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

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, Knoxville, Tenn.

Final round, Sunday

A family affair … Despite the solo nature of FLW Tour competition, most anglers will attest that consistency is tough to maintain through a solely individual effort. From logistical duties to emotional and psychological encouragement, families play a big role in keeping the big wheel turning. Examples from the top 10 Tour pros at Knoxville:

Andy Montgomery:Clearly emotional in his tribute to family support, the 25-year-old, second-year pro from Blacksburg, S.C., thanked his wife, Sharon, who manages their home, and his sister Jill, who handles all of his accounting and travel arrangements. “It frees my mind. There’s a lot of people out here with a lot of worries, but I don’t have too many. I know everything at home is taken care of so I can just think about fishing without worrying about the other stuff.”

Hank Cherry:The Maiden, N.C., pro echoed that point, saying that it would be impossible for him to pursue his fishing career without his family’s support. Cherry wears a silver cross around his neck – a motivational gift from his family. “I wear this to remind me of where I am, where I’m going and where I want to be.” Hank gave special credit to his wife, Jaclyn. “She’s amazing. She’s the one with the 9-to-5 job, and if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be out here fishing. She is my heart, my inspiration.” When Hank’s weight temporarily put him in the lead, Jaclyn told FLW Outdoors host Charlie Evans: “Words can’t describe how proud I am of him. If it’s last place, first place, no matter what, I love him.”

David Dudley:The Castrol pro’s wife, Angela, and their children – Mason (4), Anna (3), Vance (2) and Nina (10 months) travel to most events with him, so long days on the water end with lots of affection from a quartet of little ones who climb all over Daddy and help him break down tackle (Nina doesn’t do this quite yet). Angela said Vance is the one most smitten with his father’s profession: “He can say about five words, and one of them is `fish.’ Whenever he sees water, he says `fish’.” Notably, Vance was snoozing in Nina’s stroller when his dad won all the marbles at Knoxville. Dudley, hailing from Lynchburg, Va., didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he insisted that a family member bring the drowsy toddler to the stage so he could be part of the moment.

Mr. Endurance … Between practice and four tournament days, National Guard pro Scott Martin estimates he spent 96 hours on the water. “It’s very tiring; this is a mentally exhausting event.” By comparison, Martin notes: “A marathon runner will run for two to three hours; a tennis player will play for an hour and a half; a professional football game takes (an hour). I spent 96 hours casting and winding in the most intense focus. I never leaned on my seat, and I never dragged a worm on the bottom. I power cranked for 96 hours.” Exercise, diet and a strong mental discipline keep the show going. The Clewiston, Fla., native said his day starts with push-ups and sit-ups. A high-protein, low-fat diet with lots of chicken and fish keep him properly fueled. On the boat, he snacks on Jack Link’s beef jerky (steak chunks) and avoids sugary foods and beverages. Complementing these fundamental commitments with a strong mental game yields the kind of unflinching discipline that defines professional fishing.

Turnabout is fair play … For three days, local pro Craig Powers enjoyed the deafening screams and shouts of appreciation from two rows of his family and friends, whose exuberance and creative sign works conveyed their pride. When Powers walked forward to weigh his final bag of fish, he paused at center stage, pulled out his cell phone and snapped a souvenir picture of the fans, who by this point had rewritten the definition of “loud.” Powers said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I may never make an FLW top-10 again, and it may never be where my entire family can see me again. I could stand out here `til it gets dark.” Powers said that his group plus the sea of FLW fans packing the Knoxville Convention Center energized an exhausted angler. “When we came in today, I was dead tired, but right now I feel like I could go run a marathon.”

Quick numbers:

2: Number of National Guard team members in the top 10 (Martin and Ramie Colson Jr.).

504: The one-way distance, in miles, that Art Ferguson’s family drove from St. Clair Shores, Mich., to watch his top-10 performance.

12: Time difference, in hours, for Martin’s sister, who watched the weigh-ins live on FLWOutdoors.com from Australia.

2: Number of minutes left in eighth-place pro Andy Morgan’s fishing day when he caught his biggest fish of day four.

8: Number of pros catching a limit.

0: Number of empty seats for the final-round weigh-ins.

Sound bites:

“I knew when I painted those plugs it was going to be a pain in my (backside). He is the pickiest guy I’ve ever met. But that’s what makes him such a good angler – he pays attention to detail.” – Custom lure painter Powers, who once painted and repainted 40 lures for a highly particular customer named David Dudley.

“I’m still young and I’m learning.” – Montgomery, referring to his mistake of relocating and burning valuable fishing time when he should have stayed put.

“I met two twins today that couldn’t wait to come see you.” – Cherry, preparing FLW Outdoors host Evans for a pair of plump smallmouth bass that he caught in close proximity.

“There are 190 other people who would love to be in my shoes.” – Kentucky pro Colson, offering perspective on his 10th-place finish.

“It’s the light at the end of the tunnel.” – Dayton, Tenn., pro Andy Morgan, describing the significance of the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points race, which he currently leads.