Of course, BassFans know that Mark Davis won the recent Ft. Loudoun–Tellico FLW Tour, and they know he did it largely offshore.
He worked suspended fish in the main lake with two different wakebaits. He also supplemented his bags with a few sight-fish and a few finesse-fish.
Here's how the rest of the Top 5 anglers caught their fish.
2nd: Dave Lefebre
> Day 1: 5, 13-10
> Day 2: 5, 17-09 (10, 31-03)
> Day 3: 5, 11-06
> Day 4: 5, 13-11 (10, 25-01)
Lefebre hails from Pennsylvania, where he spent many years fishing the smallmouth spawn in Erie's Presque Isle Bay. He used that knowledge at Loudoun–Tellico and it paid off with lots of bronze.
He had one very strong group of beds, which he didn't get to fish on day 3 because local anglers were there when he arrived.
Later that afternoon, he found some additional beds, which he planned to use the final day.
"I triangulated them, because I knew it would be windy and rough (on day 4)," he said. "It worked perfect. I was totally ready to fish those beds from a long ways off.
"I just blind-fished the exact cast from the day before and caught two. I lost the other one and it never bit again."
He noted that his good bedding areas were outside bends on the main river channel with an island nearby.
"They were on the backside of an island, or where the creek channel left the island. Those fish were coming up and getting on the point of the island and spawning on the pea-gravel backsides.
"Two of my spots were like that," he added. "That's what I figured out first."
> Sight-fishing gear: 7' medium-heavy Setyr rod, unnamed casting reel, 8- and 10-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, 2/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, 1/8- and 1/4-ounce Penetrator weights (1/2-ounce in dirtier water).
> He used a bunch of different baits, but noted the key ones were a Kinami Nories Bug, Yamamoto Double-Tail grub, and Mizmo tube. He used various colors.
> Main factor in his success – "I'd say it was my training on Lake Erie – fishing beds and being able to pick them out. I wasn't on major bedding areas."
> Performance edge – "My sunglasses, no doubt. I wear the Solar Bat I Fx series in the mossback color, and they block out everything. The glasses have a foam lining around them to block out all the light. One of the main things was I needed to see those subtle beds, and they cut the glare so well."
Keith Williams spent the first 2 days flipping and throwing a spinnerbait up in the river.
3rd: Keith Williams
> Day 1: 5, 13-05
> Day 2: 4, 12-15 (9, 26-04)
> Day 3: 5, 10-15
> Day 4: 5, 13-13 (10, 24-12)
Keith Williams, from Arkansas, didn't do the sight-fish thing. He spent the first 2 days flipping and throwing a spinnerbait in the muddy water up the river. On days 3 and 4, he fished a finesse worm near the launch, then tried to upgrade in Tellico with a topwater and spinnerbait.
About his finesse area, he said: "The water was kind of clear, with rocky banks, and the fish were 7 to 10 feet deep. They were bedding areas, and I caught mostly largemouths."
> Flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action All Star rod, Pflueger President casting reel, 20-pound Cajun Red Lightnin' line, 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, 1/4-ounce lead weight (unpegged), Rite Bite tube (green-pumpkin).
> Spinnerbait gear: 6'8" medium-heavy All Star rod, same reel, same line, 3/4-ounce Strike King Premier Pro Model spinnerbait (chartreuse/white, No. 6 gold and No. 3 silver Colorados), 3/0 Gamakatsu trailer hook.
> Finesse worm gear: 7' medium-heavy All Star rod, Pflueger Medalist spinning reel, 8-pound Cajun Red Lightnin', 1/8-ounce jighead, Zoom Trick Worm (watermelon seed).
> Main factor in his success – "Just hanging in there, keeping my head down and fishing hard. The first 2 days were real tough. I started out not catching anything until 9:00. But I kept scrambling. Then I'd go and fish real hard, and by the end of the day, I'd have something to show for it."
> Performance edge – "For the most part, I fished real fast, so I'd say it was my Minn Kota 101 Maxxum Pro trolling motor. I kept it on 80% and it didn't wear down."
Derek Jones used a swimbait to find where the fish were bedding.
4th: Derek Jones
> Day 1: 5, 17-00
> Day 2: 5, 20-04 (10, 37-04)
> Day 3: 3, 9-08
> Day 4: 3, 12-14 (6, 22-06)
Derek Jones led the cut with smallmouths, but he faltered on day 3, then made up a little ground on day 4. He noted that he blind-casted the first 2 days, and fished Loudoun exclusively.
"The area was dingy," he said. "You could see dark spots, but you'd never see the fish. I'd back off and make fan-casts in the general area. That was the first 2 days."
The wind blew hard on day 4, plus it was cloudy and windy, so he went to a topwater in hopes of a big bite.
About his primary area, he said: "It was an outside channel swing that led into a deeper flat. I think the fish were coming off the main river channel. The bigger fish were spawning out on the flat. I also caught some fish off main-lake points."
Another key component of his pattern was the swimbait.
"I threw a swimbait a lot the second day – the California SwimBabes Tiny "E" – to kind of tell me where the fish were. I'd be reeling it in, and a lot of times they'd flash up on it. Then I'd know the general area the fish were in, and I'd go back and throw a Beaver on them."
> Swimbait gear: 7' medium-heavy G.Loomis IMX rod, Shimano Curado casting reel, 15-pound Berkley Big Game line, California SwimBabes Tiny "E" (black-back/shad-side/purple-flake).
> Bed-fish gear: 6'6" medium-heavy G.Loomis 782 IMX rod, Daiwa Sol 2500 spinning reel, 1/4- and 3/8-ounce RJ's standup jigheads (green-pumpkin), Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver (watermelon).
> Topwater gear: 6'6" medium-heavy G.Loomis IMX rod, Shimano Chronarch casting reel, 15-pound Big Game, Shimano Triple Impact (Japanese).
> Main factor in his success – "I guess I was just fortunate. I came a week early and found a lot of good smallmouths on a crankbait, and decided to devote my time to fishing Loudoun. I lost them for a while when the water warmed, but I kept investigating. A mile from where I caught them, I found another stretch with bed-fish."
> Performance edge – "I'd say the Smallie Beaver. I just have a lot of confidence in it. It's an excellent bed-bait. The Tiny "E" was crucial too. It gave me the confidence to slow down in an area and fish it."
Notable
> Shinichi Fukae, who finished 5th, couldn't be reached for pattern information. FLW Outdoors reported that he sight-fished, but also threw a topwater Triple Impact and Senko after the cut to target big bites.
