Stacey King's recovery from heart surgery 3 months ago has progressed as planned, and the Missouri veteran will return to FLW Tour competition in 2 weeks at the Detroit River.
"I'm going to go up there and give it a try," he said. "I'm feeling real good even though I'm not quite all the way through with my rehab schedule yet.
"(Rehab has) just helped me tremendously – I've gotten good exercise and good training. I wouldn't say I'm 100% back, but I'm getting close. I feel better in some ways than I did before."
He underwent a triple-bypass operation in late March to clear several artery blockages. After a 2-month period of virtual inactivity, he got back on the water in late May.
"I did a TV show on Kentucky Lake last week in real hot weather, and I was out there for 8 hours with no problems. And I've been fishing quite a bit around home, and I haven't had any problems here either.
"Before I just sat in front of the TV or read, and it about drove me stir crazy. But I was able to go through my tackle shop and work on my equipment, and I gave a lot of stuff away to kids that I hadn't used in years. I was looking for anything to keep me busy."
He's fished just one event this year – he finished 19th in the season opener at Travis. He doesn't have to worry about points, though, because he qualified for the upcoming Forrest Wood Cup via last year's Stren Championship.
And he might just be a factor at the Detroit – he was 6th in the Midwestern Stren event there last September.
