Heck Rises to the Top on Sam Rayburn
BROOKELAND, Texas – Hayden Heck’s expression said it all.
Standing on stage on the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Southwestern Division event on Sam Rayburn, the young pro stood opposite Keith Combs, arguably the best fisherman on a lake of hammers, and seemed resigned that he was going to finish second.
And who could blame him? Nothing said he had a chance to win today. Yes, he was in second place after dropping a 28-pound-plus mega bag. So, he obviously had a chance.
Realistically, though, he’s a 22-year-old who only moved to Texas from California two years ago. He finished 106th in the Rayburn event this February, and this was his first pressure-packed Top 10 as a professional. Oh, and he was trailing Combs, the same pro who won last year’s finale on Rayburn.
So, when tournament director Mark McWha announced he had won; that his 65 pounds, 3 ounces had held up, his eyes got big in utter shock. There was no movement. Just his eyebrows shooting up as the surprise hit him.
Then again, when you realize his story, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at all.
You see, Heck moved to Sam Rayburn two years ago to dedicate himself to becoming a professional angler. He’s spent 4 to 5 days a week out on the lake graphing and learning all it’s nuances. So, he’s put in the time, and today, it showed.
“This feels amazing,” Heck said after the win. “I moved out from California to do this, for moments like this. So, it’s crazy it happened. Crazy [to beat Combs]. I mean, I fished with him on the final day of a B.A.S.S. Open as a co-angler a couple years ago, and I won that event. So, it was crazy to be back up on stage with him and to pull this thing off.”
How he pulled it off was by using all that recent knowledge and capitalizing on it.
You see, Heck had been on quite the pattern recently, saying he fully expected to crack 20 pounds each day, as he’s done it regularly in recent weeks, including a 32-pound bag.
How he was doing it was how many others this week found success – targeting brush piles and hard spots right at the mouths of spawning areas – them the first things the big girls would transition to on their way out from the shallows.
The areas weren’t technically deep, offshore places, but they weren’t close enough to the bank, either. Just 40-50 little sweet spots that Heck would check with his Garmin LiveScope to see if fish were suspended above the piles.
If the fish were there and shot off the bottom when he cranked his Strike King 5XD over their heads, he knew he was going to catch them. Be it on the crankbait, a Roboworm Straight Tail Worm (mean green) on a drop-shot or a rare 6-inch swimbait. However, if they didn’t, they’d just follow his lures in, which is unfortunately what happened a lot on Friday.
“Today, the fish were more in the brush piles with the high sun,” Heck said. “Yesterday’s clouds had them roaming around a bit more off to the sides of the brush piles, which made it better for me.”
Considering he figured it would take 25 pounds to beat Combs, his 18-1 bag had him truly feeling he’d come up short. That is, until he got the surprise he’d dreamed of for two years.
“My heart is still pounding so much,” Heck said while holding the trophy. “I mean, I 100 percent felt I needed 25 pounds. Keith is a hammer. So, this is just crazy.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Hayden Heck – 65 – 03 (15) – $75,300 (includes $35,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2. Keith Combs – 62 – 12 (15) – $15,535
3. Brian Schott – 57 – 09 (15) – $11,640
4. Wyatt Frankens – 52 – 12 (15) – $9,700
5. Kevin Lasyone – 52 – 00 (15) – $8,730
6. Cole Stewart – 49 – 02 (15) – $7,760
7. Chris M Jones – 49 – 02 (15) – $6,790
8. Jack York – 48 – 10 (15) – $5,820
9. River Lee – 48 – 02 (15) – $4,850
10. Marshall Hughes – 47 – 13 (15) – $3,880