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WATERSKI MagazineWakeboarding history doesn't even date back to the beginning of the Clinton administration. To wit, riders have been turning Lake Pickett (30 minutes east of Orlando) into a wake pool for just the past three years, but it's already known around the nation as a classic “stomping” ground.
There's no telling how many photo shoots Pickett has hosted in that time or the number of moves that have been trademarked. It isn't like news helicopters are hovering or drivers are braking to take a look. Pickett is set back in the sticks and is only accessible to homeowners or renters. On some days, not a single fin will pierce the water. On others it stays perfectly calm until a pack of 20 riders and four boats comes unleashed after breakfast, around 2 p.m.
“It's nothing but cows and rednecks out here, but all the pros have touched the lake at one time or another,” says Pickett resident Markham Gross, co-founder of Hardline ropes and handles.
Gator Lutgert and Scott Byerly are two notable riders who lead their own galleries onto
Pickett. Pro jumper/rider Freddy Krueger moved from Louisiana to the
Pickett area earlier this year in hopes that some of the innovation would seep into his repertoire.
“I needed to get around more wakeboarding,” says Krueger. “It makes sense to be here where it's happening.”
