AOY Again

Evinrude pro Andy Morgan wins 2014 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year

Last year Andy Morgan put his hands on his first Walmart FLW Tour Kellogg’s Angler of the Year trophy in front of his home crowd on Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee. This year the venue may have changed, but it seems only fitting that he claimed his second AOY title from the Tennessee portion of Kentucky Lake. It wasn’t an easy victory for Morgan; in fact, he finished the event on Kentucky Lake in 14th place which was one spot ahead of runner-up Cody Meyer. He won the title by just nine points over Meyer.

“I hate to see the season end after the year both Cody [Meyer] and I had,” said Morgan of his dominating performance. “I feel bad that we both had these kinds of seasons in the same year. Cody will have his time and he will win one of these.”

Despite being one of the most consistent anglers on Tour, Morgan never dreamed of capturing back-to-back AOYs.

“Realistically, you can’t expect to go out and win the Angler of the Year title,” Morgan went on to say. “You have to go out and try to get every dollar you can at every event. And honestly, you need to just try and survive. I have learned how to survive and if you do that then the pieces will fall into place for a good season.”

To say Morgan’s season was fantastic would be an understatement. His worst finish of the year came at Sam Rayburn with a 22nd-place finish. Before that, Morgan took 13th at Okeechobee and 2nd from Hartwell. Jump to Beaver Lake and Morgan again found himself in the runner-up spot. On Pickwick he landed in 21st and ultimately culminated in his 14th-place showing this week.

Morgan is thankful to all of his sponsors for their support: Livingston Lures, Zoom Bait Company, Bullet Boats, Evinrude, War Eagle Lures, New Breed Archery, Orca coolers and Sheffield Financial.

When asked about how it felt to hoist the trophy for the second year Morgan said, “Dude, I still don’t think this has sunk in yet.”

A formal trophy presentation will take place on the weigh-in stage at the Paris, Tenn., Walmart tomorrow prior to the final-day Tour weigh-in.