Heading in to the Home Stretch
Deciding whether to play it safe to make the Cup or gamble for the win at the final two events?
(The writer's opinions and observations expressed here are his own, and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views, policies or positions of FLW.)
With most of the Walmart FLW Tour already in the books, a lot will be determined in the next few weeks – a lot of very important things, such as Angler of the Year and who’s going to be among the 35 Tour qualifiers to the Forrest Wood Cup.
Personally, I’m more concerned with the latter as a 100th-place bomb at the Lake Hartwell event dashed any hopes I had of collecting an AOY title this year. The rest of the year has gone pretty well, my high point being a fifth-place finish at Beaver Lake. Just saying I hate Beaver Lake would be an understatement. That lake has taken so much from me over the years that I wouldn’t even know where to start to explain.
However, I did get to punch the lake back this year, and I mean that literally. On the first day of the event, the first bite I had on my 6th Sense crankbait was a 6-10 troll of a Beaver Lake largemouth. When that fish got in the net, I immediately put it in the livewell, jumped back on the front deck, fell to my knees, reached over the side of the boat and punched the water as hard as I possibly could.
It was one of those moments that come along so rarely in life that I will never forget it. It was almost Herculean, as my fist made contact with the body of my enemy. It felt like years of fishing shaky-head worms and hours sitting in sponsor booths at Expos after another poor finish were wiped from my memory. It was as if Beaver Lake’s witchcraft spell was finally broken with one cast of a crankbait and one windmill roundhouse from the deck of my Ranger.
The rest of the event was actually pretty fun, as I stayed with the changing fish all but the second day when I only weighed 9-something-pounds. If not for that day I would have had a serious chance to win. How would that headline have read? Who knows, but I’m sure Rob Newell would have had fun with that one.
Well, now it’s on to Kentucky Lake and then Champlain. These are two of my very favorite fisheries. I’ve had a Tour top 10 on Kentucky Lake, plus several other good finishes in various tournaments there. I had a victory on Champlain a few years ago in a Costa event, and I’ve had several top 10s there in tournaments as well. I’m excited for these next couple events, but I can assure you I will not be foolish either. Sitting at 20th in the AOY standings, I must be careful not to gamble too much.
I just need a couple decent finishes to make the Cup. However, playing it conservatively is not a strong suit of mine. I like to win. I like to win for two reasons. One, because I am a competitor, and it burns deep in my blood. A fire as bright as ever. The second reason is money. There’s a $95,000 difference between first place and second – pretty substantial in my book. I wish I had the luxury some anglers express when they say the money doesn’t matter to them; it matters to me.
Fishing is how I pay my bills, and I can pay a lot more mortgage payments, entry fees, insurance, gas, etc., with wins than I can with “good points finishes.” However, “good points finishes” get you to the Cup. Winning there could cover one heck of a lot of payments, considering the prize money and possible endorsements afterward.
This is all true. But the question in my mind as I look forward to Kentucky Lake and Champlain is how do you not gamble and try to win on fisheries where you know how to win? Maybe I can find a happy medium between going for it and being consistent at the same time. Yeah, probably not. I’m gonna take my Gambler baits and be a gambling man … See you on the other side.