Meet the Next Ledge Master
Lambert rallies for Rookie of the Year title
Jason Lambert of Pickwick Dam, Tenn., rallied to solidify his rank as No. 1 in the Rookie of the Year race while also trying to round out his season with another top-10 finish this week in the Walmart FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake presented by Evinrude.
“Honestly, my goals this season were to win the Rookie of the Year title and qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup,” said Lambert. “It feels great to accomplish both in my first season.”
While this may be Lambert’s first season on the FLW Tour he is certainly no stranger to making noise in the fishing world. Aside from guiding and doing electronics training, Lambert has also been cashing checks on Pickwick and Kentucky lakes for the past several years. His most recent accomplishments came from his second-place finish on Kentucky Lake back during the Rayovac FLW Series event in May and his top-10 finish on Pickwick Lake at the previous FLW Tour stop.
“Obviously, I was pretty excited about this season because of Pickwick and Kentucky at the end of the schedule,” Lambert explained. “I was really worried about the lakes I have never seen before – Beaver, Hartwell and Sam Rayburn. Other than my performance on Rayburn, I'm very happy with how the year has gone.
“This [fishing on the FLW Tour] is something I have wanted to do for a long time now. It was just the right time in life to try it this season and I am happy I did it.”
Lambert earned his ROY title with solid finishes throughout the season. He kicked things off on Okeechobee with a 55th place. He then rolled to Hartwell to claim a modest 78th. He stumbled on Rayburn with a finish of 128th but came back on Beaver to lock down 26th place. His eighth-place showing on Pickwick put him in contention for the ROY trophy and by making the top-20 cut this week he brought it home.
“I want to thank my wife Ashley. Without her support I couldn’t have done this [win the Rookie of the Year title]. She has been behind me 100 percent and there is nothing more important than that.”
As the top-20 anglers takeoff from Paris Landing on Saturday, Lambert will be in seventh place with a two-day total of 43 pounds, 8 ounces to put this ledge master on pace to tackle yet another top 10.