With vast experience flipping and throwing a frog from his days on the California Delta, Chris Zaldain expected to fare well at last year's Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite Series. Instead, his 81st-place showing was just one knock in a rough rookie season that saw him finish 70th or lower five times in eight events.
Things are different this year, though. Zaldain has made the 50-cut four times in five outings (he missed it by 1 place at the Sabine River) and has logged a pair of Top-10s. He's 8th in the Angler of the Year race, which is the cutoff to compete in September's All-Star event.
And he'll go to the Mississippi the week after next with some knowledge he didn't possess a year ago.
"Last year I found myself going to a lot of out-of-the-way backwaters that I thought no one else would get to, and that was the wrong approach," he said. "I found out later, through watching the TV show and talking to guys, that tournaments there are won on the main river out of what are almost community holes.
"I room with Brandon Palaniuk and Kevin LeDoux, and last year we were all working these backwater veins, and the bigger fish just don't live back there. The better quality is out on the main river. There's an abundance of baitfish there and that's where they spend all their time."
Although he's already formed the foundation for his game plan, he's determined to keep an open mind.
"The hardest thing to do in fishing is abandoning Plan A and going to Plan B, C and D on the fly. That's the way I've been fishing all year and if I can keep it up, I think I'll do okay.
"I'm going up there with high hopes. It's kind of hard to keep up your momentum after not fishing a tournament for a month, but I'm pumped. I'm willing to do whatever's necessary to make it to All-Star week."
