Dudley takes fourth FLW Outdoors win at Wal-Mart FLW Series opener

Virginia pro ‘fishes on instincts’ to secure a $125,000 payday in inaugural BP Eastern event

CLEWISTON, Fla. – In the world of professional bass fishing, few pros fish on pure instinct as well as David Dudley. The Lynchburg, Va., pro has always had a sixth sense for being at the right place at the right time when bass are biting, especially when big money is on the line.

His uncanny talent has led him to one of the most impressive career resumes in tournament bass fishing: three FLW Outdoors wins, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in 2004 and the Ranger M1 in 2002, and two BASS wins, not to mention being the FLW Outdoors leading money winner with $1,809,317.

On Saturday, Dudley added another winner’s trophy to his mantle and another $125,000 to his bank account by winning the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division event on Lake Okeechobee.

The Castrol pro took the victory by weighing a limit for 18 pounds, 8 ounces today, giving him a four-day total of 64 pounds, 2 ounces.

Those who know Dudley well know his fishing style is like that of a bass-seeking missile: He flies down the lake until something in his gut says, “Fish there!”

And yet, after the big checks have been handed to Dudley and the accolades trail off, he understandably seems at a loss to describe his undeniable talent in a tangible way.

“It’s hard to explain,” Dudley remarked after his fourth FLW Outdoors win. “To me fishing is not about a secret lure or a secret spot; it’s all about instincts – knowing when to stay and when to go, not getting bogged down in the memories of yesterday’s catch or last year’s tournament.

“But instinct is not something you can simply teach somebody with one lesson. Instincts are honed by time on the water, year after year, with a lot of trial and error.

“And the biggest things I can say about developing that instinctual feel is that even the bad things that happen on the water are good – because they teach a lesson. You have to learn to find that silver lining in the bad experiences to make them good experiences.

“Also, you can’t fight your instincts with your mind. You have to go with what you feel, trust it, and when it works, develop confidence in it. And when you’re confident in your instincts, that’s when you really hone those gut feelings.”

Dudley’s key move of this event came from just that kind of gut feeling.

“I actually fished the main lake on the first day,” he said. “But when that cold weather came in and the water temperature dropped, I knew the lake was not the place to be. It was time to move to deeper, more stable water.”

Dudley found that kind of water in the J&S Canal system. He targeted the intersections of ditches and canals off the main canal with a Fat Free Shad and a Rabbit Dog shaky head with a Zoom Trick Worm, both tied to 10-pound-test Trilene XT.

“On day two, when I caught just 12 pounds and moved up 15 places, that’s when I thought I could win,” Dudley said. “I only got to fish in the canal for about an hour that day, and I caught the 12 pounds pretty quick. I figured if I could spend the better part of two more days in there and really fish my places, I could probably move way up.”

Dudley rotated five key canal intersections within a six- or seven-mile range.

“I keyed on the intersections because I felt they were migratory routes back into shallower canals and ditches,” he added.

Strader runner-up

Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., excited the crowd packed into the Wal-Mart parking lot with an impressive 20-pound, 1-ounce catch today, but it was still not enough to get anywhere near Dudley’s 64-pound mark.

Strader ended up second with a four-day total of 56 pounds, 7 ounces worth $50,000.

Strader was one of the few anglers to venture up the Kissimmee River, despite its muddy appearance.

“I think the dirty water scared a lot of people off,” Strader said. “There was hardly anybody up there. I wish I had gone there the first day, but I kept fooling around in that lake, and I didn’t go up there until day two.”

Strader’s main weapon was a 5/8-ounce Yozuri Rattlin’ Vibe crankbait tied to 15-pound-test Izorline.

Even though Strader used the same bait the last three days, he had to adjust his water selection each day.

“Some days they were right up shallow on the bank, and other days they were pulled off on the first 2- to 4-foot drop,” he said. “Every day was different, and I had to fish around a while to find them. In fact, yesterday I caught the 21 pounds where the wind was blowing in on the west bank. Today the wind shifted towards the east bank, and I caught every one of them off the east bank.”

Auten third

Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., finished third with a four-day total of 54 pounds, 6 ounces worth $40,000.

Auten spent a better part of the week pitching a 1/2-ounce Outlaw jig (Texas craw color with a sapphire-blue Zoom Vibra-Craw trailer) in Taylor Creek to make the top-10 cut.

That bite fizzled out on him today, so he moved to Uncle Joe’s Cut and began cranking a Brian Bee’s Skinny B II down the canal’s 2- to 4-foot rock break.

“I was paralleling and keying on rock along the ledge,” Auten said. “I’m glad I made the move because I culled out three little ones that I caught in Taylor Creek. But I wish I had done it a little earlier. They were really biting well in there when I had to leave for weigh-in.”

Martin fourth

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., was the biggest mover of the week, coming all the way from 112th place after day two to finish fourth with a four-day total of 45 pounds, 9 ounces.

Martin spent the last two days in the J&S Canal system fishing a Yozuri Rattlin’ Vibe and a Frenzy crankbait tied to Berkley 12-pound Vanish along bluff walls in the canal.

“Most of the canal has gentle sloping sand banks, but certain stretches have a rock bluff wall that drops straight down into 7 or 8 feet of water,” Martin explained. “I was keeping my boat right up against the bluff walls and making long, parallel casts down the wall. Then I would stick my rod tip down in the water against the wall and rip that lipless bait down the wall.

“It was a reaction bite all the way,” he added. “The lure had to contact the rock wall to get a bite. If my cast landed too far away from the wall, it was worthless and I’d have to reel it in and make another cast.”

Dillard fifth

Jim Dillard of West Monroe, La., finished fifth with a four-day total of 41 pounds, 11 ounces worth $20,000.

Dillard was the only angler of the top five not to fish within a canal system anytime over the four days.

He was, however, fishing at the mouth of Cochran’s Pass where the pass meets the lake.

“There is a little rock-vein ditch in there,” he described. “The rest of the water around it is a foot or a foot and a half deep, but the ditch drops off to 3 to 5 feet once you get in there.”

Dillard relied on a Yozuri Rattlin’ Vibe and a Zoom Fish Doctor on a mojo rig to fish a mixture of rock and hydrilla lining the ditch.

Rest of the best

6th: Tim Farley of Lula, Ga., four-day total of 40-4, $19,000

7th: Joe Thomas of Milford, Ohio, four-day total of 40-4, $18,000

8th: Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., four-day total of 40-0, $17,000

9th: Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., four-day total of 35-15, $16,000

10th: Pat Fisher of Buckhead, Ga., four-day total of 34-10, $15,000