Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, Day 4

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, Knoxville, Tenn.

Final round, Sunday

Bruce Pearl in the house … Well not exactly, but pro Koby Kreiger did his best Bruce Pearl impression during the day-four preshow. The Gain, Folgers, Duracell and Bounty pro teams entered the stage in their normal sponsor garb, but then mysteriously proceeded to huddle up behind the scale. After breaking the huddle, they each stripped off their team jerseys and proudly displayed orange Tennessee Volunteer T-shirts – with the exception of Kreiger. The Gain pro instead chose to go with orange body paint and a white “T” on his chest. The stunt stirred the Knoxville crowd into a frenzy. “Tennessee, baby, we love you,” bellowed Kreiger.

No new wave … When the tournament began, everyone was talking about the early spawn. With rapidly rising water temperatures, the first spawners took to the beds early in the week. The first wave arrived Monday and Tuesday, so it was assumed by many that a new wave would come later in the week with the full moon. That second wave never did come, and it didn’t surprise local legend Craig Powers one bit. “The week of April 15th they’ll be a million bass on the bank,” said the Rockwood, Tenn., native. “In my opinion, no more than 10 percent of the bass have moved up to spawn.” Powers went on to explain that many Tennessee River fish spawn when the lake is at full pool, regardless of how warm the water temperature is. “These fish are preconditioned to come up when the lake stabilizes. The lake is about 4 feet lower now than it will be at full pool.” About the full moon having an impact on the spawn, he said, “I think the moon cycle is the least of the fish’s worries. Here, a full pool and long sunny days bring fish to the beds.” Local anglers, get your tackle ready as April 15th is only two weeks away.

Lefebre takes points lead … Following the conclusion of this week’s event, Pennsylvania pro Dave Lefebre sits atop the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year standings with 393 points for the season. Lefebre finished the tournament in second place and has back-to-back top-10 finishes. Behind him are pro Darrel Robertson, who also has back-to-back top-10s, with 385 points and then pro winner Mark Davis, who finished 16th at Lake Travis.

Vic’s jig factory … Today at the Family Fun Zone, young fishing fans learned the art of custom jig making from Gain pro Vic Vatalaro and Pringles pro Chip Harrison. The kids started off with a basic white jighead and a full-length skirt. From there, they had free rein to color the jigs and trim the skirts as they saw fit. For the parents’ sake, the barbs were guarded with a plastic cover to prevent any unintentional hookups.

Fast back in fashion … After seven days of nearly identical fishing conditions, the weather finally took a turn for the worse Sunday. And with the change in conditions, several pros changed patterns. The most common change was from sight-fishing to power fishing. Several pros used either a topwater or a spinnerbait to adjust to the increase in clouds and wind. In fact, Shinichi Fukae, who caught the heaviest limit of the day, caught his two big kickers on a topwater wakebait. National Guard pro Derek Jones used the exact same bait as Fukae for his three keepers. Lastly, M&M’s pro John Sappington switched to a spinnerbait and parlayed it into a limit that weighed 12-7.

Reel or No Reel … Based on the popular TV game show “Deal or No Deal,” BP, the presenting sponsor of the second stop on the FLW Tour, hosted the first version of “Reel or No Reel.” Two contestants had opportunities to open cases containing BP gas cards. After selecting the first case, the contestant had the opportunity to take the card or pick another case. The first contestant chose case No. 4 and received a $50 gift card. He then exclaimed, “No reel,” and decided to try his luck again. It was a wise decision, as his second case earned him a gas card worth $100. The second contestant picked case No. 3, which was worth a whopping $500 in gasoline. She instantly took the deal and will be driving for free the next few months thanks to BP.

Quick numbers

8: Number of pros who cracked the 10-pound mark on day four.

14-7: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the biggest five-bass limit Sunday, weighed in by Fukae.

44: Number of bass weighed in by the entire pro field on day four.

5: Number of years since Sappington’s last top-10 finish on the FLW Tour. The 2002 FLW Tour Championship winner finished eighth on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes this week.

1: Number of FLW Tour victories for Davis, a five-time BASS champion.

66,000: Dollars earned after two events on the 2007 FLW Tour by Lefebre.

99.9: Current live-release rate of caught bass, in percentage, after two FLW Tour events.

Sound bites

“Shoot carp.” – Pro Wesley Strader, on his post-tournament plans.

“This is the premier bass circuit in the country right now.” – Sixth-place pro Jay Yelas.

“Did you say five? I thought the limit was four. That’s why I brought four in yesterday and four today.” – 10th-place pro Than Le.

“I have never seen a bass on a bed here in March in my life.” – Powers.