The FLW Tour season did not start out the way Jim Moynagh would've liked. He cashed checks at Lake Okeechobee and Lewis Smith Lake, but posted back-to-back finishes in the 90s at Beaver Lake and Lake Eufaula to put himself behind the 8-ball in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings.
With two events left, he was 64th in points, meaning he had to make up at least 25 spots to have a shot at qualifying for his 10th Forrest Wood Cup. A 17th at Grand Lake started his surge upward. Last week, he capped the season with a 6th-place result at Lake Chickamauga, which helped him end the year in 32nd place in points, well inside the cutoff for Cup qualification.
"It's very rewarding to see the time and effort you put into something pay off," he said. "That's the thing about tournament fishing – sometimes even with all that effort, time and money you put in, there are disappointments. It's a real rewarding feeling, even though I had a lull at the beginning of the year, but if you keep your eye on the goal, you can accomplish it. I really put my back against the wall after four tournaments.
"Qualifying for the Cup is big. For one thing, it's the championship, but on the business side, you need to take advantage of those situations."
The native of Carver, Minn. Prepared for Chickamauga no differently than he does for any other tournament, despite knowing he needed to pass at least five other pros in the standings to get into the Cup. He's known as a jig specialist and that's exactly how he combed the deep-water ledges at Chick. His go-to bait all week was his signature series jig from All-Terrain Tackle.
"I seem to have a knack for this kind of fishing," he said. "There's so much I don't know about ledge fishing. I feel like I know very little about it, but it seems like I know enough about it every once in a while I can pop through with a good finish."
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