Photo: Doug Cox Marty Stone just missed winning 2005 BASS Angler of the Year.

Week 14 - Bassmaster Wrap
Bassmaster:
It's a Wrap 4/4/2005

High drama marked the end of the 2005 Bassmaster Tour regular season. With Marty Stone still in the race to capture the prestigious BASS Angler of the Year (AOY) title, it all came down to him and Aaron Martens. In the end, it wasn't meant to be for Stone, who finished as the first runner-up.

Although Team Lucky Craft didn't capture the 2005 AOY title, there were plenty of highlights from the Bassmaster regular season to make them proud.

For starters, Takahiro Omori came off his victory at the 2004 Bassmaster Classic with a win at Toho. Stone finished second in the AOY race. Stone, Skeet Reese and Omori were all AOY point leaders at one time or another this season. Stone, Reese, Omori and Gerald Swindle have all qualified to fish the Classic. All of the above, plus Kelly Jordon, have qualified to fish the E50 events.

All in all, it was a productive regular season on the Bassmaster Tour for most Team Lucky Craft members. Even those who didn't challenge for the AOY title, or pre-qualify for the Classic (yet), look back at the positives this year.

Photo: Lucky Craft Kelly Jordon said it was his worst season ever, but he can turn things around in this year's E50s.

Jordon on Small Fish

While many of Kelly Jordon's teammates were in the AOY hunt, he was unable to find the right fish.

"This was absolutely my worst year on tour," he said. "I can't explain it at all. I thought it was going to be a good one, since I started my year off with a win in the FLW. It didn't carry over to the Bassmaster Tour.

"It was so weird out there," he said. "I'd have a good practice, but I'd make the wrong moves in the tournaments. It seemed like all I ever caught were little fish when it counted."

When he arrived at Lake Norman his confidence was high. "At Lake Norman, I felt I'd catch 15 pounds at least 1 day and 10 or 12 on the other days," he said. "In practice, I caught some quality fish and just knew this tournament was going to be good. Wrong.

"Instead of big fish, I was on the little-fish pattern again. I'd catch 10 to 15 keepers per day, but I just never caught a 2-pounder. I caught lots of limits on four different techniques, but not one quality fish."

The wheels came off at Table Rock.

"I earned a check at each event until Table Rock," he said. "The wheels just came off there. I couldn't get on fish. It was a bad finish for me. I made the E-50s, so I'll work hard to get into the Classic that way."

Auten Overwhelmed

Mike Auten has a reputation as one of the busiest anglers/businessmen in the pro bass world. With his television and DVD productions and full tour schedule, he's often distracted. This hectic lifestyle had an impact on his 2005 season.

"I feel somewhat overwhelmed at times," Auten said. "I'll tell you what. With the huge number of distractions I have, it's no wonder I didn't perform as well as I should. It's like the space in my brain is rented by something other than what I need to be focused on at the time. I have lots of information to process.

"When you just get your rods and reels and other gear organized for a tournament during practice, well, that's not good," he said. "That time needs to be spent on practice."

In addition to all of his business ventures, he will be heavily involved with the newly re-formed PAA (Professional Anglers Association). He was recently elected the PAA secretary.

He feels that thanks to the contributions of Lucky Craft President Minoru Segawa, Team Lucky Craft has been outfitted with some of the finest lures on the market.

"Even though I somehow missed out on the crankbait bite on Lake Norman this season, I'm very proud that a Lucky Craft crankbait played such an important role," he said. Reese, Stone and Rick Clunn all placed high with the bait.

"I'm very proud that Minoru designed the bait. Whatever you want to call it, the RC 1.5 or the BDS 3, it's a great testament to how Minoru listens to the anglers. He understands our wants and needs and designed a tremendous bait. Not just this crankbait, but other lures like the Pointer and the Slender Pointer. All of them are winning lures."

Photo: Joe Thomas Joe Thomas is optimistic, and will fish the Northern Opens to stay sharp.

Thomas: Glass Half Full

Joe Thomas has been a pro angler for 23 seasons and has experienced the highs and lows of the sport. Right now. it would appear to many that he's on a low, but he views it as a way to learn and become a better angler.

"I never want to be a down guy," he said. "I certainly had a poor season - in fact, probably my worst when it comes to points - but I'll learn from it and move on. The glass is half full in my opinion."

Like Auten, he has several television obligations on his plate that take away from his tournament time.

"This is certainly no excuse, but I do have a lot of things going on other than just tournaments," he said. "I have two shows right now and a third in development. The great thing is, I do have these outlets to prosper. I have great success in that part of the business. Hopefully, with the new tour-season structure, I'll be able to prosper more in the tournaments, too. I'm excited about the 2006 season."

He plans to compete in the Northern Opens. "I really look forward to the Northern Opens," he said. "I want to put the 2005 season behind me and go do what I do. I want to get back to fishing. I haven't been up to par, but I know I can do well again. Fishing places like Champlain and Sandusky Bay will really help me get my focus back."

Notable

>Last season, it was the brown-glove club for Jordon. This year it's the thermal-underwear brigade. "Last year, I joked about how the weather was so poor the only tan anybody had was on their face and hands," he said. "It looked like you had brown gloves on when you were in short sleeves. This year the weather has been worse. Out of 20 tournament days, I've had thermal underwear on for 17 of them."

> Thomas predicted the Slender Pointer will soon be the No. 1 Lucky Craft jerkbait. "This is the first season I've been able to fish the Slender Pointer," he said. "It's an excellent product. I think it'll eventually be the No. 1 Lucky Craft jerkbait."

> On the Slender Pointer, Thomas also noted: "I remember I met with Minoru and we sketched out the idea for the lure on a napkin and he basically produced that bait," he said. "The fact that he listens to the anglers on his team and produces these quality baits is one of the reasons the lures are so successful. That RC 1.5 has to be one of the hottest shallow crankbaits anywhere right now."