AOY Update: Kentucky Lake
Morgan leads with one event remaining
Of course it would come down to this. Veteran pro Andy Morgan is once again in the driver’s seat in the Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year race with just one event to go.
Morgan, of Dayton, Tenn., took over the lead from Keystone Light pro Jeff Sprague at the Tour event on Kentucky Lake, which was presented by Mercury. The two-time AOY winner looks to join David Dudley and Clark Wendlandt as the Tour’s only three-time Anglers of the Year.
Standing in his way is the Northern gem that is Lake Champlain, where truly any angler can find a bite that suits his strengths, and the bonus fun factors of smallmouths, big wind and big runs only add excitement to the finale. Looking to catch Morgan is a quartet of young, accomplished pros who would love to snatch away the king’s crown.
Here’s further breakdown of the top five AOY contenders and their chances.
1. Andy Morgan – Dayton, Tenn. – 896 points
On day four of the Kentucky Lake weigh-in, Morgan actually referred to himself by the nickname that was given to him by fellow pro Cody Meyer: G.O.A.T. It’s an acronym for Greatest of All Time. Granted, Morgan was making a joke about the scorching hot weather (“This G.O.A.T. is cooked, and this G.O.A.T. is going home,” he said.), not bragging on his accomplishments – he’s about as humble as a superstar comes. Still, maybe it’s a sign that Morgan is acknowledging his greatness and that he’s confident he can bring another AOY trophy home to east Tennessee.
If he wins the title, Morgan can call himself whatever he wants, because he’d have won three AOY titles in four seasons. Can you say dynasty?
By this point in his career, Morgan should know his way around Lake Champlain. He’s previously admitted that he doesn’t enjoy catching Northern smallmouths. Doesn’t care for ’em at all, in fact. He’d gladly catch them if it was the only way to make a check, but odds are he’s going south to Ticonderoga to put a flipping stick in his hand and catch shallow largemouths.
That’s bad news for the pros behind him in the standings. Morgan is a flipping master. He’s also perhaps the most consistent angler in the history of the sport. In the last few years he’s shown that he knows how to close when the pressure is on.
Will it be three, or will one of the young guns behind him get No. 1?
2. Jeff Sprague – Point, Texas – 889
Whoa, Jeff Sprague is human. The Texan came into Kentucky Lake on the heels of four straight top-20 finishes – a ridiculous streak – and appeared to have no kryptonite, but the big lake picked on him a little bit. Sprague finished in 71st place and is now seven points behind the Morgan. With these two hammers at the top, we can expect to see an outright shootout in New York.
The point deficit could be a blessing in disguise for the Keystone Light pro. Prior to Kentucky, every reporter on the FLW staff, fellow anglers and just about anyone who follows fishing that came across Sprague was asking him about the AOY race. That’s enough pressure to be a distraction.
Now Sprague has the advantage of being out of the spotlight just a little bit. That’ll be a refreshing change at Champlain, where Sprague has some work to do. He’s been to Champlain once before as a co-angler but says that he didn’t gain a lot of knowledge of the fishery on that particular trip.
I’m guessing here, but Sprague, a shallow-water expert, will probably be in the Ticonderoga convoy. He should be able to find a pattern that makes him feel at home a long, long way from Texas.
3. Jeff Gustafson – Keewatin, Ontario – 873
Though he made a check at Kentucky Lake, Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson slipped just a tad off his previous pace with a 50th-place finish. He’ll have to overcome a 23-point deficit to claim the crown.
Most folks believe the Ontario native will have an advantage over the mostly Southern Tour field when he gets to New York – or maybe not. He’s never been to Champlain before, so he’ll be relying on his knowledge of natural, Northern lakes to get it done.
4. Jacob Wheeler – Indianapolis, Ind. – 871
Former Cup champ Jacob Wheeler pounded on more than 76 pounds of Kentucky Lake bass to finish seventh at stop No. 5. He’s in the hunt for AOY but will need to rebound from the 119th-place bomb that he dropped back in 2012 on his first visit to Champlain.
Then again, that was Wheeler’s rookie season. This is now, and Wheeler’s a bona fide superstar these days. He’ll be on the right track at the finale to make a run at Morgan and Sprague.
5. Stetson Blaylock – Benton, Ark. – 869
Stetson Blaylock is doing everything he needs to do to stay in the AOY hunt, but the four guys ahead of him have been just a teensy bit better. Blaylock hasn’t finished worse than 45th this season, yet he finds himself in fifth and 27 points behind Morgan.
Blaylock will probably need to log a career-best finish on Champlain in the final event to win AOY.
The rest of the top 10
6. Michael Neal – Dayton, Tenn. – 868
7. John Cox – Debary, Fla. – 868
8. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ontario – 864
9. Jamie Horton – Centerville, Ala. – 837
10. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 834