Wal-Mart FLW Tour season preview
2006 FLW Tour season to offer challenging, diverse tournaments
After an eventful off-season that included the creation of a second tour-level circuit, the Wal-Mart FLW Tour is back for an 11th season, a season that promises to be both exciting and challenging. While the tour makes its annual visits to Lake Okeechobee and Beaver Lake, the 2006 season has a 2004 feel to it, with the tour returning to Kentucky Lake and the legendary smallmouth factory of Lake Champlain. The overall tournament purse for the 2006 season remains at an astounding $7.6 million for all seven events.
In addition, the tour returns to Birmingham’s Logan Martin Lake, the site of the 2004 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship, for this year’s season-ending tournament. Despite all the changes the sport has recently witnessed, the winner of the 2006 FLW Tour Championship will still bring home the richest cash prize the sport has to offer – $500,000.
Lake Okeechobee
Clewiston, Fla.
Jan. 18-21
Just as in years past, the FLW Tour kicks off its season by visiting the renowned Lake Okeechobee. For two consecutive years, Lake Okeechobee has been the victim of Florida’s nasty hurricane season. While the hurricanes didn’t devastate the population of bass, much of the lake’s vegetation was wiped away. With less vegetation in the lake, clear water will once again be at a premium, making even the biggest of lakes fish small.
Ocala, Fla., pro Glenn Browne fished the Big O about a month ago at a charity event with NASCAR driver Ryan Newman.
“We went through 10 dozen shiners in about five hours,” said Browne. “We caught them up to about 6 pounds or so. I only saw a small piece of the lake, but it is definitely darker. I saw of picture of Slims Fish Camp and all the grass and cover had piled up to the levy. The south end might not be much of a factor.”
Last year, the Big O fished small, with much of the field packed into an area of the lake known as the Monkey Box. The Monkey Box, located on the west side of the lake, has long been one of the more productive spots on the entire 730-square-mile lake. The area features hard bottom, plenty of matted hydrilla and most importantly clear water, making it ideal for spawning bass.
But according to Browne, much of the Monkey Box was destroyed in the offseason. “Its not anywhere like it was last year. The Moonshine Bay area may become the new Monkey Box.”
New this year, FLW Tour anglers are allowed to lock into the lake’s numerous canals. The canals are particularly attractive because they’ve stayed clean as a result of being positioned behind the levy. With the canals in play, Browne suspects the lake will fish small, but not nearly as small as last year.
“It’s going to be primarily a power-fishing tournament, with a lot of flipping and spinnerbaiting. I think 12 or 13 pounds a day will make the top 10. Take a look at last year’s results, and this year should be in the same area.”
Lake Murray
Columbia, S.C.
Feb. 8-11
A few years ago, South Carolina’s Lake Murray was stocked with grass carp in an effort to reduce the lake’s vegetation level. Unfortunately for bass anglers, these carp took their job seriously and left almost no alligator or hydrilla grass in the lake. According to pro Anthony Gagliardi, the lack of grass is the main reason the lake will fish differently than in years past.
“The lake was getting to be one of the best lakes in the entire Southeast,” said the Prosperity, S.C. native. “If they would have had this tournament last year, they would have broken every record in the books. In the past it’s been on fire at that time of year. If you didn’t catch 20-some pounds, you wouldn’t even be in contention.”
Gagliardi, who missed the top-10 cutoff by 1 ounce the last time the tour visited Murray, said with the infusion of carp, many of the bass have left the shallows to suspend in deeper water.
“The fish are still there, but the weights have been falling off. The one fish I caught today (which incidentally was a 7-pounder) I caught in a school of stripers.”
Gagliardi went on to loosely forecast a few patterns.
“I’m sure a lot of guys will be fishing crankbaits and deeper spinnerbaits on points. But it is still possible to catch them shallow at that time of year too. I’m going to put most of my effort in deep water. With what has happened here I think it will take 14 or 15 pounds to make the cut. But somebody will still whack a bag over 25 pounds.”
“But from what I’ve heard, they are going to draw down the lake again, so there are going to be some additional changes.”
Pickwick Lake
Florence, Ala.
March 1-4
When the FLW Tour makes its third stop of the season it returns to the familiar bass grounds of Pickwick Lake and the Tennessee River system. As usual, FLW Tour anglers will be able to lock to Wilson, Bay Springs and Wheeler. But according to Russellville, Ala., pro William Davis, Guntersville will likely be off limits.
“You can technically get to Guntersville, but it’s just not feasible,” he said. “You wouldn’t have any time to fish. It will be tough enough to lock to Wheeler and have time. It’s at least a 45-minute ordeal.”
Davis roughly estimates that 50 percent of the field will lock to Wilson and 30 percent will elect to stay in Pickwick, leaving the remaining 20 percent of the field heading to either Wheeler or Bay Springs.
While Pickwick fished small and the bite was finicky a few months ago at the 2005 EverStart Series Championship, Davis senses that this will be an interesting tournament.
“At a local tournament last week, it took five that weighed 26 pounds to win it,” said the local pro. “In March there will be several that catch them good and the others will struggle. If they’re running a lot of water it will help. If they have the floodgates open it will be a slugfest with several 20-pound bags.”
Davis also predicted that the water temperature will be in the low-50s, meaning neither largemouth nor smallmouth will be on the beds.
Much like the recent Everstart event, prominent patterns likely will include jigs, grubs, tubes, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits.
“That time of year you can catch smallmouth real well on spinnerbaits and suspending jerkbaits. Generally, smallmouths dominate, but they can be so unpredictable.”
Davis thinks 25 pounds or more will be needed to make the cutoff, but much of it will depend if the TVA runs water.
Wal-Mart Open: Beaver Lake
Rogers, Ark.
April 5-8
For the ninth consecutive season, Beaver Lake will play host to the fourth stop of the FLW Tour. Last year, the Wal-Mart Open was held in mid-April, when Andre Moore claimed his second victory on Beaver in the last four years by sight-fishing.
Sight-fishing on Beaver is a popular tactic among tour pros due to its crystal-clear water. According to Abu Garcia pro Mark Goines, this year’s stop won’t be all that different.
“This year it’s likely to be more of a pre-spawn deal, but there is still going to be plenty of sight-fishing,” said Goines.
“Most of the guys were sight-fishing last year, and I don’t expect that to change. The only difference is that this year the fish will be ganged up on points.”
As for presentations, the Shady Point, Okla., native believes there will be a lot of fish caught on craw-colored crankbaits and shaky-head jigs.
“When the fish are in pre-spawn they tend to be finicky, but they’ll usually take something like a finesse worm.”
Goines, who lives approximately two hours from the lake, predicts the weights will be very similar to years past meaning anglers will need somewhere in the vicinity of 20 pounds to make the top 10.
Kentucky Lake
Benton, Ky.
May 10-13
After a year hiatus, the FLW Tour returns to its Benton headquarters and the friendly confines of Kentucky Lake. Who better to speak with about the upcoming event than Paducah, Ky., native Dan Morehead?
In 1998, Morehead took first place at the Kentucky Lake event and claimed a $100,000 payday. The last time the tour visited Kentucky Lake, Morehead finished in 11th place, just a single ounce from making the top 10 and advancing to fish the final round. Although that memory still stings, Morehead is excited about the opportunity to once again put his local knowledge to work.
“This tournament will all depend on the weather, because we’re right there in the transition,” he said. “If we get a lot of rain, there will be a lot of guys flipping brush piles and working shallow water with jigs.”
Morehead thinks stable weather will create a solid crankbait and jerkbait bite.
“If the weather is stable and there is an early spawn, then the tournament-winning fish will likely be caught deep structure fishing.”
A wild card in this tournament could be fishing grass on the south end of the lake. Morehead said for years the water has maintained its clarity and the lake is now starting to retain some fishable grass. The only dilemma is that the field will launch from the Kentucky Dam Marina in Gilbertsville and will have a sizable run to the south end of the lake.
“This tournament could be a carbon copy of the 2004 event if we don’t get a wet spring. I think it will take 30 pounds or better to make the cutoff.”
Lake Champlain
Plattsburgh, N.Y.
June 21-24
The final regular-season event of the 2006 season promises to be one of the most exciting tournaments in the history of FLW Outdoors competition. The last time the FLW Tour visited Champlain, the results were nothing short of sensational as 4,481 pounds, 3 ounces were caught on the opening day alone, which was a new one-day record for the tour.
Pro Jim Moynagh, a renowned smallmouth angler who placed third on Champlain in 2002, expects sky-high numbers this season as well.
“There’s going to be all kinds of fish to catch,” the Carver, Minn., pro said. “On Lake Champlain you need to target larger fish. Catching two-pounders all day is the equivalent of zeroing.”
Moynagh went on to say that both the largemouths and smallmouths will be in all stages of the spawn.
“That time of year everything revolves around the spawn,” he said. “The lake is really diverse as far as its basins. In some basins the fish spawn earlier. It will be a situation where some guys will be catching spawning fish and other guys will be catching post-spawn fish. Each angler has to find the right basin for him.”
Expect many of the traditional patterns to unfold. With all stages of the spawn in play, there will be a ton of sight-fishing in the clear basins of the lake. To catch these bedding smallies, Moynagh predicts weightless worms and Texas rigs will be the baits of choice.
“They are so aggressive, sometimes it will take just a cast or two to catch them.”
In 2002, Moynagh made the top-20 cutoff with 32 pounds, 4 ounces over two days of competition and expects similar weights this year.
“The weights really don’t fluctuate that much on this lake,” Moynagh said. “With spawning and sight-fishing tournaments, the guy that can continue to do well on days three and four is the guy who has found his own area, or the guy who found an area where the fish are just coming in to spawn.”
FLW Tour Championship: Logan Martin Lake
Birmingham, Ala.
August 2-5
When pro Luke Clausen won the 2004 FLW Tour Championship, he did so by skipping finesse baits under docks. But instead of fishing a hundred different docks a day, he selected only the best docks and fished them continually throughout the tournament. That pattern netted him a check worth $500,000, but according to local pro Todd Ary, this year’s championship won’t be won shallow.
“Last year, we had an unseasonably cool week and it scattered the fish and moved them back up shallow,” said Ary. “In the weeks leading up to the tournament, I was catching around 18 or 20 pounds per day.”
Ary explained that the warmer weather tends to group the fish on deeper structure, which makes it much easier to catch bigger weights. The Birmingham, Ala., pro doesn’t believe the 2004 championship was a good representation of what Logan Martin Lake has to offer.
“It’s a really fertile lake with a good population of forage fish. If you can find that school of fish on deep structure, you can easily bust 20 pounds. If we have a normal summer, people will be surprised by the weights.”
Tactically speaking, Ary sees this tournament as typical summer fishing with big worms, big spinnerbaits and crankbaits playing a factor.
“Normally during the heat of the summer, the docks are not where the winning fish are. In the summer you can get up to 16 pounds with spots. To get more you’ve got to get a kicker largemouth. Going for a bag of largemouths is a real risky thing to do. The guy that wins is likely going to have a mixed bag.”
Ary described the combination of the large fan base in Birmingham and the diverse fishery of Logan Martin Lake as a match made in heaven for hosting a championship.
On the prospects of advancing through the bracket system Ary said, “There will be some solid locals in the tournament. It all depends on who you match up with. On the final day, with only 12 competitors, someone will catch between 18 and 22 pounds. If we have hot weather, it’s going to be an awesome tournament.”