Stacey King would dearly love to win his first tour-level Angler of the Year (AOY) award at age 62, and he's tied with reigning title-holder Bryan Thrift for the lead in that race with one-third of the FLW Tour Majors campaign in the books. The Missouri veteran said he's not thinking about the points standings at this juncture, but that could change in the near future.
"It's not figuring into my thinking as far as fishing goes because we've still got a long way to go," he said. "But if I'm still in contention after a couple more tournaments, I might have to start taking it more seriously.
"To win one at this stage of my career would be a thrill. I've been doing this a long time and that would really be exciting."
His two finishes thus far are a 2nd at Beaver and a 4th at Hartwell – one spot behind Thrift in the former and one ahead of him in the latter.
"I think just being mentally comfortable has been the key – I'm not getting too worked up and I'm not letting the pressure get to me. I've also been very fortunate to get some quality bites in both tournaments."
When he looks ahead to the remainder of the schedule, there's nothing that scares him much. It includes a stop at Table Rock, where he guided for many years.
He just hopes he isn't forced to sight-fish during next week's event at Tennessee's Lake Chickamauga.
"My eyes aren't as good as they used to be and those fish are hard for me to see. I don't mind fishing for spawning fish, but I prefer to blind-cast to them.
"Those guys with the good eyes who can pick out five good ones have a real advantage. I'm hoping there will be other ways to go about it."
