Loudoun lowdown

Pro finalists hoping TVA water release will concentrate hungry fish for a final rally

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Fort Loudoun Lake and its namesake Dam owe their identities to the 18th century British fort built on a nearby site during the French and Indian War. Today, 10 Wal-Mart FLW Tour anglers will do battle with legions of bass in hopes of making their own history.

In the top spot, Michigan pro Art Ferguson carries a plump 4-pound, 9-ounce lead into the final round of competition. Taking nothing away from his well-documented skill and ability, Ferguson has been very vocal about the serendipitous circumstances by which he catapulted into the lead. Ledge fishing on day one yielded a respectable weight of 13 pounds, 10 ounces and earned him a 19th-place finish. Fortune favored Ferguson on day two when his 18-11 moved him up to fourth.

The turning point came in the afternoon of day two when a spontaneous cast to the spot in which his co-angler had just stuck a keeper yielded a fish big enough to make Ferguson stop and probe the area. In 20 minutes, he boated his five weight fish. On day three, the spot would deliver 19 pound 2 ounces and the tournament lead.

“To be here leading this tournament by four pounds is just unreal,” he said. “This is not anything of my doing. That one cast by my partner on day two put this whole thing together for me.”

Nevertheless, a lead is a lead and Ferguson will see if his honey hole can produce another strong limit. He’ll be throwing mostly a 5/8-ounce green pumpkin football head jig with a green pumpkin chunk, but he may also drop a big Texas-rigged worm.

Understandably vague on specifics, Ferguson said his top spot comprises a small area with shell bottom near bridge pilings. “It’s just a big-fish hole and I hope it holds out one more day. I’m just going to fish hard, stay focused and do the best I can do. I’m ready.”

Trailing Ferguson is day two leader David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. Eschewing Ferguson’s plan of confinement, Dudley said he’ll be seeking a much different scenario.

“I’m looking for one type of fish and that’s schooling fish. I’m going to keep moving and look for spots with a lot of fish and throw crankbaits.”

The day four morning launch found more bank exposed from the TVA’s water release a day earlier. A lower water level in Fort Loudon Lake will hurt the shoreline game, but help the deep patterns by concentrating bait and bass on the deeper structure.

Clewiston, Fla. angler Scott Martin, currently in third, caught the event’s heaviest stringer (20-11) on day one and, coincidentally, posted a day three score equal to Ferguson’s day one total (13-10). Martin caught several smallmouth and meanmouth bass (smallie and spotted bass mix) on day three, but he’s hoping that the green bass turn on during the last day.

“For two days now, the ledge bite for largemouth has been off – those fish have repositioned,” Martin said. “But they can’t disappear too long. They feed where I’m trying to catch them. I think with (the TVA) pulling water (the afternoon of day three), those fish are going to suck to the ledges. And with that current running all afternoon (yesterday) in the morning, those fish are going to be ready to rock.”

Craig Powers, the fourth-place local pro with the enthusiastic cheering section will spend a lot of time with his trademark Pop-R topwater plugs, but he’s geared up for flipping shallow shoreline cover and fishing deep with a jig.

Knoxville’s Brandon Coulter missed a limit by one fish on day three and sits in fifth with 8-9. Coulter said he let the freedom of a nearly empty lake get the better of him on day three, but he’ll focus on what he knows will produce on day four.

“The first couple of days I fished some off-the-wall stuff because all of the community stuff was taken,” he explained. “Yesterday, I made a little bit of a mistake – I ran around like a kid in a candy store because everything was open.

“I kind of got off track fishing some stuff I couldn’t get on during the week and it didn’t pay off, so I’ll go back to my oddball stuff – a stump here, a rock there. The community stuff could have worked – they’re called `community holes’ because fish stack up there. They just didn’t stack up for me, so I’m going to run and gun and hope I run into them somewhere.”

Normally, it would take a big slip on the leader’s part to blow a 4-pound lead, but with the likes of Dudley and Martin in the hunt, assumptions are futile until the final fish hits the scale. Predicting who will catch what is impossible, but one thing is certain: The Craig Powers fan club will be the loudest section of the audience.

Logistics

Anglers will take off from the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp east of Lenoir City, Tenn., at the junction of highways 321 and 444, at 6:30 each morning. Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center, 701 Henley Street, Knoxville, beginning at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Knoxville Convention Center from noon to 6 p.m. each day.

The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator.

Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone on Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last.

One lucky member of the audience will even win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in Sunday, June 22. Admission is free, and you must be present to win.

The total purse for the Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes event is $1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division.

Sunday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:20 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 67 degrees

Expected high temperature: 85 degrees

Water temperature: 80-83 degrees

Wind: W 5 mph

Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy