Note from Knoxville this morning: It’s cloudy out today, which is a change from the mostly sunny and warm conditions the anglers have seen on Fort Loudoun-Tellico over the last few days.
That could alter fishing strategies some Friday. The clouds could turn on a decent topwater smallmouth bite, particularly early in the morning. And if they start bringing in more smallmouths, they’re going to be good-sized ones thanks to the 18-inch minimum.
Just an FYI. If you have some noted topwater anglers on your roster and you’ve been despairing over all this talk about cranking deep ledges, just wait. There’s still hope. We’ll see how it turns out at today’s weigh-in.
Another note: Overall, don’t expect the anglers to bring in the same number of 18-, 19- and 20-pound bags today like they caught yesterday. Scott Martin made a good point about how the one-day practice moratorium on Wednesday allowed the fish some time to refresh for Thursday’s fishing. That won’t be the case today, especially considering the big sacks brought in yesterday.
Plus, fish management will come into play as a huge factor today. Jim Moynagh thought he had a leading-type stringer with 14 pounds yesterday, so he admitted he quit fishing. But he was surprised by the big weights posted when he came in. He won’t do that again. The big question on everyone’s mind will be the cut-weight guessing game. 28 pounds? 29? Could it go as high as 30 or 31? At this point, who knows? The contenders will have to make sure they catch enough fish to make the cut, but they will also have to make sure they save some for the weekend because fish management is especially crucial on this lake. It’s going to be a tricky balancing act, but fun to watch.