Just enough to be dangerous
Ten anglers poised to be ‘unconscious’ in 2006
They’re not rookies, but they’re not exactly veterans, either. In fact, many have hardly scratched the surface in terms of fishing experience when compared to some of their peers who have been patrolling the borders of the big-league bass wars for decades.
In some ironic way, however, they are the most deadly anglers out there – not because of what they know, but because of what they don’t know. As the old saying goes, they know just enough to be dangerous – very dangerous.
Some call it “blind confidence,” others refer to it as “fishing unconscious.” In professional bass fishing, those terms refer to a phenomenon where a relatively new face gets red-hot and starts stacking up top-10s like spare change on a dresser.
What they lack in experience, they make up for with sheer will and unprejudiced self-confidence that removes all doubt about any shortcomings in experience. When such anglers get on these rolls, they’re not even aware of how well they’re fishing. They seem to arrive at critical on-the-water decisions in an unconscious way.
Over the years, the Wal-Mart FLW Tour has been fertile ground for this just-enough-to-be-dangerous phenomenon.
Last year, FLW rookie Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., came straight off the Stren (formerly known as EverStart) Series ranks and scored three consecutive top-10s in the first three FLW events of his career – a nice touch to the fishing resume.
Three top-10s in one season is impressive, but Japan’s Toshinari Namiki topped it with a whopping four top-10s in single FLW Tour season, which also included his first FLW Tour victory at the Ouachita River.
Namiki has fished tournaments in the U.S. for a number of years, but for some reason he caught fire in his sophomore season on the FLW Tour.
Turning the calendar back to 2004, two relatively new names at the time – Dave Lefebre and Greg Hackney – both locked up in a season-long “unconscious” fishing battle for the 2004 FLW Tour Angler of the Year.
Hackney scored two top-10s and narrowly missed winning the FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake by 6 ounces, while Lefebre scored three top-10s, which included his first FLW Tour win at Old Hickory.
But despite their incredible seasons, they were both usurped by Shinichi Fukae from Japan, who had perhaps the most unconscious season of all time in 2004 when he qualified for the top 10 three times with no prior fishing experience in the U.S.
And in 2006, it will undoubtedly happen again. One or two young anglers will supplant decades of fishing experience with that magical blind confidence and get on one of those amazing sprees that keep all tournament anglers casting.
In no particular order, here are 10 FLW Tour anglers poised to do just that in 2006.
Art Berry, Hemet, Calif.
He might not know it, but Art Berry is on a collision course with big-time bass fishing success on the FLW Tour.
This western dynamo just came off his rookie FLW Tour season where he nearly pulled off a win at Lake Toho (second place) and finished the year 20th in the points race.
Berry fishes full-throttle at all times and has ubiquitous optimism that is reminiscent of a young Roland Martin. Berry is convinced that every cast is going to bring a 5-pounder, and attitude like that is fertile ground for a bumper crop of top-10s.
Jonathan Newton, Rogersville, Ala.
Newton just finished his rookie season on the FLW Tour, too, and though it wasn’t spectacular, don’t be fooled by this humble TVA impoundment expert who has proven himself in the Stren Series and BFL ranks.
Newton is entering the 2006 season fresh off a fourth-place showing at the Stren Series Championship on Pickwick Lake. And it just so happens that the 2006 FLW Tour schedule includes not just Pickwick, but Kentucky Lake, as well, where Newton won a Stren Series event in 2004.
Jason Kilpatrick, Satsuma, Ala.
2006 will be Kilpatrick’s fourth full season on the FLW Tour. Admittedly, Kilpatrick took his lumps during his rookie season in 2003, but he’s a quick study and it didn’t take him long to find his way to two top-10s in 2004 and another pair of top-10s in 2005.
Last year, inconsistency killed Kilpatrick; he was all over the charts. One tournament was a top-10 finish and the next was a 150th-place finish, a pattern that left him in 75th place in the points race for the season. If he can keep his two top-10s in the fire and turn his flops into 50th-plus-place finishes, Kilpatrick will be running down an Angler of the Year title in 2006.
Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove, Minn.
Chad Grigsby better call his sponsor, BF Goodrich, and order some new tires because he is so close to a big-time roll that he’s burning tread.
In fact, just two bad tournaments last season, Ouachita (162nd) and the Potomac (149th), kept Grigsby in a brake stand in 2005. He scored two top-10s (Okeechobee and Wheeler), a 14th (Toho) and a 31st (Beaver).
But what will really drive Grigsby in 2006 is his second-place finish at the 2005 FLW Tour Championship in Hot Springs. Being that close to professional bass fishing’s biggest purse has given him a new air of confidence and a yearning for redemption.
Kevin Vida, Clare, Mich.
Kevin Vida is another pro who better contact his sponsor, Banana Boat, and request a little extra sunscreen for his competitors when he gets red hot.
Vida needs no introduction in the North where his has dominated the Stren Series and BFL levels. Over his last four seasons on the FLW Tour, he has dialed in on southern waters and the learning curve is starting to come full circle.
Of course, an FLW Tour stop on Lake Champlain in 2006 doesn’t hurt matters, either.
Greg Pugh, Cullman, Ala.
Talk about climbing the FLW Tour ropes: In 2002 Greg Pugh finished 129th in the FLW points race. In 2003 he moved to 100th. He made a bigger jump in 2004 to 35th. And last year, Pugh finished 10th with the help of his first two FLW top-10s.
At that rate, there’s a supersonic year in Pugh’s near future.
Matt Herren, Trussville, Ala.
Here is yet another Alabaman poised for a super year in 2006.
Consistency is Herren’s game. Though he has only scored one top-10 in three years on the FLW Tour, he is always in the check line and his lowest finish in the Angler of the Year points race is 11th.
Last year was his best season yet, where he finished fourth in the points. Just another top-10 or two to go with his iron-like consistency and Herren is also looking at an FLW Angler of the Year title.
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Ca.
Yes, Brent Ehrler already has a big win under his belt – the Stren Series Championship in 2004 on Lake Cumberland – but this California pro has yet to go “unconscious” on the FLW Tour.
Last year was his rookie season. His highest finish was a 22nd at the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake and he ended up 73rd in the points race.
With more deep-water venues on the FLW schedule this season, 2006 should line up nicely for Ehrler.
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C.
Okay, so maybe Anthony Gagliardi is a stretch for the just-enough-to-be-dangerous category considering he already has one FLW Tour win to his credit (Kentucky Lake 2004), putting him in the always-dangerous category.
But Gagliardi is still prime for one of those three-in-a-row top-10 rolls or back-to-back wins.
He finished third in the FLW points race last year, just 20 points short of an Angler of the Year title.
Aaron Hastings, Middletown, Md.
In the tradition of Shin Fukae and Bobby Lane – true FLW Tour rookies when they stormed the tour – it’s only fair to include at least one angler who has never set foot on FLW Tour soil before 2006, and that would be Aaron Hastings.
Hastings will be a true FLW Tour rookie in 2006, but this young pro is familiar with stout tournament competition. He has fished the BASS Tour in the past and last season he topped the Stren Series Northeast Division points race, beating out Clark Wendlandt for the title.
He has fished many of the lakes on the 2006 FLW schedule in the past and knows just enough about each one to, well, make him dangerous.