Cool & Misty Columbia?

Word from the water is that yesterday's high in Lake Murray Country never broke out of the 70s and that it was misty and almost cool feeling. Having spent a couple of summers in Columbia, which were hotter than most summers in Florida when I was growing up, that's kind of hard for me to imagine in mid-August. Seems it's true, though.

Apparently the water temperature has dropped about 5 or 6 degrees since the end of the allowable pre-practice time for the Forrest Wood Cup a couple of weeks ago, and the shallow and deep bites have picked up. How that will translate to tournament days, which are still a few days way and are supposed to be sunny and hot, no one knows for sure. With conditions projected to change so much between now and the tournament, David Dudley calls the fish he is catching now "liars," which have the potential to confuse matters more than they teach.

One more day of practice, and I should be in Columbia before it is over. I'm driving down tomorrow and plan to arrive in time to drive around a bit and talk to the pros during media day and will be reporting what I learn on FLW's Forrest Wood Cup page, where plenty of written and video updates are already being posted.

Final Cup Preparations

Yesterday David Dudley posted a photo of himself preparing gear for the Forrest Wood Cup -- at his boat with compartment doors open and boxes and rods everywhere. Practice begins Sunday morning, four days from now, so I suppose there's a lot of that going on. Gear sorting, hook sharpening, forecast studying, pre-practice pondering, strategizing... And for any angler who prepped everything early and is fully ready, a lot of waiting and anticipating.

Forty-five pros qualified to compete. One will walk away world champion and half a million dollars richer. Sixteen are fishing the Forrest Wood Cup for the first time. Others are veterans, some with Cup and Classic experience. A handful have even won the Cup before.  Some are traveling from far away and have never seen Lake Murray. Anthony Gagliardi lives on the lake.

For now, everyone is even, and when they blast off a week from tomorrow, they'll all be tied for first and last place with zero pounds. Word is that it will be a grind.

I'll be there to see first-hand what different anglers make work. But first I have some preparation of my own to do: camera cards to clear, batteries to charge, stories to write, junk to pack...  Better get to it, I suppose.

Big Bass Fishing Names Battle in Texas this Weekend

Texans contend that everything is bigger in their home state, and I won't step into that debate. I do know that the list of anglers competing on Lake Conroe in this weekend's Toyota Texas Bass Classic includes many of the biggest names in the sport of bass fishing. Looking at the list of 50 competitors, which is built based on Angler of the Year final standing from the Elite Series, FLW Tour and PAA Tournament Series, I'm not certain there has been a more power-packed field with a blend of B.A.S.S. and FLW pros.

As the boats stage for blast off on Lake Conroe tomorrow morning, Kevin VanDam, Edwin Evers and Terry Scroggins will be right beside Brent Ehrler, David Dudley and Andy Morgan and many other best-of-the-best pros. Combined accomplishments of the TTBC field include more than 70 million dollars in career earnings, 22 Angler of the Year titles and 17 major championship wins.

I'll definitely be watching what happens throughout the weekend and posting updates on my facebook fishing page. Be sure to like that page if you have not done so already. To watch weigh-ins and follow live scoring, visit the TTBC website.

Yelas Yielded Water to Wheeler

"Jacob, go win this thing for me," Jay Yelas told Jacob Wheeler before blast off on the final morning of the Forrest Wood Cup. Yelas had resolved to explore new water up the Chestatee arm of Lake Lanier and to leave the familiar and productive Chattahoochee to Wheeler, who was leading the event by 6 pounds going into the final day of competition. Yelas didn't want to take fish from Wheeler and to take any opportunity away from the 21-year-old pro with whom he'd been sharing water throughout the tournament.

Yelas, a former Bassmaster Classic champion, B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and two-time FLW Anger of the year, was 8 pounds behind Wheeler and probably didn't feel like he had a realistic chance to win the event. That said, second through tenth were only separated by a couple of pounds, and Yelas was knowingly lessening his chances for the best possible finish. And while its true that the Forrest Wood Cup is a championship event that most anglers approach with and "all or nothing" mentality, the difference between the second and tenth place prize is $75,000, so Yelas opting to abandon his best waters was no small sacrifice. He still caught a quality bag on the final day and ended up finishing sixth.

Wheeler expressed humble appreciative of Yelas' consideration on the final day as he spoke from the stage just after the weigh-in. He likewise talked about David Dudley's encouragement throughout the event and expressed respect he had for the entire field. He also was eager to acknowledge God's blessings and to steer the focus away from himself. Wheeler's obvious gratitude for the opportunity to stand on the stage as champion and desire to glorify God was refreshing, and I look forward to seeing much more from in the future.

Familiar Names Top Tournaments

David Dudley and his family celebrate a win at Champlain, which was Dudley's second FLW Tour win this season. FLW photo by David Brown.

Dudley and VanDam. No surprises in the names atop the leaderboards at the end of the FLW Tour and B.A.S.S. Elite Series tournaments over the weekend. Except the Elite victory didn't go to Kevin VanDam. Instead, it went to KVD's newphew, Jonathon VanDam (JVD), and Kevin actually got to hand the trophy to his newphew .

David Dudley, who was already the top money winner in FLW history and currently tops the BassFan World rankings, added his second FLW Tour win of the season by topping the field at Champlain, along with locking up his second consecutive (and third total) FLW Angler of the Year title. Dudley fished for all largemouths in the northern end of Champlain and edged out friend and fellow Virginia angler Jacob Powroznik in both the tournament and the Angler of theYear race.

VanDam's win was his second with B.A.S.S., but his first on the Elite Series. In 2010 he won a Northern Open on Lake Erie enroute to qualifying for the Elites. This weekend's Elite Series win at Green Bay ensures VanDam a place in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

Although JVD is by far the lesser known of the VandDams and the victory was his first on the Elites, his win was no suprise to folks who closely follow professional bass fishing. In fact, he was one of the most popular picks among his peers as a favorite going into this event because of his prowess with Northern smallmouth bass and his familiarity with Lake Michigan. VanDam caught most of the fish he weighed with a drop shot rig, using Strike King Dream Shot worm. The color? KVD Magic!

Jonathon VanDam earned his first Elite Series win and a place in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic field by topping the field at Green Bay. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

Why Pros Love (and Hate) Lake Champlain

Virginia pro Jacob Powroznic, who stands in third place after two days of FLW Tour competition at Lake Champlain, displays a fine sample of Champlain's bounties. FLW Photo by David Brown.

Ask pro anglers who travel the nation about favored destinations, and many will quickly mention Lake Champlain, where FLW Tour pros are fishing this week. Why Champlain? Mostly because of mixed opportunity to catch big numbers of big largemouths and smallmouths. There may be nowhere in the country where larger quantities of both species grow to large sizes and where tournaments might be won with all largemouths, all smallmouths or or a mix of the two species.

As much as virtually anyone who likes to catch bass enjoys the opportunity to visit Lake Champlain and ply its waters, many pros don't particuarly like to compete there. Looking at results of the tournament that's going on now, Matthew Stefan's tournament might best illustrate what's NOT to like about Champlain as a tournament venue. Stefan's two-day total of 30 pounds, 3 ounces (two limits, with a 3-pound average per fish) landed him in 61st place, which is out of the money and barely above the middle of the pack.

Champlain is also massive, stretching nearly 200 miles in length, with portions in Vermont, New York and Canada. The good part about the size is that Champlan offers endless-seeming high-quality habitat for largemouths and smallmouths alike. The bad part is that the main lake can get rough in a hurry, and an angler's top spots are often a LONG distance away, making for tough strategical decisions.

At the moment, Virginia pro David Dudley is probably really liking Lake Champlain. Dudley brought in a massive 24-pound bag on day 1, is leading the tournament after two days and seems well on his way to locking down his second consecutive (and third total) FLW Angler of the Year Award.