Perhaps no Bassmaster Elite Series angler is more eagerly looking forward to the next event at the Mississippi River than Bill Lowen. Three of his five worst finishes since the start of the 2010 season have occurred in the past four events and, at 48th in the Angler of the Year race, he has plenty of work to do to avoid sitting out the 2014 Classic.
Any venue with "River" in its name usually suits Lowen just fine – his career ledger is littered with high finishes from moving-water events. He was 7th at the Mississippi last year and 5th at the Sabine to open 2013, but his untrue-to-form 72nd at the Alabama last month is a big reason he's near the middle of the pack in the points with more than half the season complete.
What's worse, he also had two other stinker events prior to that – a 69th at Falcon Lake and a 66th at Bull Shoals Lake. He turned in a decent finish (31st) at West Point.
"I don't really feel like I'm in a slump," he said. "I feel like I've had some bad luck this year – I've had some key opportunities to do extremely well and I just haven't capitalized on them."
The Alabama is a prime example. He lost three massive spotted bass (he estimated them as two 6-pounders and a 5) on day 1.
"I got them right up to the boat and they just came off. That's a situation where if I land those three bites, I've got enough the first day to where I don't even have to catch a fish the second day to cash a check.
"It's just been one of those years where a few key bites have made the difference between doing bad or extremely well."
A second straight single-digit finish at the Mississippi could get him back in contention for the Classic. The Top 28 in the points are guaranteed berths, and that cutoff will extend into the low 30s, at least, due to double-qualifiers.
"I love that river and it fishes to my style – flipping, pitching, swimming a jig or throwing a frog. I'm the kind of guy who puts a lot of pressure on myself, though, and I kind of feel it coming down on me.
"I need to get it in gear or I'll be working the Classic instead of fishing, and that won't be fun."
