Kentucky's Brad Roberts fished the FLW Tour as a co-angler the past 3 seasons, never finishing lower than 18th on the points list, and he won the back-seater division at the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup in Pittsburgh. This year he's competing as a pro for the first time, and things have gone well so far.
He's 19th in the Angler of the Year race after finishes of 12th at Beaver and 45th at Hartwell. He needs to continue cashing checks if he wants to compete beyond this year.
"I'm basically fishing out of my own pocket, so it could be 1 year and out for me," he said. "I might have to go back to the real world."
For him, the real world consists of a full-time job as an occupational therapist, assisting children and adults who have developmental disabilities. He and wife Lisa have two sons – Landon, age 2, and Dylan, who'll turn 1 later this month.
He's using up all his vacation time and the vast majority of his proceeds from previous tournaments in order to give the Tour a try. To this point, his winnings are well ahead of his expenses.
He may be operating the oldest boat and motor on either major tour – both are 2004 models.
"I just thought it was time to try it on the other side. I've been able to pick up things the last 3 years from the back of the boat and I've tried to transfer that knowledge to the front.
"I'd done about all I could from the back."
