Man of steel

David Walker has seen some mock-up images, but he feels that experience has not prepared him enough for the surreal feeling he will undoubtedly have when his mug shows up in his local grocery’s cereal aisle. By winning the 1999 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year, awarded to the fisherman who garners the most points along the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, part of the prize package includes every American boy’s dream of being featured on a Wheaties box.

“It’s really weird. Even though I’ve seen some pictures of it, I still haven’t seen it in the store,” Walker said. “That’s going to be strange.”

The entire notion of an affiliation with “The Breakfast of Champions” seemed more than a little strange in the summer of 1998, a time when Walker’s eight-year marriage to Dawn was crumbling before him. Before he could begin to repair the relationship, it had ended and the couple divorced in June. Feeling a bit lost in the unfortunate whirlwind of personal events, Walker, 33, revisited his once far-fetched dream of competitive fishing as a living.

“My marriage ending wasn’t anything I had seen coming. I was taken totally by surprise,” he says. “I was always wanting to (fish professionally), but I was kind of waiting to get that big win and the money to pursue it full-time. I was at a point in my life when I was asking myself, `Now what are you going to do?’ And my answer was, `It’s just me now, and I’m going to go fishing.'”

In October of 1998, Walker quit his job of six years as a punch press operator for Southeastern Machine and Tool in Corbin, Ky., to pursue the dream that the routine and conservatism of his domestic life had smothered.

“They didn’t much believe me (at work). I knew in the back of my mind that if I was broke and homeless, I’d be back,” Walker said. “Factory work means long, hard hours, and I never had the time to call (potential sponsors) and go to the shows and all of those things you have to do. Now, I knew I was going to do whatever I could to keep from doing the work I was doing. I was never happy doing it, and I wanted to change that.”

While countless fishermen dream of making it on the professional tournament circuits, few ever realize it. And Walker was no sure thing based on previous performance. A consistent angler, he had never won a tournament. But Walker was counting on consistency to make it in his new profession. A long-time Red Man Tournament Trail participant, he had managed to win the points title in 1994 and again in 1998 – when he finally broke through with a first place finish. He found other successes quickly as well.

An 11th place finish on Lake Okeechobee began his FLW season. He stayed in Florida for the week in a 1972 van, lovingly nicknamed the Mystery Machine after the ghost-chasing vehicle from the cartoon Scooby-Doo, with close friend and long-time angler Jack Bell. The next weekend, he fished the same water to a fifth-place finish in an EverStart Series event. He was the highest finisher who owned a Ranger boat (Walker is sponsored by Ranger and Evinrude), qualifying him for the Ranger Millennium M1 coming up in November in Cypress Gardens, Fla. The winner of that event will receive up to $1 million. What was most important to Walker, however, was that he had financed a year’s worth of entry fees.

“In two weeks, I had made near what I made in the factory in a year,” he said. “Then everything was cool. I had always fished well on Okeechobee. The past three tournaments there I had finished 9th, 10th, and 11th, so I was counting on doing well. But I didn’t know if the pressure of doing it professionally would hurt me and that worried me. But it seemed to actually help. When the heat is on, it somehow seems to help me.”

Walker and Bell, who at 62, has seen his own share of success including a spot in the 1988 BASS Masters Classic and several Red Man Tournament Trail highlights, continued to work together. They pre-fished every tournament, each taking the hot spots in competition when they needed them most.

“We didn’t have his fish and my fish,” Bell says. “Whoever needed them took them. Sometimes during the tournaments, we’d know one of us couldn’t even get to the best spot we had because of sharing the boat with somebody who wanted to be way across the lake with their half of the time, so the other one would go get the fish.”

Through his first four Wal-Mart FLW events, Walker had finished no lower than 12th place and lead the points race after just two tournaments. “Everyone was kidding me about how I was going to be on the Wheaties box, but usually who was in the points lead after two events is nothing more than a good trivia question,” Walker said.

“He is one tough fisherman and he never lets up,” Bell observed, adding that Walker pre-fishes with the same tireless zeal most anglers save for tournament days. “He’s still tying line at 11 at night and ready to go the next morning. We wouldn’t always be out there earlier than everyone else, but we would be out there longer.

“That’s the hardest thing to do – to keep yourself motivated for the pre-fishing-but he is always working very hard. He’s very determined and fun to be around.”

In fact, all who have contact with Walker notice his pleasant demeanor and sense of humor. He credits Bell for helping him maintain his cool over the course of the season. Bell said Walker did not discuss his divorce much during the season but believes having a friend close at hand probably helped him keep his mind on fishing.

Much like the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship, the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year rewards consistency, Walker’s strong suit. Just as NASCAR drivers know to win points championships they must keep their cars out of the wall and on the track, anglers on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour are trying to avoid blanking. Walker would need all of his focus for the final event, having seen his once commanding lead dwindle to nearly nothing after the fifth FLW stop in Memphis. The Mississippi River yielded many bass and Walker’s two-day total of 13 pounds, 8 ounces was not enough to qualify for the third day of competition – the tour’s equivalent to a DNF. His 96th place showing left him with a one-point lead over Craig Powers. Alton Jones and fishing legend Roland Martin were also very much in the hunt.

“I thought this was going to be another deal where I got the rug pulled out from under me,” Walker said. “And if it was, well, I wasn’t going to deal with that very well.”

Walker put his consistency and work ethic back to work on the season’s finale at Lake St. Clair. Walker made the cut to the third day and finished 7th with a five bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces. He finished 29 points ahead of Martin and 48 in front of Pete Thliveros, who won the season closer in Detroit. Now, along with appearances in the national media, Walker will be immortalized on the cereal box that features outstanding athletes.

“I joke about it a lot, but it really is special. And I think the timing was right,” Walker said. “A year ago, I didn’t know what I was doing. As a fisherman, on a scale from 1-10, I think I’m a 6, a 7 at the most. I still have a lot to learn.”

In the meantime, Walker joins last year’s champion, Denny Brauer, as the only two competitive anglers to be featured by Wheaties. He hopes that his rise from obscurity into the national spotlight will inspire other people to pursue their dreams.

“I know how fortunate I am to have this success right out of the chute,” he said. “And from a certain standpoint, I can see where it would have been great to have Roland Martin on the Wheaties box. I mean he’s a guy who has achieved about everything there is to achieve in fishing, and it would have really capped his career. But I think it’s kind of nice to show people that if you put your mind to something and commit yourself to it, then there is no limit to what you might accomplish.”