Setting an ESPN Fantasy Fishing Line-up for Lake Wheeler

First off, wow I had no idea Wheeler was this week until I got my Fantasy Fishing email reminder from ESPN to make my picks; usually I am much better then that, kind of caught me off guard. So lesson #1, go into your account and click the box that says you want a reminder, it works! Also, if you have not done so lately, click on the tab that say “Renegotiate Salaries”, if you have Ike on your team, you will get $.5 of cap space back after last weeks debacle at Dardanelle. That is something you should do after every event!

Lake Wheeler is a TVA impoundment, has good grass as well as all kinds of channel swings, shell beds and every other submerged structure an angler could ask for. Sounds like things are shifting towards post-spawn in this area now. That would setup great for your deep water structure guys, they can get in the right area and catch fish staging, and might get both coming & going. I am sure there will be a couple sight fishermen in the Top 12, but that is usually a crap shoot to pick from.

There is a ton of local talent to pick from for Wheeler, just look at all the pros from Alabama!

With the exception of Smith Mountain, we have 3 of 4 TVA lakes on the schedule, so most of us should be able to lock into a somewhat more stable roster for awhile now. When I think back to the really good year, I had in BASS Fantasy fishing, I had the same 4 guys on my roster almost all year and just flip flopped that #5 angler to match up to lakes. I think I have been doing to much changing this year, so this week I did some wholesale changes.

Here are a few guys that I think would be solid picks that are not on my team. Randy Howell, Greg Vinson, Boyd Duckett, & Alton Jones. The breakdown on my team is as follows:
KVD – He will likely be on my team all year, he should be near dominate on these TVA lakes.
Matt Herren – Reehm got the axe, so I am picking up Herren, should be a great value, for the money probably on my roster til the bitter end.
Skeet Reese – Cost me some money to dump the Ike the Space Monkey in favor of Skeet, but Skeet is probably 1A right behind KVD over the past couple seasons.
Timmy Horton – I look for Horton to catch multiple 4 lb bass on the same cast with his Shaved Fat Free Shad on Wheeler, Guntersville & Kentucky Lakes!
Gerald Swindle– Hack was still too expensive after grabbing Reese, so G-Man seemed like a good value and should do well on these Alabama lakes and he loves docks, so Smith mountain should suit him well too!

So here are my Lake Wheeler picks, you will notice, only KVD remains from my Dardanelle disaster of a roster:

Rich’s Roster
Angler 1	Angler 2	Angler 3	Angler 4	Angler 5

Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI	Skeet Reese Auburn, CA	Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL	Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL	Matthew Herren Trussville, AL
MKT: $24.8 (+0.3) LKD: $24.5	MKT: $23.8 LKD: $23.8	MKT: $19.9 LKD: $19.9	MKT: $16.8 LKD: $16.8	MKT: $13.1 LKD: $13.1