Photo: Lucky Craft

FLW Tour rookie Brent Ehrler has faced a steep learning curve but knows good things are coming soon.

Week 11 - Brent Ehrler
Ehrler Down
But Not Out 3/14/2005

Brent Ehrler started the 2005 FLW Tour season with high hopes. He won the 2004 EverStart Championship and was ready to make a name for himself among the elite members of the sport.

His season didn't start with a bang - it was more like a whimper. He finished 125th at Okeechobee and followed with a stronger effort at Toho where he finished 53rd and cashed a check. Then it all came apart at last week's Ouachita River FLW. He tumbled to a season-low 174th and his overall points in the FLW Tour have him ranked 130th.

Although this start would deflate most rookies, he feels he can still improve, learn and prosper on the FLW Tour.

Out of the Loop

While there were some impressive 20-pound-plus bags weighed at last week's Ouachita River event, Ehrler felt he missed the bite throughout the tournament.

"I practiced all wrong," he said. "I was never on them in practice or the tournament. I'd never fished cypress trees before and really was out of the loop from the start at Ouachita.

"I feel like I've learned a lot at every tournament, but this one was really tough. I know I belong here, but my inexperience at this level is my problem. If I can get on fish, I can compete. I just have to find them better."

Needs to Re-Qualify

Ehlrer started the season with thoughts of the Championship. Now he just wants to make sure he re-qualifies for the 2006 Tour.

"I'm not sure if I'm out of the Championship just yet, but I think I'd need three Top 10 finishes to make it," he said. "That's pretty unrealistic. My goal now is to get into the Top 100 so I can qualify for next year. I never thought I'd think this way, but that's a goal now. That, along with a tournament win."

Ehrler Digs The RC

Many Lucky Craft fans will tell you that the Sammy, Pointer or the Slender Pointer are their favorite models, but Ehrler's a fan of the new RC 1.5.

"I received a box of the Rick Clunn model crankbaits and decided to test them out," he said. "The colors looked great and so did the finishes. I ran them in a pool to see which ones ran straight and to my surprise they all did. You usually have to tune most crankbaits out of the box, but not these.

"They have a good wobble, great action and come dead at you when you retrieve them. They even dart off to the side and then come back and track straight. They don't roll - even when I burn them."

Hungry for Beaver

Beaver Lake, Ark. is the next stop on the FLW Tour. It's a month away, but Ehrler already feels the clearer water there, and the potential to run patterns, may give him the confidence boost he needs to fight for a spot closer the winner's circle.

"I've never fished Beaver Lake, but I hear it's similar to the kinds of water I fish out West," he said. "I've heard it fishes more like Clear Lake and Shasta (both in California).

"There should be more opportunity to fish patterns. I really like that. I don't like places where you just have to sit on an area. I'd rather run-and-gun from spot to spot and establish a pattern."

Notable

> While Ehrler's definitely in turn-it-around mode, his fellow Team Lucky Craft members continue their assault on the top ranks of fishing. Skeet Reese is still No. 1 in the State Farm-BassFan World Rankings, Marty Stone has climbed to No. 4 in the world and Takahiro Omori is No. 7.

> In the Bassmaster points, Marty Stone is 3rd and Skeet Reese is 6th. Both anglers are a serious threat to win Angler of the Year, but the Lake Norman Bassmaster begins this Thursday and everything hinges on that event.