Red receding, but tough

The high water that's plagued the Red River in Louisiana recently is receding as this week's FLW Tour event approaches, but the bite is reportedly very tough. Veteran pro Jim Tutt, who lives about an hour away in Longview, Texas and is fresh off a win at an EverStart at Texoma, predicts that an average of 13 pounds over 4 days could be enough to claim the trophy.

Due to the prevailing conditions, the Red will fish extremely small.

"The main river is muddy and a lot of the backwaters are off-color," he said. "That just about eliminates the river, so everybody will be crowding into the clearer backwaters. I expect the majority of people to (lock down to) Pool 4, where there's more clear water.

"Somebody will catch a big sack, but doing it every day is going to be a problem."

BassFan will publish a full scouting report on Wednesday evening. Also watch for Tutt's winning pattern article from the Texoma event.