Harmon Davis: EverStart Central Division points champion
Oklahoma native overcomes tough odds, qualifies for 2002 FLW Tour
Despite coming off a two-year fishing hiatus after suffering complications from a broken leg, Harmon Davis, in only his first full season on the tour, managed to capture this year’s prestigious points championship in the EverStart Central Division. With an 18th-place finish at Sam Rayburn in April, a ninth-place finish on Kentucky Lake in May and an inspired victory at Lake Ferguson in June, Davis not only stormed his way to the title, but also secured an all-important, automatic berth in the 2001 EverStart Series Championship.
In addition, Davis’ accomplishment earned him a guaranteed spot on the FLW Tour – the most lucrative professional bass fishing circuit in the nation – for the 2002 season. Not surprisingly, Davis said he couldn’t have scripted a better year.
“This has been the best year of my career by far,” said Davis, a 29-year-old native of Marlow, Okla. “This is the first year I’ve been able to fish a full season in a long time. And it feels great. I’ve really had to overcome a couple of tough years before this season.”
Davis, who had a total of 575 points in the Central Division, edged out fellow competitors Wesley Strader (567 points) of Spring City, Tenn., and Shane Allman (556 points) of Sam Rayburn, Texas.
Overcoming adversity
To be sure, Davis has faced some significant obstacles during his fledgling fishing career. In 1999, after making some significant progress on the EverStart Series circuit and Wal-Mart BFL Tour, Davis suffered a major, career-threatening injury.
“It was about two years ago. I was playing softball and during the game, I shattered my leg,” said Davis. “It was a pretty significant injury. And it really hurt my ability to go fishing. For those two years, I couldn’t do a whole lot. I was fishing pretty good before the accident, but when you’re off the water for two years, you kind of get out of the swing of things.”
If Davis was out of the swing of things, it didn’t take long for him to correct his approach. Almost immediately, Davis began making an impact on the 2001 EverStart Series circuit.
“The EverStart Series was my main focus this year,” said Davis, highlighting his renewed commitment to the sport of professional bass fishing after the injury. “And it really paid off. I won the tournament at Lake Ferguson and I was on enough fish to win the tournament at Sam Rayburn. My other goal was to (qualify for) the FLW Tour and I did that. Now, my focus is on the championship.”
The 2001 EverStart Championship, a $325,000 tournament slated for Nov. 7-10 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala., is undoubtedly one of the most prominent tournaments Davis has been a part of to date. However, with over $21,000 in winnings (not including a brand new Ranger boat valued at another $35,000) on the EverStart Series this year alone, Davis said he is not one to be intimidated by the added pressure of the year-end championship.
A big test
“I’ve never been to Pickwick Lake before, but I feel really good about my chances there,” said Davis of this year’s EverStart Championship venue. “I’m a shallow-water fisherman. We’re heading to the lake pretty late in the year and there should be plenty of fish in the shallows. And I think that will play to my strengths.”
Regardless of the outcome of the championship, Davis knows that this season has already been a success.
“I’ve been fishing tournaments for the last 10 years,” said Davis, who claims to have caught his first fish when he was only 3 years old. “My career has been pretty hit-and-miss up to this point. I’ve always been pretty consistent, but I’ve been unable to win the big one – until this year.”
With five career top-10 appearances and one tournament victory on the EverStart Series already under his belt, Davis said that he is finally ready to make the leap to the FLW Tour. While a little apprehensive, Davis believes he has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
“I’ve fished against a lot of these guys before and I’ve done fairly well,” said Davis. “It’s going to be different, but I don’t think I’m going to be intimidated. You know what they say: you fish against the fish, not against the fishermen.”
Ready for full-time commitment?
Although Davis has yet to commit his services full-time to sport of professional bass fishing – the Oklahoma native currently works in the off-season as a manager of a local auto body shop – he said he would like nothing more than to focus all of his efforts on his rebounding fishing career.
“Fishing tournaments is a little like gambling. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a point where I be comfortable fishing full-time, because it takes a lot of money and a huge commitment” said Davis. “But I’ll tell you what, I’d be very happy to quit my job tomorrow and never have to paint another car for the rest of my life.”
If the 2001 season is any indication, Davis might not be too far away from putting down the paint sprayer for the last time.