There’s no real way to measure just how many hours or days Mark Davis has spent casting a line at Lake Ouachita.
“A lot,” Davis said Tuesday from his home in nearby Mt. Ida.
The veteran pro, who’s 28th in the Elite Series Angler of the Year standings heading into next week’s regular-season finale at Lake St. Clair, offered up some insight on Ouachita as it plays host to the Forrest Wood Cup this week.
Davis flew home after the Chesapeake Bay Elite Series so he can assist his 13-year-old son, Hunter, during practice for the TBF Junior World Championship at Lake Hamilton.
“Typically, 12 (pounds) a day is going to do very well (at Ouachita),” he said. “It could take more than that if someone finds a special area. If I was fishing it, I’d feel that if I caught 12 a day and maybe had a couple days over that, I’d be a threat to win.”
He says the recent change in weather could help the fishing.
“There was a stretch there where we had 100-degree days with heat indexes in the 110 to 115 range,” he said. “Now, we’ve got a cold front, if you can call it that, and we’re supposed to get rain and lower humidity and a north breeze. That’s a big positive as far as fishing goes. The fishermen will feel more like fishing and the fish will feel more like biting.”
Regardless of the conditions, it’s going to be a grind of a tournament, Davis says.
“It’ll be a challenge to catch them 4 days in a row,” he said.
Here are Davis’ picks to catch ‘em this week:
1. Jay Yelas
> Davis says: “Being a West Coast guy and someone’s who’s very versatile, I think he could definitely do well this week. There will be a lot of different ways to catch fish out there, from grass to brush piles to structure fishing offshore. He’s good at it all.”
2. Andy Morgan
> Davis says: “Andy’s a great angler and he’s known for his flipping, but he’s also very versatile. I look for some fish to be caught flipping the grass and if he can get that going, he can be a threat.”
3. Larry Nixon
> Davis says: “I have to put Larry in here being the veteran that he is and knowing what he knows about his lake. He’s also pretty versatile. If it’s a finesse, light-line type of bite, he could figure it out.”
4. Bryan Thrift
> Davis says: “I’ve fished around Bryan and he’s one of those guys who will lay 15 rods on his deck. He’s a good junk fisherman who fishes with an open mind. That style could do well this week. Plus, he’s a good, consistent angler who’s always in the mix.”
Darkhorse: Shawn Gordon
> Davis says: “He’s from up the road in Russelville. I don’t know him, but the fact that he’s from Arkansas and got in through the TBF, that’s why I’m picking him.”
