Posted - June 20th, 2008 6:50pm CST

Coulter Jumps to Second, Martin In Third

Story by Dan O'Sullivan - Photos by  Matt Pangrac

Knoxville, TN – No matter what anyone said about the fifth stop on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour at Ft. Loudoun – Tellico Lakes, this tournament has been anything but boring. What was expected to be a grinding type of a tournament, with groups of small limits being the status quo.

All of the talk came to an end on Thursday as Scott Martin grabbed the early lead with 20 pounds, 11 ounces, followed closely by David Dudley, who smashed his own 20 pounds, 2 ounces to stand in second place. While the majority of the field was guessing that 11 to 12 pounds a day was going to make the top 10; but Koby Kreiger and Andy Montgomery shared the 10th spot with 15 pounds, 5 ounces.

While the weights were larger than expected, the day two chess match was about to begin as anglers look to catch just enough fish to make the cut, while saving fish for the next two days. As can happen when strategies begin to play out, anglers can rise or fall, and the leader board looks a lot different at the end of the second day.

Dudley, from Lynchburg, Va., was tight lipped about his program after the first day, saying that he needed to keep things quiet in order to protect his pattern. A veteran on the professional fishing stage with more than $2.1 million in FLW earnings, Dudley set out to catch just enough to get into the finals, and he did just that.

Dudley managed an early limit, weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces to run his two-day total to 35 pounds, 14 ounces to take the lead. In qualifying for his 25th trip into the top 10, he put himself in position for his fifth FLW victory.

Despite Dudley’s mastery of the East Tennessee impoundments, he only managed to maintain a lead of two pounds over Knoxville, Tenn. pro Brandon Coulter, who’s 17-pound, 7-ounce limit pushed him into 2nd position with 33 pounds, 14 ounces for the qualifying round. It is the second top 10 for Coulter this season, who finished 8th at Smith Lake, the second stop on the FLW Tour schedule.

First Day leader, Scott Martin, of Clewiston, Fla. pulled together 11 pounds, 12 ounces of Ft. Loudoun - Tellico bass to remain in striking distance of his third FLW victory. Martin’s total weight of 32 pounds, 7 ounces was good for 3rd place on the day, and his 16th career top 10.

Art Ferguson III, from St. Clair Shores, Mich. was cut day’s big climber, as he smashed an 18-pound, 11-ounce limit to jump from 19th position into 4th overall heading into the finals with 32 pounds, 5 ounces. The big jump gave Ferguson his second top 10 of the year as well, as he grabbed his 23rd career top 10 at Lake Norman earlier this year. 

Holding on to his 5th place position was Del Rio, Tex. pro Jerry Green, who bagged 14 pounds, 5 ounces for a total of 31 pounds, 5 ounces. His solid performance netted Green his seventh trip into the top 10.

Rounding out the top 6 was Blacksburg, S.C. pro Andy Montgomery, who jumped three places on Friday with 12 pounds, 10 ounces to bring his two day total to 27 pounds, 15 ounces; it is Montgomery’s 12th trip to the finals.

As day two came to a close, the final cut position was nearly four pounds higher than anticipated as North Carolina pro held down 10th position with 16 pounds, 15-ounces.

Dudley: Did Right
The leader had culled one fish by nine o’clock this morning, and decided to stop fishing, for black bass that is. When The BASS ZONE caught up to Dudley at eleven o’clock he had a spinning rod in his hand throwing a spinner, for white bass.

“I caught six keepers pretty early this morning off of river ledges on a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm, and quit fishing,” he said. “I knew I didn’t need anymore weight to get into the top 10, so there was no need to bloody up my areas, so I quit fishing for them.”

He said at one point he stopped on a new area and after removing the hooks from his crankbait, got six hard bites in a row. “My partner and I were laughing because they hit so hard,” he said. “It was funny to see how they reacted to the bait, and I haven’t hit that spot yet to fish it.”

One thing that might help him over the weekend is that the amount of traffic on the water tomorrow will be significantly less. “There’s been 200 boats running around these waters, and when they’re gone, I can move around and get on my schools.”

Coulter: Home Cooking
At 11:45, the hometown favorite had three small keepers in his livewell, at 12:30; he had culled everything and stopped fishing. “I caught everything on the Kali Jig (a jig his daughter helped him put together at home) and a Mann’s 30+ crankbait,” sad the Knoxville pro. “I must have hit 50 or more spots to get what I got, and I wouldn’t have done that had I not known this lake.”

Coulter said that he never targeted fish relating to the afternoon current; rather, he was upstream looking for active fish when he caught his three best fish. “I caught me three best fish off one spot, and the best one came on the 30+,” he said it was time to slow down after that. “I knew I had enough for the top 10, so I stopped fishing and tried to get my partner a limit.”

The key to Coulter’s day was to keep moving until he found active fish. “The morning bite was off today,” he revealed. “So, I kept moving. I will stop on a spot and make five or ten casts to the sweet spot, and if I don’t catch ‘em, I move on, that’s how I’ve been successful here.”

Martin: Multitasking
Martin reported that he caught some of his fish in the shallows, and some deep. The key for the Clewiston, Fla. pro is to find active baitfish, whether on his fishfinder or visibly. “If I’m in the shallow water I will see the shad up milling around,” he said. “But if I’m fishing ledges, I will see the activity on my fishfinder; then I know I’m on the right spots.”

He revealed that his approach utilizes three lures; depending on the water he is fishing. For shallow water he is using a Spro Little John crankbait and Aruku Shad lipless crankbait. When he heads deep, he picks up a Norman Lures DDD22.

He said that his fish had positioned themselves differently because of a lack of current, and he had to make some adjustments. “The fish weren’t as active today early,” he reported. “They didn’t start pulling any current until around one o’clock. I don’t need the current to get bites, but it certainly does help.” 

“If they pull some current tomorrow, I could do real well, I really stopped fishing today at around ten o’clock and went looking for other stuff; tomorrow could be real interesting.” 

Ferguson: Fortunate Timing
Had it not been for his co angler catching a 14-inch keeper at around 11:30, Art Ferguson might not had had as good a day as he did. “My Co-angler caught a fish on a Carolina Rig as I was about ready to leave a spot, and it was hooked really deep,” Ferguson said. “He was having all kinds of trouble with the fish, so as he was trying to unhook it, I made a cast with a jig, and caught a three and a half pounder, and then in the next 15 to 20 minutes, I caught all of my weight.”

He had been relying on a Carolina rig and Yamamoto Swimming Senko, but the bite didn’t pan out this morning, so he started running around. “So much of this is timing,” he said. “I just seem to get along with these TVA lakes.”

Green: Execution is Key
The Del Rio, Tex. pro said that he is fishing one spot in the middle of the lake where the river channel, a creek channel and a roadbed all intersect. He reported catching all of his fish on the spot, on multiple presentations, but the key has been execution.

“I’ve caught them on Carolina rigs, Texas Rigs, jigs, and crankbaits,” Green said. “I haven’t lost a fish all week, and it’s because Power Tackle got me some new rods that are tailor made for every presentation, and they have worked perfectly.”

Montgomery: Running Shallow Water
The South Carolina pro said he was in trouble until two o’clock this afternoon, and then the water began to run. “I culled three fish after that, and that is the reason I’m in the cut.”

He reported catching all of his fish shallow on a Chatterbait and a Shooter jig, and that the smaller field will probably help him. “I’ve been trying to run new water every day,” he said. “I’m running a pattern that seems to need new locations, so the rest of the weekend might be a little better; I might be all out of fish, but it could work out too.”

THE TOP 100 AFTER DAY TWO