Last year, Banks Shaw took the lead for Angler of the Year on the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals after the fourth event, moving ahead of Drew Gill and never relinquishing the lead the rest of the year. This year on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech, Shaw has seized the lead for 7 Brew Angler of the Year after just three events – time will tell if he can hold on to go back-to-back.
Halfway through the season, with a very diverse schedule ahead, the standings are starting to look a little more like folks expected. Bass Pro Tour pros like Shaw, Gill and Marshall Hughes are flexing their muscle, and heralded rookies like Hayden O’Barr and Ryan Lachniet appear to be in fine form. Notably, the leaders after the first two events all turned in poor performances on Wheeler, which very much shook up the leaderboard – now, Brody Campbell, Tyler Campbell and Aaron Yavorsky are all outside of the Top 10.
Here’s the Top 10 in the points after three events:
1. Banks Shaw – 559 points
2. Ryan Lachniet – 556
3. Carter Nutt – 556
4. Connor Jacob – 541
5. Drew Gill – 538
6. Bobby Bakewell – 536
7. Marshall Hughes – 536
8. Clint Knight – 535
9. Dylan Nutt – 529
10. Hayden O’Barr – 519
1. Shaw up to his usual tricks
Up by just 3 points, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the field to call Shaw’s lead at all dominating or another title inevitable. But, after last season’s excellence, it’s definitely looking good for the Tennessee pro to take down back-to-back AOY titles. Finishing 35th in the opener at the Harris Chain, Shaw ripped off back-to-back Top 10s to get rolling, including a win in the last event at Wheeler.
“The main focus was on the BPT; but at the same time, the Pro Circuit is a really big trail, and I wanted to do my best in both,” Shaw said. “Definitely the main goal of the year is to do as good in both circuits, but to be leading AOY going into the fourth event, it’s pretty cool. I definitely feel pretty good about the rest of the year. It’d be super special to go back-to-back, but I don’t have much of a lead, and there are a lot of hammers behind me.”
On the BPT, Shaw hasn’t been quite as superb. Though he’s made the Top 10 twice, he’s also missed badly in two events in Texas, and he’s only sitting mid-pack in points. On the Pro Circuit, Shaw also missed slightly – his 35th-place finish at the Harris Chain was the product of a goal he’s now abandoned.
“I felt like I should have done a lot better than I did,” Shaw said. “I went for the win there, because I was already on the BPT. That was my goal, to try to win two or three of these events, because I was so close so many times last year. Now, I’m wishing I’d played it safer in that event. I’d have a little bit of a better cushion.”
Despite a crew of talented anglers on his heels, Shaw isn’t feeling the pressure.
“Those guys probably have more pressure on them than I do,” he said. “It isn’t a big weight on my shoulders; it feels kind of normal. I’ve had a handful of good tournaments, but it doesn’t feel great compared to last year. So, I’m looking forward to doing better throughout the season.”
Next up is Doulgas, where he’s won in high school – unsurprisingly, Shaw is looking forward to heading to the Tennessee hills for that one.
2. Focus still on the BPT for Lachniet
With three solid events under his belt and a Top 10 at the Harris Chain, Lachniet has been super consistent. You might think that Lachniet is all-in to win AOY, but just for now, with half the season ahead of him, he’s still firmly focused on the BPT.
“The start definitely helps. I don’t know what it’s going to take average-wise to make the Bass Pro Tour,” he said. “Hopefully, I can get through the next two with Top 20s and have a pretty big gap going into the last one. But I’m pretty worried about it.
“Obviously, I’d love to win AOY, but it’s one goal at a time. If I can get through the next two, where I’m pretty safe going into the last one, and I still have a chance to win AOY, and actually swing a little bit and try, that would be really cool,” he said. “But I’m definitely more worried about making the Bass Pro Tour. Banks isn’t an easy person to run down. Coming from behind and trying to run him down while I’m worried about qualifying isn’t the biggest concern in my mind.”
While Shaw feels great about the next three events, Lachniet has worries about all of them.
“The first three seemed a little more predictable than the last three,” he said. “Douglas is kind of a weird one, because the average fish is so small. There are so many fish in there, but catching a 3-pounder is really hard. And it’s been low for a while; normally, it comes up a lot this time of year. I went and pre-practiced and it was 20 foot low. In the past couple years, it’s been 20 foot low, and then come up to full pool by the time our tournament is. Now, it’s still low. Then, Eufaula is always unpredictable. And, Champlain with three hours of ‘Scope is going to be terrifying.”
Assuming that Lachniet can get through the next two in good shape, he figures to be a contender in the last one, no matter how terrified he is. Having been to Champlain before, he’s well-suited to the smallmouth and largemouth bites that are expected players.
3. Nutt takes full advantage of the Tennessee River
Finishing 21st in each of the first two events, Carter Nutt kicked it into high gear on home waters, knocking out a fifth-place finish at Wheeler Lake.
“I’m pretty fired up about it,” he said. “To get through the first three events, I felt like the Harris Chain was the biggest one that was the most bomb-able. To get through the Harris Chain with a decent finish, and then Santee, to get through those with decent finishes was incredible. To have a top five at Wheeler, that was money.”
With good history at Douglas, you might want to start planning on Nutt moving up the leaderboard more.
“I’m extremely fired up to go to Douglas,” he said. “I’ve only been there a couple times. Me and Dylan won a high school open on Douglas, and we had another top-five finish in a high school open out there. Douglas fits our wheelhouse pretty well.”
4. Two Top 10s power Jacob
Finishing fourth at the Harris Chain and eighth at Wheeler, Connor Jacob has the bones for the AOY lead. However, at Santee Cooper, Jacob brought in two bass on Day 1 – had he even caught a few more small ones, his points picture could look very different right now. On Day 2, he smashed out 24 pounds, rocketing up into the 50th – maybe a season-saving rally.
“I was really scared about the front half,” he said. “On paper – this isn’t saying I’m going to do well in the latter half – but the front half was a conglomerate of lakes that either terrified me because of the style, or historically, I had rough tournaments.”
In fact, he’s experienced some wild swings at Santee before.
“At Santee Cooper in the Opens two years ago, I did the same thing – I caught two bass on Day 1, and then caught 27 pounds on Day 2 and finished 46th. Unbelievable that that’s a repeatable thing I do out there.
“I’m disappointed with that first day on Santee; that was just bad decisions. Everything was too good for me to have two fish on Day 1, no matter what. But, besides that one day, I’m extremely happy with the start, honestly.”
Jacob’s goal is to make the BPT and also to beat Lachniet.
“Me and Ryan started rooming together last year, and Ryan showed me a lot of younger, ‘Scope style stuff,” he said. “We’re not super competitive with each other, but we’re both competitive people. I’d like to beat him for Angler of the Year.”
Besides beating his roommate, Jacob has his eye firmly on the BPT.
“I fished the Opens for two years; this is my third year doing a semi-professional circuit,” he said. “I really want to be on a pro level. I’m pretty dedicated to doing this for my career. It’s time. I’d really like to say I’m a professional. Angler of the Year would be good, but the underlying goal is to make it to the Bass Pro Tour.”
Bass Pro Tour race is wide open
The top five in the points not already fishing the Bass Pro Tour qualify for an invite at the end of the season, and it’s starting to look like a top five in the points will not be absolutely required to make it. With Shaw and Gill in the top five and Hughes in striking distance, things could spread out a good bit. Right now, Lachniet, Nutt, Jacob, Bobby Bakewell and Clint Knight are on track for an invite. Right in striking distance, Dylan Nutt is a handful of points behind Knight, and there’s a wad of capable anglers right behind him.
With the rules and the varied schedule coming up, it’s hard to definitely say anyone is in or out. For instance, Caz Anderson has a home field event coming up and could easily move into the mix from 11th. For the finale at Champlain, Brody Campbell has to be a contender for a top finish given his record there – if he can stay in striking distance, he should be in great shape to make a move. Of course, that presumes that there’s room to move, and this year’s field is top-notch and unlikely to stumble much.