Scott Suggs says that Lake Ouachita has been off its normal seasonal progression for the majority of 2011. It was behind the calendar during a cool, wet late winter and spring, and has now moved ahead during a hot, dry summer.

Ouachita is poised to host the Forrest Wood Cup next week for the second time in 5 years. Suggs, a resident of nearby Alexander, Ark., won the 2007 edition

(and bass fishing's first million-dollar prize) on his home water, but missed qualifying for this year's derby by 9 places in the FLW Tour Angler-of-the-Year (AOY) race, in which he finished 49th.

BassFan contacted him this week to learn whether Ouachita will fish similar to the way it did in '07 and to find out who he tabs as favorites this time around given the current conditions.

More Color in the Water

Ouachita's water was ultra-clear when Suggs won 4 years ago. That's not the case now.

The flooding that the region experienced last spring pushed the lake's water level to as much as 17 feet above normal. With the dry spell since then, it's now about 2 feet low, but the high-water event's impact on the clarity hasn't abated.

"Some people might still call it clear, but for Ouachita, it's really not," he said. "It was twice as clear in '07 as it is now.

"The thermocline's at 23 or 24 feet, but the clarity's not worth a flip down there. When I won, I was fishing at 40- to 60-foot depths in the trees because the clarity was so good that the fish could come a long ways to get a bait. It's not like that now."

Instead of focusing on deep vegetation (including man-planted brushpiles, of which there are an abundance), he said anglers might be better served to concentrate on the bluegill spawn. It continues well into August and the hotter the weather gets, the shallower the bream go.

"The better oxygen is up shallow and this tournament's going to land right on a full moon, so the tail end of the spawn will be that week, guaranteed. The bream in 5 to 8 feet of water are going to play a big role – we caught some big (bass) in 7 feet on (Sunday) afternoon.

"Another thing is that we had one of the mildest summers ever in '07 – there were no 100-degree days until the week of the tournament. This year we've had 20 days or more with a 100-degree heat index or higher.

"I might be wrong," he continued, "but with the higher water temps so much higher than when I won (low 90s as opposed mid 80s in '07) and the clarity the way it is, I think 8 to 16 feet could be the magic depth. There's going to be some schooling fish caught and the grass is really starting to come back, so that'll play a part, too."

Who do You Like?

When asked to pick an angler he thought had a good chance of succeeding him as Ouachita Cup champion, Suggs immediately tabbed 2010 AOY Bryan Thrift.

"He made the Top 10 the year I won and he'd found hundreds of bream beds, and they had big (bass) on them," he said. "The problem was the phase of the moon landed on the downside (of full) and every day it got worse and worse. This year it's going to nail it right on the head."

His No. 2 pick is newly crowned AOY David Dudley, the 2003 Cup champion. He finished 8th the year that Suggs won and placed 3rd in a Tour event at Ouachita in May 2010.

"He's been here at two different times of the year and he's done well both times. He understands this lake and he's a threat to win here every time, and I know he's put a lot of (pre-practice) time in, looking around."