes on Lake Erie, perhaps the greatest smallmouth bass fishery in the country. His five Fort Loudoun-Tellico smallmouths on day two weighed 19-1 and earned him $11,000 for 28th place.
Locked on, but not necessarily biting … They’re there, you can see them, you can cast to them, you can throw the whole tackle box at them, but very few can actually catch them. As the best anglers in the world found out this week, many of these stingy Tennessee River bass just refuse to bite. BP pro Ray Scheide described it best: “It was just like trying to get my kids to do their homework; they just weren’t going to do it.”
Gator be gone … Among National Guard team members, there’s a little tradition that involves a miniature artificial alligator. The National Guard-sponsored pro that catches the least weight in the previous tournament has to place the gator on his boat. According to his teammates, pro leader Derek Jones has had the gator on his rig for quite some time. That will definitely change as Jones earned his first top-10 on the FLW Tour in stunning fashion. “I want to give a big shout out to Derek Jones; he’s blown this thing away,” said his friend, pro Jason Knapp. Not only did Jones catch an opening-round total of over 37 pounds, his co-angler partner said he would have had 20 pounds today if he hadn’t broke off a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder.
Quick numbers
25-15: Top-10 pro cutoff weight, in pounds and ounces.
42: Number of pros who cracked the 20-pound mark during the opening round.
6-3: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the overall Snickers Big Bass, caught by pro Dwayne Horton. That single catch earned Horton $1,750.
18-0: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the five bass caught on day two by BP pro Shinichi Fukae.
19-6: $10,000-check cutoff weight, in pounds and ounces.
54: Number of five-bass limits registered on day two by the pro field.
0-0: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of day-one leader Chad Grigsby’s day-two catch.
Sound bites
“This is Orange Country.” – Keith Lebowitz, receiving a raucous round of applause from the numerous University of Tennessee fans.
“I ain’t caught a big fish in two weeks, two months or something. This lake is all screwed up.” – Pro Craig Powers, who sounds a little screwed up himself.
“I’ve probably spent more time on this lake than anyone in this tournament. It’s been a huge disappointment.” – Local pro Mark Mauldin, who finished the event in 172nd place.
“Dang gone it, it’s hard to throw them 16- and 17-inch smallmouths back.” – Pro Lendell Martin Jr., discussing his feelings on the 18-inch minimum length limit on brown bass.
“I’ve been fishing the FLW Tour the past seven seasons, and I have never seen a crowd like this.” – Bounty pro Jacob Powroznik.
“There’s a hometown advantage, and there’s a hometown jinx; you know which one I had today.” – Knoxville pro Ott Defoe.
“I gambled big time today. I left an area with nine big smallmouths on it.” – Second-place pro Lefebre, who thinks he has some fished saved for the final round.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. Eastern time from the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp located at the junction of highways 321 and 444 in Lenoir City, Tenn.