FLW Cup anglers map various strategies on Hamilton
Summertime fishing in Arkansas can be tricky under any circumstances, even for professional anglers in a world-championship tournament.
Expect challenging conditions for the 52-man field in the FLW Cup, back on Lake Hamilton this week after a 14-year hiatus. All anglers, some past champions included, fish Friday and Saturday for a chance to make Sunday’s final round. Andrew Hulsey Fish Hatchery, on the south end of the lake, is the launch site at 6:30 each morning with Bank OZK Arena host to weigh-ins at 5 p.m. daily.
Sunday’s session at the scales follows a free Trace Adkins concert starting at 4 p.m. The winner receives $300,000 cash with defending champion Clent Davis among those trying to become the first two-time Cup winner. Tournament sponsors are Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
“The most exciting thing for me is to get the chance to fish for $300,000,” said Lynchburg, Va., pro David Dudley, FLW Tour Angler of the Year for a fourth time. “It gets my blood flowing. I also want to become the first man to ever win two FLW Cups.”
Davis, a former tour rookie of the year, won last year’s Cup on Lake Ouachita, where the tournament was scheduled to return for a fifth time. Citing “superior cellular coverage” and expecting “improved fishing conditions,” tournament officials announced a week after Davis’ victory that the 2019 site would be Lake Hamilton.
George Cochran, of Hot Springs, won the 2005 Cup literally fishing out of his backyard, working a buzzbait about 300 yards from his house on Lake Hamilton. The same shallow-water strategy that made Cochran a winner could pay off again this week, although a combination of strategies may be necessary to prevail. One estimate is that several anglers will average 10 to
12 pounds a day to be in the hunt for the title on Sunday.
“Summertime fishing is always tough, but they’ll be biting,” Dudley said. “Hamilton is a small lake
(7,200 surface acres), but it has miles and miles of shoreline, so I think it’ll fish pretty big. It’s going to be a grind, but I’d expect nothing less in August.”
Lancing, Tenn., angler Brad Knight, the 2015 Cup champion on Lake Ouachita, thinks the winning angler will need 13 pounds a day and that anglers will be able to fish their strengths.
“Some people call it junk-fishing, but I call it hustle,” Knight said. “We’re going to have to mix it up and it will be about putting in the hustle. You have just as good of a shot of winning with a buzzbait as you drop-shotting brush piles. We’re going to be able to catch fish however we feel most comfortable, but every decision and every fish will be critical.”
Maximizing one’s time on the water is important, anglers often changing spots late in the round to land a tell-tale kicker bass.
Although not fishing for points, as in other tournaments, “You still need to catch a limit (five bass) so when you do catch a good one it’ll push you a little farther ahead,” said Maylene, Ala., pro Josh Reed. “I think I figured out how to catch a limit (Sunday). I just can’t figure out how to catch a big one.”
According to an online report at www.flwfishing.com, a boater in a Ranger Z520L with a 250-horsepower Evinrude 2 requires about 15 minutes to get from Carpenter Dam, which impounds Lake Hamilton, to Blakeley Mountain Dam, which separates Hamilton from Lake Ouachita.
In a practice round Monday, Isle, Minn., pro Josh Douglas reported winding a buzzbait around docks after covering a large area of the lake on the previous day.
“I didn’t fish any of it,” Douglas said. “I’ve got about a hundred spots to fish tomorrow.”