Weather plays wild card
Big bag needed to catch leader
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After three days of nearly perfect sight-fishing conditions, Mother Nature has finally decided to throw a wild card into the deck. As the top 10 pro finalists at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes departed the ramp Sunday morning, they were rudely greeted with downpours.
The truth of the matter is that stormy weather will likely only help Mark Davis, who leads by nearly an 8-pound margin. For starters, Davis is one of the few pros who has dialed into a pattern that’s replenishing each day. He isn’t sight-fishing much, so cloudy, rainy conditions don’t bother him one bit.
“It’s hard to say,” Davis said of whether his pattern will improve with the rain. “It’s going to change. I’m not sure if it’s going to help it or hurt it. But I don’t think it’s going to be a good day to sight-fish.”
The buzz around takeoff this morning was the possibility of a spinnerbait bite developing. With cloud cover, rain and wind, the spinnerbait, which was non-existent all week, could make a last-minute appearance. Davis, who was busy sorting through a box of Strike King spinnerbaits, said late-game adjustments such as that are needed to win a tournament of this magnitude.
Second place pro Jay Yelas probably has the best crack at unseating Davis. With only four bass, Yelas weighed nearly 12 pounds yesterday. Most of those fish came from the lower end of Fort Loudoun Lake.
“I’m around the right kind of fish,” he said. “Maybe the better ones will bite and I’ll get five. This is Mark’s tournament to lose, but I’ve seen stranger things happen.”
Tournament notes
Today represents the fourth and final day of competition at the FLW Tour event on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes. First place in the Pro Division will go to the angler who brings in the heaviest two-day combined stringer over Saturday and Sunday. The winning pro is guaranteed a top prize of $100,000, with a chance to win $125,000 if he is a registered owner of a Ranger boat.
The action continues at today’s weigh-in, which is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. Eastern time at the Knoxville Convention Center, located at 701 Henley Street in Knoxville, Tenn. The free Family Fun Zone will open its doors at noon. For those who can’t catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.
Sunday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:23 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Expected high temperature: 73 degrees
Water temperature: 66-72 degrees
Wind: SSW at 13 mph
Maximum humidity: 72 percent
Day’s outlook: scattered thunderstorms