Bassmaster Elite Series pro Darrin Schwenkbeck probably feels like a starving man who's stumbled upon a lost shipment of filet mignon. The Western New York native is mired in a brutal 2007 campaign, in which he's 95th in the Elite Series points. But the prospect of next week's Champlain event, and then a stop at his home water in Buffalo, N.Y., has him amped.
Yes, Bassmaster Classic qualification's all but out the window, but he's thinking win, and it could happen at either stop.
"I'm really excited about New York," he said. "Unfortunately, I'm not in the position I wanted to be in, but hopefully I can make a move. I'm thinking win. I need to win. I need the money, and the exposure for my sponsors."
He conceded that Buffalo's "going to be the best chance" for him to win, simply because he's fished Lake Erie and the Niagara River his whole life.
One interesting angle about Buffalo is the river. Whenever Erie's too wild to fish, local anglers simply head for the Niagara. If there are dangerous conditions on Erie, there's a chance BASS could restrict anglers to the river. That possibility is slim, however. More likely, BASS would cancel the day. But if the river is the only place to fish, Schwenkbeck knows it better than anyone in the field.
Another tidbit: He's headed home in more ways than one. He's originally from Tonawanda (a Buffalo suburb), but more recently resided in Maryland. He's now living back in western New York – about an hour east of Buffalo in the small rural town of Varysburg. It's not too far from Pavilion, where fellow Elite Series competitor Matt Sphar resides. Their friendship dates back to their days together in the New York BASS Federation.
"That (move) had a lot to do with finances," Schwenkbeck noted. "The cost of living in Maryland's much higher. I'm never home, and I had the opportunity to live next to my parents in the woods. It's great. It's out of the way, and there's no grass to worry about."
> Schwenkbeck's one of a few anglers who runs a motor wrap, in addition to a boat wrap. His motor's wrapped by oil company Amsoil. His boat's wrapped by Cornerstone Recruiting.
