Takahiro Omori is taking this dramatic comeback thing to a whole new level now.
Last season, with one Bassmaster Elite Series tournament left, he knew he likely needed a Top-12 finish to qualify for this year’s Bassmaster Classic. He went to Lake Wheeler and delivered just that – a 12th-place finish that moved him up 10 spots to 32nd in the Anger of the Year points, and that allowed him to fish the Classic at the Red River.
This season, with fewer Elite Series anglers qualifying for the 2013 Classic through the points standings, Omori found himself behind the 8-ball again heading into the season finale. He went to Oneida Lake in 39th place in the points and figured he’d need a Top-5 to be Classic-bound this time around.
He delivered again, but it wasn’t without a little late-day drama on day 2.
After weighing 12-08 on day 1, which had him in 53rd place, he knew he had to swing for big bites the rest of the way. His weight came down to 11-15 on day 2, but he snuck inside the weekend cutline by 5 ounces in 48th place.
He wouldn’t have made it, though, without a surprise 3 1/4-pound smallmouth that inhaled his creature bait about 30 minutes before he needed to check in. It allowed him to cull and gave him the ounces he needed to fish day 3.
“I was deep flipping in 12 feet of water on outside edges of grass and I caught him almost by accident,” he said.
He turned it up on day 3, catching 18-13 to make the 12-cut in 10th place, a jump of 40 places. Having not seen a 4-pounder all week, he bagged a 4 1/2-pounder and a 5-06 brute on 60-pound Sunline FX2 braid line to keep his season and Classic hopes alive.
He closed out the weekend with a 14-00 catch to rise to 4th in the final standings, a leap of 49 spots overall from day 1. More importantly, he accomplished his goal, which was to earn a Classic berth.
“It was a grind mentally and was really tough,” he said. “It was a grueling and tough week. I’m glad it ended the right way for me. To be honest, in the weigh-in line on the 2nd day, I was telling guys that I didn’t think I was going to (Grand).
“It sucks if you miss the Classic by a few points,” he said. “You have 7 months to think about it. I don’t want to miss it by a few points. I’d rather miss it in a big way, but I was really happy to make it. The next 7 months I’ll stay motivated for Grand Lake.”
The Sunline Strong Performer, which focuses on the angler who makes the most significant single-day move in the standings at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great people at Sunline.
