Wendlandt lands spot on Kellogg’s box
Texan Clark Wendlandt, 34, joined America’s elite sports heroes as a cereal-box icon after winning the 2000 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title on Pickwick Lake during the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1 million Forrest Wood Open presented by Kellogg’s.
In addition to gracing the cover of some 3 million Kellogg’s-brand Corn Flakes and Frosted Mini-Wheats boxes, Wendlandt received $25,000 and an Evinrude-powered Ranger 518 VX bass boat.
Wendlandt is the second angler ever to be featured on Kellogg’s boxes. 1999 Angler of the Year, David Walker of Cannon, Ky., was the first.
As Angler of the Year, Wendlandt is widely recognized as the best, most-consistent bass angler in the world – something that the mild-mannered pro from Cedar Park, Texas, says hasn’t really hit him yet.
“I’m really kind of beside myself,” he said after checking in four bass on Pickwick Lake last June that weighed 10 pounds, 14 ounces to secure his points lead over runner up, Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C. “I worked for this all year long. To me, being the most consistent angler throughout the year is the hardest award to win in professional fishing. It’s something I’m very proud of.”
Wendlandt won the title with 355 points after the second day of competition in the final regular season tournament on the seven-venue, $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour schedule. Adams, a champion in his own right, finished the season with 320 points followed by Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., with 306 points and Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., with 286 points.
En route to winning Angler of the Year, Wendlandt made four top-10 FLW Tour appearances in 2000, including a $100,000 victory in Lexington, S.C. In South Carolina, he also caught the season’s heaviest round-one (two-day) stringer of 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 12 ounces. His worst finish of the season, 58th place, came at the FLW Tour stop in Memphis last month. Wendlandt’s performance in Memphis, however, did not shake his confidence too bad coming into the Forrest Wood Open.
“I had some nervous moments,” he said, commenting on the Memphis tourney. “I should have put it away there, but I didn’t.”
Wendlandt has made more top-10 appearances during his FLW Tour career than any other angler and ranks second only to Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., in FLW Tour career earnings. In his four years on the tour, he has collected 12 top-10 finishes and won more than $475,000. Clunn has earned more than $677,000 and has had 10 top-10 finishes.
Wendlandt started his fishing career on the Red Man Tournament Trail in 1987 after attending Texas A&M University. He went on to win the Red Man All-American Bass Championship in 1992, and in 1997, he joined the FLW Tour. That same year, he won the tour’s Angler of the Year title.
Last year, Wendlandt finished eighth in the Angler of the Year standings with 244 points. In 1998, he ranked 36th with 164 points.
The 2000 Co-Angler of the Year title and a Ranger R91 boat powered by an Evinrude outboard went to David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., who earned 328 points. Hudson will also receive priority entry into the Pro Division of the 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.