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Jasper, AL – Often referred to as the home state of bass fishing, Alabama will host this week’s Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Lewis Smith Lake. The second tournament of the 2008 season will not be a heavy weight bout, but rather a strategic battle between deep water specialist and sight fishermen.
The practice rounds saw cool, cloudy conditions that help keep the bass off the banks. The weather will warm up slightly with the sun predicted to make an appearance on the weekend. 200 dedicated and diverse anglers spent the last few days trying to figure out exactly how to catch the winning weight at Smith Lake.
The result of four days of practice is “the fish are biting.” Oklahoma pro, Mike Todd revealed the fish can be caught a variety of ways and at almost all depths. “You can catch a limit almost any way you want,” he said. “The trick is finding the quality fish.
Like most lakes in the South Central part of the nation, Smith Lake is on the verge of the spawn. Water temps are steadily rising, but they haven’t reached the magic number yet. With nighttime lows dipping into the 50’s and highs only reaching the mid 70 degree mark, it is still uncertain if the spawn will begin in force this week.
Reigning Forrest Wood Cup Champion, Scott Suggs believes the weights will be low. “10 pounds a day will put you in contention,” he said. His thoughts were echoed by third year pro Michael Bennett.
The California angler believes the fishing could get better, but right now the fish are not committed. “They (bass) are not fully committing to the bait,” he said. “I’ve found some decent fish but they aren’t eating the bait.” Bennett believes the spawn will play a factor in this tournament.
“The spots aren’t on the beds yet, but they could move up any day. The weather will be the deciding factor.”
The fact that Lewis Smith Lake (Smith Lake) is home to the Alabama State record spotted bass has most of the field excited about the prospect of catching numerous quality spots.
Brett Hite enters this tournament as possibly the hottest angler on the planet after posting consecutive FLW victories at the Tour event on Toho and the Western Division Series event on the California Delta. Fantasy fanatics need to keep in mind that Brett calls the unofficial home of the spotted bass, Arizona home. Brett leads the Wal-Mart FLW tour angler of the year race as well.
Bryan Thrift is another name that is making the rounds of the basement based, fantasy fishing forums. The 2007 Rookie of the year backed up his strong finish at Toho with a 23rd place showing at nearby Lake Wheeler last week.
The fact is, as you look across the 200 entrants for this week’s event, there is not one clear cut favorite. The Alabama advantage would have to go to Greg Pugh from nearby Cullman, but the spotted bass specialist and soft plastic guru, Andre Moore now resides in a trailer park less than 50 miles from the lake. In all there are 15 anglers competing this week from Alabama, each of whom have an equal chance of winning.
Sean Hoenke comes in as the only FLW angler with a win on this lake. Although that tournament took place in the fall of ’06, Sean can still put them in the boat when they move shallow. Matt Herren, Brent Crow and Luke Clausen will also make their felt as they wear out the waters with a shaky-head.
Regardless of the pre-tournament picks, the BASS ZONE will be live and on sight for each day of the event bringing you up to the minute standings, video and recaps from the water.
Launch is scheduled for 7:00 am at Lewis Smith Dam Marina. All 200 anglers along with their back-seaters will fish Thursday and Friday. Only the top ten qualifiers will return for the weekend and the co-angler with the largest weight on Saturday will be crowned Champion. |
