Yelas’ year
Jay Yelas wins Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year for a second time
The 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Land O’Lakes Angler of Year race came right down to the wire. Entering the final event on the Detroit River in July, Jay Yelas had a mere 26-point lead over 2004 winner Shinichi Fukae. But at the end of the day-two weigh-in, the results were final. Yelas, who hails from Corvallis, Ore., finished 25th in the tournament with 10 fish weighing 34 pounds. After the math was done, Yelas emerged as the winner – 20 points ahead of Fukae – and became only the second angler in the history of the FLW Tour to earn the honor a second time.
As tough as the competition was, Yelas earned 1,074 out of a possible 1,200 points through six Tour events, and he relied on several key lures along the way. “Swimbaits provided many big fish for me, and Berkley Gulp! on drop-shot rigs also contributed to my success,” Yelas said. “Those two techniques were my bread and butter this year.”
His inspiration to use these two presentations came from fishing the Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division. “The Series stop at the Delta was a learning experience for me,” Yelas recalled. “Those guys taught me a lot about the drop-shot and swimbait techniques. For some reason, the latest techniques originate out West, and it is important to expose yourself to all the techniques if you want to be competitive these days. It is fun to apply different skills and catch fish coast-to-coast with them.”
The Tour kicked off in February on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas. After finishing 78th, the Yamaha pro’s confidence was a bit shaken, but he knew he was on the right track. “I was fishing the same areas as the leaders,” Yelas said. “I just didn’t get the bites I needed, but after that tournament, the fish got shallow enough to catch on swimbaits.”
He certainly got the bites he needed in the following three tournaments. At Fort Loudon-Tellico lakes in March, he placed sixth and followed that up with back-to-back second-place finishes at Lake Norman and Beaver Lake, respectively. At the Potomac River in June, Yelas went back to his roots by fishing a jig and worm to earn a solid 19th-place finish, and he used the Berkley Gulp! Goby on a drop-shot to secure his title in July on the Detroit River.
“I just fished to win each tournament,” Yelas said. “With the exception of the Detroit River tournament, I did not have the luxury to be conservative. I looked for big fish all season long, and that is what you need to do to beat these guys. They are the best fishermen in the world.”
After studying past results of Tour and Stren Series events, Yelas made the calculated decision to avoid the pitfall of Lake Erie’s bigger smallmouths and stay on the safe side by fishing Lake St. Clair. “I knew the potential of both bodies of water, and I thought I could produce the weight needed to win Angler of the Year on St. Clair without risking a potential disaster on the rough water of Lake Erie,” Yelas said. His estimate sealed his title.