Strader Maintains Lead At Halfway Mark
AOY race narrows with Walmart FLW Tour’s best
Three down, three to go.
Midway through the 2015 Walmart FLW Tour, Tennessee pro Wes Strader is in first place in the Angler of the Year race, and his prospects for winning it are as good as anyone’s. Two upcoming events, at lakes Eufaula and Chickamauga, “fish” in a way that suits his style, and he has a good track record on the Potomac River, the last Tour stop of 2015. A good finishing kick could earn the veteran his first AOY title.
Strader (574 points) is currently 11 points ahead of Luke Clausen (563), with the likes of Bryan Thrift, Scott Canterbury, John Cox, Matt Arey and 2013-2014 AOY Andy Morgan not far behind. A bevy of promising newcomers rounds out the top 10. Strader got where he is by finishing third at Lake Toho, 14th at Lewis Smith Lake and 12th at Beaver Lake. He’s been climbing toward an AOY title for a long time, having built an enviable career. During the past four years he hasn’t finished lower than 17th in the standings. His best finish so far was seventh, that coming in 2011.
How does Strader like his chances of winning his first AOY title in 19 years as a Tour pro? Considering the competition, he’s a bit bemused and perhaps not just a little intimidated.
“I really don’t know how I feel, except I know I’ve got a bunch of wolves behind me – snappin’ and jawin’ and tryin’ to get me,” says the lanky, homespun angler from Spring City, Tenn. “I’m like the guy that comes up on a grizzly bear: Feet, don’t fail me now.”
Of course, every angler strives for that goal of being recognized as the best. To Strader and other competitors, winning the AOY title is tantamount to proving to the world that you’ve reached the pinnacle of your profession. Considering the derbies ahead, Strader has to feel pretty good about his chances. It’s likely he’ll do well at Chickamauga, his home lake, whether an inshore or offshore pattern dominates. The same holds true for Lake Eufaula, where ledge fishing is apt to be the winning pattern. The Potomac River, which is the final stop of the year, is the wild card. Though Strader has done well there in the past, the tidewater fishery seems to change from year to year due to the vagaries of coastal storms, fluctuations in aquatic weed growth and even fish kills.
Strader believes that the Angler of the Year designation is the greatest title in professional fishing, because it’s emblematic of an angler’s consistency of excellence. Even so, he’s trying to put the AOY race out of his mind and focus on fishing his best in each tournament.
“Right now in my career, everything is way better than before. I’ve got direct relationships with my sponsors, and that has really freed me up,” he says. “I’m not under any pressure to perform, and I can just concentrate on fishing as well as I can. I feel fortunate to be where I am right now.”
There’s also the realization that just as the AOY designation is within reach of him, it’s within reach of every fisherman in the top 10, and that jacks up the motivation factor for everyone.
“If I’m still leading going into the last tournament [on the Potomac], I’ll worry about it,” says Strader. “Anybody fishing the Tour is capable of winning the AOY, especially the guys right up there with me. Andy Morgan is that big grizzly with the big claws. You don’t want him behind you chasing you – he’s got long legs.”