Photo: FLWOutdoors.com Brent Ehrler will pass on the jellyfish next time.

Like many tour rookies, Brent Ehrler thought he'd have instant success on the FLW Tour. He was used to success out West, so why not at the national level? And of course, like most rookies, that success didn't happen on his first outing. A disappointing 125th place at the FLW opener on Okeechobee left him scratching his head.

But he took a trip to Japan to promote Lucky Craft lures, then returned to the Sunshine State with renewed enthusiasm and a dislike for jellyfish.

5 Ounces Shy

The FLW Tour now has a lucrative $10,000 payout down to 50th place. Ehrler fell short of achieving that mark at Toho by 5 ounces and ended up in the 53rd spot.

"The most frustrating thing about my tournament at Toho was that I had the fish to make it into the Top 20 or 30," he said. "I had a real rough practice, but figured out a shallow-water pattern that put me on fish both days. I just didn't get enough fish."

He said he fished in water as shallow as 6 inches and was targeting active bass on top with a Sumo Frog and a Zoom Horny Toad.

"Both the Horny Toad and the Sumo Frog really drew the strikes, but the hooking percentage is real low on those baits. I tried a Lucky Craft Sammy, but found I was spending too much time pulling off weeds. With a Sammy, you get a better chance to hook fish. With the other lures, the fish have to suck them in to get a hook into them. I had a 3-pounder jump right over the Frog without touching it."

The Cow Pattern

Bovine cover is often tough to find in a tournament, but Ehrler managed to make the most of his cattle companions. All kidding aside, he used cows at Toho to develop a pattern.

"Seriously, I was on a cow pattern. I started noticing I'd catch more fish in areas where the cows were feeding in or near the water. It sounds crazy, but it makes sense. The cows were there because the bottom was harder and it could support their weight. The soft bottom could not. Hard-bottom areas were where I caught my fish."

Pass the Jellyfish

While in Japan - where he represented Lucky Craft at the Tokyo Fishing Show - Ehrler had a chance to speak to the locals and sample their cuisine.

"The show was very cool," he said. "I had a chance to do a few seminars to a Japanese audience. I would speak a few sentences and then Minoru (Segawa, Lucky Craft president) would translate. It was pretty awesome being there."

Dinner with Team Lucky Craft proved a little more treacherous for him.

"We went out to some fabulous places to eat with the Lucky Craft crew. One night, I chose to eat what appeared to be glass noodles. I asked Minoru what they were and he said jellyfish. I thought he was kidding. He was serious.

"So, not to be disrespectful, I ate it. It was just awful. Really disgusting. Crunchy and soft all at the same time. I will pass on the jellyfish next time."

Notable

> Ehrler started his Toho practice with Lucky Craft LV 100s and Sammys. However, his fish were super shallow and in the weeds. The exposed hooks on the lipless crank and topwater Sammy eliminated them as choices.

Provided by BassFan