FLW preview: Forrest Wood Open, Wheeler Lake, June 18-21

Angler of the Year title on the line, FLW Championship field to be finalized

The FLW Tour will make its sixth and final regular-season stop at Wheeler Lake in a few short days, and it’s clear that the year-end suspense is already mounting. For starters, pro anglers are set to battle it out for a whopping $200,000 first-place cash prize, while their co-angler counterparts will grapple for a top award of $40,000. However, the quest for the top prize is only one of three major subplots that will unfold during the the Wheeler Lake tourney – the most important event of the 2003 season to date.

Perhaps the biggest story of the four-day event will focus on the 2003 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race. Although Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., had appeared to be a runaway favorite to capture the prestigious title – which includes a $25,000 cash prize as well as a fully equipped Ranger boat – two anglers, David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., and Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas, have stormed back into the race.

Heading into the Wheeler Lake event, Morehead (915 total points) holds a narrow 26-point lead over Dudley and a 55-point lead over Wendlandt. Although Morehead is clearly in the driver’s seat, flashbacks of the thrilling down-to-the-wire finish in last year’s AOY contest are still in the minds of most. In that race, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., coughed up a 28-point lead in the final regular season event and ultimately lost the title in stunning fashion to Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas.

But as close as the pro race is, the contest for the 2003 co-angler-of-the-year title is tighter still. Currently, Quint Bourgeois of Knoxville, Tenn., is in the lead with 874 points. However, Tommy Szwankowski of Hope, Ark., (865 points), Jason Abram of Bluff City, Tenn., (836 points) and Greg Lineberry of Galax, Va., (834 points) are all in position to walk away with the title if the chips fall their way at Wheeler Lake.

All anglers at the Wheeler Lake event will receive 200 points for a first-place finish, 199 points for second place, 198 points for third, and so on.

Battle to secure place in $1.5 million FLW Championship

If huge paydays and a prestigious angler-of-the-year title aren’t motivation enough for the field, anglers will also face the difficult prospect of qualifying for the 2003 FLW Championship. At the end of the Wheeler Lake event, the top 48 anglers (both pros and co-anglers) in the final regular-season standings will receive an automatic invite to the championship. Currently, VanDam (48th place in the tour standings) is holding onto the last and final championship berth heading into the Wheeler Lake tournament, while Chuck Lawless of Park Hill, Okla., holds a similar spot in the Co-angler Division.

Lake Wheeler history, facts

Located in north central Alabama half way between Birmingham and Nashville, Wheeler Lake boasts approximately 68,000 acres of fishing habitat. Formed as a result of the construction of Wheeler Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Wheeler Lake ranks as Alabama’s second-largest reservoir. In total, Wheeler Lake stretches more than 50 miles from the upper part of Guntersville Dam to the Wheeler Dam. The lake, which meanders past Huntsville and terminates approximately midway between the cities of Decatur and Florence, is also sandwiched between Guntersville Lake – a renowned largemouth bass habitat – and the Wilson and Pickwick reservoirs, known for their healthy smallmouth bass populations.

Due to its close proximity to Pickwick, Guntersville and Wilson lakes, Wheeler Lake exhibits an eclectic combination of fishing habitats and species associated with its neighboring bodies of water. On the lower end of the lake, anglers will find many steep banks and long points. In the middle of the reservoir, weedbeds, creek channels and stump flats can be found in abundance. And at the upper end, the lake takes on many characteristics of a typical river system. True to form, Wheeler Lake also exhibits a diverse ecosystem and topography featuring both shallow and weedy sections of water (consistent with Guntersville Lake) as well as deep, clear sandy bottoms (like those found on Pickwick and Wilson).

Not surprisingly, a variety of fish species are found in abundance as well. Although largemouth bass are relatively common throughout Wheeler Lake, there are also excellent pockets of smallmouth and spotted bass habitats. The lake is also home to striped bass, white bass, crappie, sauger, bream and catfish. In fact, the world-record blue catfish, which weighed in at a remarkable 111 pounds, was pulled from the Wheeler Reservoir July 5, 1996.

Decatur flats could be key to making top 10

Because anglers can basically choose to fish any one of three distinct portions of Wheeler Lake – the upper river system, the Decatur flats and the lower lake – anglers probably will have to have a solid pre-tournament strategy in place in order to advance. But more than likely, that strategy will focus on the bountiful bass harvest on the Decatur flats.

“The deal on Wheeler Lake is that it’s basically three different lakes in one,” said FLW Tour pro Clark Wendlandt. “You have the northeastern part of the lake where the Tennessee River feeds in. The river is obviously very current related. You also have the Decatur area in the middle of the lake where there are big flats, grass and lots of stumps. And you have the lower lake with a lot of deep water. You can fish anywhere, and sometimes people do well on the lower lake, but probably 80 percent of the tournaments are won on the Decatur flats.”

FLW Tour pro David Dudley agrees that the flats are the place to be if you’re serious about winning the grand prize on Wheeler Lake.

“The Decatur flats always pumps (the bass) out,” said Dudley. “They’ll be a couple of people who will catch fish elsewhere, but probably more than 50 percent of the people will be between the bridge and the power lines on the Decatur flats. I’ll bet seven of the top 10 anglers come from that area.”

Techniques and depth will be fairly predictable

Because most anglers will be concentrating on the stumps and grass of the Decatur flats, pros believe the techniques of choice probably will center around the basics.

“I think you’ll see a lot of spinner baits, crankbaits and some top-waters,” said Wendlandt. “Most people will be targeting grass and stumps in the flats. Those should be the dominant techniques. Some people might have some success fishing the deep ledges in the lower part of the lake, like Aaron Martens did last year. But for the most part, the Decatur flats will be where most people go. Sight fishing shouldn’t be a factor at all.”

Dudley says the heavy current that pervades Wheeler Lake should keep most fishermen relatively shallow.

“The current is really smoking on Wheeler Lake, and whenever you have current, the fish don’t tend to go too deep,” said Dudley. “Some people might be able to catch them deep and some people will be on a top-water bite, but in my opinion, I think the sweet depth will be between 5 and 8 feet.”

Chasing the Angler of the Year title as an underdog

Although Dudley has a reasonable chance of making up the 26-point lead that Morehead currently maintains in the 2003 Angler of the Year race, Wendlandt, by contrast, isn’t holding out much hope that he will become the first three-time winner of the prestigious award.

“I’m 55 points off the lead, so I don’t think I have a realistic chance,” said Wendlandt, who won the title in 1997 and again in 2000. “And David Dudley is really on a roll. If I only had one guy in front of me, I’d be more hopeful. I guess we’ll have to just wait and see what happens.”

Fans of the FLW Tour couldn’t agree more.