Pundits’ Picks wrap-up

Mortenson wins Pundit of the Year. Plus, final thoughts from the crew.

2002 overall point totals:

1st) Gary Mortenson – 6,492
2nd) Rob Newell – 6,357
3rd) Jeff Schroeder – 6,163
4th) Dave Washburn – 6,138

Tournament victories:

Mortenson – 3 (Wheeler, Beaver, Old Hickory)
Newell – 3 (Okeechobee, Ouachita, Cross Lake)
Schroeder – 1 (Champlain)
Washburn – 0 (Ahem)
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Final thoughts

Rob Newell
Contributing editor, FLW Outdoors
Last tournament score (Cross Lake): 1,129

This Pundits’ Picks season has been a sick and twisted journey of highs and lows. The highest point, of course, was my recent domination at Cross Lake where four of my picks made it into the top 12, giving me 1,129 points, the highest score of any pundit this season.

And I think we can all agree that the abysmal low of the season was when Jeff accidentally won the Pundits’ Picks at Lake Champlain. Having four compacted wisdom teeth sawed from your jawbone without Novocain is a mere tickle in the throat compared to Jeff Schroeder strutting around Punditville serving up crow a la carte.

I have mixed feelings about my approach of picking Clark Wendlandt for the top spot in every tournament this season. While the notion seemed ingenious when “White Shoes” Wendlandt was scoring top 20s at every turn, it cost me dearly at Ouachita and Old Hickory when he, quite honestly, did not live up to my expectations.

One of the many criticisms that we pundits received from our millions and millions of adoring fans this year was that we all picked the same anglers every tournament. There is a simple reason for this: pride. Early on I tried to venture “outside the box” and forego a few solid picks like Kevin VanDam or Gary Klein for some snappy up-and-comers. Verdict: brutal mistake. I can still hear Jeff’s vicious, high-pitched cackle when I informed him that I left VanDam out of my picks. Going into a fantasy-fishing challenge without VanDam in your lineup is like going into a fishing tournament without rods in your boat. VanDam is just not going to bomb. The guy is always worth some solid points. Picking him means having a head start before the contest even begins.

Staple anglers such as VanDam, Clunn, Klein, Martens, Wendlandt and Nixon are going to consistently deliver some higher-end points. Not picking these guys is a sure way to find yourself at the bottom of the heap.

But as I leave this tumultuous Pundits’ Picks season just as I started it – on top – I would like to offer a few tips to my fledgling fellow pundits as ways for them to stay sharp during the off season:

– Play some fantasy football or fantasy NASCAR this fall to gain more confidence in your picking abilities.

– Spend your winter researching the anglers. Call all 175 participants and conduct a survey on how they feel about each of next year’s events.

– Personally visit and fish each one of the lakes on next year’s schedule so you can see the lake through the anglers’ eyes.

– Watch reruns of “Who Wants to be A Millionaire.” Remember: Always go with your first instinct; there are no “lifelines” in the real world of professional fishing punditry.

– Consult Sister Cleo often.

Jeff Schroeder
Editor, FLWOutdoors.com
Last tournament score: 1,073

Reflecting on the entire year of Pundits’ Picks brings to mind one maddening certainty: It’s better to be lucky than good. Proverbially speaking, there isn’t a truer truism in fishing; and the same concept applies nicely to the idea of picking the top six fishermen before each tournament. It’s nearly impossible, so you might as well get lucky. As fishing pundits, we’re full of analytical huff-and-puff, but the results proved that we generally don’t have any idea what we’re talking about.

To wit, this was overheard in past Pundits’ Picks columns during the season:

“I’ve now reached a point where I am incapable of losing to any of them.”
– Deluded pundit Gary Mortenson (Pundits’ Picks, June 14), who subsequently lost the next Pundits’ Picks – to me.

“The odds of him having two disappointing tournaments in a row are about the same as Jeff winning the Pundits’ Picks. It isn’t going to happen.”
– Misguided pundit Dave Washburn (Pundits’ Picks, April 12), referring to pro Clark Wendlandt. To his credit, Washburn was half correct: Wendlandt, indeed, didn’t really have two “disappointing” tournaments in a row, but I did, in fact, win the Lake Champlain Pundits’ Picks.

“If you don’t pick VanDam, you get slaughtered by other pundits. When you get slaughtered by other pundits, you have to lick shoes. I know about these things from experience.”
– Foul-mouthed pundit Newell (Pundits’ Picks, June 14), taking his medicine after I beat him at Old Hickory Lake.

I think that about sums up what we’ve been dealing with here. Hats off to the luckiest of us all, Gary, for the overall title, Rob for finally busting through that pesky thousand-point “Newell Line” and Dave for, well, just fighting the good fight. 2003 is another year. I’m going to bring my lucky hat.

Gary Mortenson – Pundit of the Year
Editor, FLWOutdoors.com
Last tournament score: 1,072

Well, the inaugural season of the highly entertaining Pundits’ Picks column has come to an end and the overall winner was – drum roll, please – me. Although I couldn’t cap the season with a victory due to the extremely novel format of this year’s FLW Championship, I can rest peacefully each night knowing that I am the 2002 Pundit of the Year.

However, unlike Yelas’ stiff battle for the 2002 FLW Angler-of-the-Year crown, this contest wasn’t even close. After logging an impressive 6,492 total points for the season, I was actually amazed to find that my closest competitor (Rob – a former FLW Tour co-angler) was still 135 points behind me. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, I won’t even get into the overall point totals of Jeff and Dave because my goal here is not to mock my fellow pundits (who somehow managed to turn in a parade of dismal performances one week after another).

No, my goal is simply to state that when push comes to shove, there is only one pundit who has the ability to take the “fantasy” out of fantasy fishing, and that’s … not Jeff, Rob or Dave.

Dave Washburn
Executive editor, FLW Outdoors
Last tournament score: 1,031

I feel compelled to pay homage to Gary’s mastery of Pundits’ Picks. With three first-place finishes this season, he truly deserves to win the Pundit-of-the-Year title. As for the rest of the pundits, I demand a recount.

How did I possibly finish fourth? I started the season with second-place finishes on Lake Okeechobee and Wheeler Lake. Then I broke the 1,000-point barrier (the Newell Line) on Old Hickory Lake and finished second for a third time. On Lake Champlain, I surged past the Newell Line for a second consecutive time only to finish third, by one point, to the master himself, Gary.

Unfortunately, I turned in dismal performances on Lake Ouachita and Beaver Lake, giving up 113 points to my fellow pundits. Those critical points would have been more than enough to put me solidly in third place and ahead of Jeff, which is all I was really after anyway.

Thank you to all of my fans who sent condolences. Your cards and letters have been inspirational. The fruit basket was tasty, too. This experience has made me stronger, and I will be back next year in top pundit form. I’ve already worked out a rigorous training schedule for the off-season wherein I substitute touchdowns and field goals for five-bass limits. So far, I’m three for three.

Congratulations, Gary, Rob and Jeff.