Lake Ouachita (pronounced wash-uh-taw) near Hot Springs, Ark., has hosted relatively few major events over the past decade – especially when compared to Ozarks neighbors Table Rock and Beaver. Thus, available data is light.

There were, however, four major events over the past decade

that can offer help in handicapping the 2011 Cup field. Those four major Ouachita events were:

> 2010 FLW Tour
> 2010 Central EverStart
> 2007 Forrest Wood Cup
> 2002 Bassmaster Central Open

The 2010 Tour and EverStart were both spring events and it took 18 pounds a day to win the EverStart and 14 1/2 to win the Tour. So there's good weight in the lake to be caught, even though it's the bitter dog days of summer right now.

The 2007 Cup, however, offers the best parallel, as it was held during the same calendar period under similar conditions.

The 2002 Central Open isn't necessarily a good indicator. Although it was a September event, the lake was still in recovery from the largemouth bass virus.

There's one more event that has bearing - the 2005 Cup at nearby Lake Hamilton. That was a brutal schooling bite and the Cup itself featured the old bracket and zero-weight format.

Only Two

A comparison of the four Ouachita events shows that only four pros have displayed relative consistency over the years, and of those four, only two qualified for this year's Cup.

Scott Suggs finished 2nd at the 2010 Tour and won the 2007 Cup, but missed qualifying for this year's Cup after a disappointing season.

Roy Hawk finished 7th at the 2010 Tour and 7th at the 2010 EverStart, but like Suggs didn't qualify for this year's Cup.

David Dudley, the reigning FLW Tour Angler of the Year, finished 3rd at the 2010 Tour and 8th at the 2007 Cup.

Stetson Blaylock, a local, finished 19th at the 2010 Tour and 2nd at the 2007 EverStart.

Dudley is thus clearly a favorite based on past performance, and looks even better with the momentum he built across this year's Tour campaign.

Blaylock, as well, was able to place consistently high twice at Ouachita last year and should be considered a favorite as well.

Honorable Mentions

Two other important names surface when analyzing the five events:

Clark Wendlandt finished 3rd at the 2007 Cup but also stands out due to his Cup percentage: He's finished in the Top 10 in six of the 12 Cups he's fished (50%).

J.T. Kenney doesn't boast a Cup percentage like Wendlandt, but Kenney did finish 11th at the 2007 Cup and 7th at the 2005 Hamilton Cup. Also notable about Kenney is that he's now a more complete pro with newfound comfort on deep structure.

2010 Ouachita FLW Tour
1. Brent Ehrler
2. Scott Suggs
3. David Dudley
4. Keith Monson
5. Ish Monroe
6. Jacob Powroznik
7. Roy Hawk
8. Luke Clausen
9. Tim Klinger
10. Terry Bolton, Jr.

2010 Ouachita Central EverStart
1. Matthew Jones
2. Stetson Blaylock
3. Cary Bever
4. Shane Long
5. Keith Green
6. Cody Bird
7. Roy Hawk
8. Brandon Rhoden
9. Dennis Bean
10. Roger Harp

2007 Ouachita Forrest Wood Cup
1. Scott Suggs
2. Darrel Robertson
3. Clark Wendlandt
4. Mike Surman
5. Bryan Thrift
6. Greg Pugh
7. John Devere
8. David Dudley
9. Anthony Gagliardi
10. Jack L. Wade

2005 Hamilton Forrest Wood Cup
1. George Cochran
2. Chad Grigsby
3. John Murray
4. Dean Rojas
5. Anthony Gagliardi
6. Alton Jones
7. J.T. Kenney
8. Wesley Strader
9. Robert Karbas, Jr.
10. Takahiro Omori

2002 Ouachita Bassmaster Central Open
1. Greg Hackney
2. Stephen Browning
3. David Truax
4. Edwin Evers
5. Mark Davis
6. Cody Bird
7. Brent Chapman
8. David Junk
9. Elton Luce
10. Jason Barber

2011 Forrest Wood Cup Field
Chad Aaron -- Ethridge, Tenn.
Matt Arey -- Shelby, N.C.
Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, S.C.
Cody Bird -- Granbury, Texas
Stetson Blaylock -- Benton , Ark.
Terry Bolton -- Jonesboro, Ark.
Allen Boyd -- Salem, Ind.
Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Ala.
Bill Chapman -- Salt Rock, W. Va.
Glenn Chappelear -- Acworth, Ga.
Jason Christie -- Park Hill, Okla.
Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wash.
Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, Tenn.
John Cox -- Debary, Fla.
Robbie Dodson -- Harrison, Ark.
David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va.
Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Calif.
Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Texas
Jake Gipson -- Niceville, Fla.
Bret Gouvea -- Redding , Calif.
Jeremy Guidry -- Opelousas, La.
Brett Hite -- Phoenix, Ariz.
Ronald Hobbs Jr. -- Orting, Wash.
JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fla.
Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ark.
Stacey King -- Reeds Spring, Mo.
Koby Kreiger -- Okeechobee, Fla.
Robert Lee -- Angels Camp, Calif.
Dave Lefebre -- Union City, Pa.
Shane Long -- Sarcoxie, Mo.
Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Ala.
Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fla.
Cody Meyer -- Grass Valley, Calif.
Jeff Michels -- Lakehead, Calif.
Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, Wis.
Andy Montgomery -- Grover , N.C.
Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tenn.
Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Minn.
Shawn Murphy -- Nicholasville, Ky.
Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ark.
Clifford Pirch -- Payson, Ariz.
Jacob Powroznik -- Prince George, Va.
Mike Reynolds -- Modesto, Calif.
Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Okla.
Mark Rose -- Marion, Ark.
Shad Schenck -- Waynetown, Ind.
Darrin Schwenkbeck -- Varysburg, N.Y.
Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, Ark.
Kevin Snider -- Elizabethtown, Ky.
Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tenn.
Jon Strelic -- El Cajon, Calif.
Randall Tharp -- Gardendale, Ala.
Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, N.C.
Vic Vatalaro -- Kent, Ohio
Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Texas
Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, Ind.
Jay Yelas -- Corvallis, Ore.
Chris Zaldain -- San Jose, Calif.