Smoky Mountain scavenging
FLW Tour anglers expect fishing to deteriorate on day two
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. – Most of the bed fish, including several hefty smallmouths, were plucked off on day one of the FLW Tour event on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes. It’s conceivable that more bass will move shallow to spawn, but the vast majority of the anglers feel the fishing is only going to get worse.
For some pros, that’s a scary notion – the bite was already tough to begin with. But that’s the reality of the situation. Although the water temperature is prime for spawning, the bass are holding back until the water level rises.
“I don’t think the main wave is coming,” said North Carolina pro Chris Baumgardner. “The water is just too low; I think it’s actually dropped a little this morning.”
Baumgardner currently sits in 11th place with 14 pounds, 5 ounces. He’d be ecstatic to duplicate his day-one success today.
“With no new fish, I’m just hoping for about 12 pounds. I knew where some bigger ones were yesterday and I pretty much caught them all with a weightless worm. I know where a few more are, but they’re not as big. Like everyone, I went to my biggest fish first.”
Baumgardner believes the weights are going to drop. But by how much he isn’t sure.
“It’s going to fall off; it may fall off a lot. I think right around 40 pounds will be enough to make the (top-five) cut.”
Pro leader Roy Hawk, who caught 20 pounds, 14 ounces yesterday, has no plans of holding back today.
“With this being a cumulative-weight tournament, I think I’ve just got to go for it,” Hawk said. “These guys are too good to hold back. I’m just going to fish as hard as possible and let the chips fall where they may.”
Hawk has one productive smallmouth area and two good largemouth spots. He’s hoping to expand on that and find new water today.
“Most of my fish are postspawn. I haven’t seen any indication of prespawn fish whatsoever. So I don’t know about a new wave coming up.”
Logistics
Anglers will take off from Tellico Recreational Area Ramp east of Lenoir City, Tenn., at 7 a.m. each morning. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Tellico Recreational Area Ramp beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center located at 701 Henley St. in Knoxville beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to a Family Fun Zone & Outdoor Expo at the Knoxville Convention Center on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday prior to the final weigh-in from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a drawing for a Can-Am ATV compliments of the Knoxville News Sentinel and rod and reel combos will be given to the first 300 kids under 14 in attendance on Saturday. The Family Fun Zone & Outdoor Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. For a full schedule of events, additional information and to register for the ATV, visit the FLW Tour Fort Loudoun-Tellico event page.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes in the three-day opening round. The co-angler competition concludes at Friday’s weigh-in and the top-five pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
On the Web
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.
In addition to FLW Live, FLWOutdoors.com is offering real-time updates from the water throughout each day of the Fort Loudoun-Tellico event. Simply click on the “On the Water Coverage” banner from any of the FLW Outdoors, Bass and FLW Tour home pages.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:54 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 51 degrees
Expected high temperature: 74 degrees
Water temperature: 68-72 degrees
Wind: WSW at 8 mph
Maximum humidity: 56 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny