Due to medical reasons, North Carolina pro Dustin Wilks withdrew from competition at the Rayburn Bassmaster Elite Series, which began this morning in Texas.

He told BassFan that last Friday (March 10), after day 2 of the Amistad Elite Series, his right elbow swelled and the pain became unbearable.

"It was really bad," he said. "It swelled up real big and it was just the worst pain I've ever felt. It woke me up in the middle of the night. I couldn't bend my elbow at all."



He also experienced intense burning and began an ice regimen. "I've been doing ice-on for 20 minutes, and ice-off for 20 minutes. Within 5 minutes of taking the ice off it would be burning hot. I got the swelling to go down, but the pain's still there. I can't really lift anything or turn a reel handle."

Prognosis Positive

Wilks was first able to see his doctor early this afternoon, and the diagnosis was severe tendonitis. That was somewhat surprising because he had off-season arm surgery unrelated to the elbow (more on that below).

"The doctor had a really good prognosis for me," he said. "He gave me injections and said 75% of the people who have these injections, it works great for. He also said I have a really bad case, and most people never have a case like this."

A tendon connects muscle to bone, and tendonitis is an inflammation of a tendon. There can be numerous causes for the condition, the most common being overuse. That's what he thinks happened. Here's why.

Plica Problem

Wilks fished all last year with a painful condition caused by plica tissue in his arm. "It's a soft tissue that forms in the joints when you're born," he said. "My doctor said most people never have a problem with the stuff, but they don't use their arm near as much as I do.

"Basically, the plica in my arms rubbed right through the cartilage to the bone. Every time I moved my arms last year, I felt excruciating pain. I did that the whole (Bassmaster Tour) season and finally had enough of it and had surgery this fall. I felt great afterwards. I've never felt better."

But he thinks the plica surgery led to his current tendonitis. "Last year I protected my arm too much and that's probably why I got tendonitis. I felt great and used my arms a lot more this year – too much."

Why didn't anybody know about his plica-induced pain? "I don't like to complain about things, so I never told anybody," he said.

"Obviously my standings have reflected my arms," he added. "Last year was the toughest year I've ever had (83rd in the Bassmaster Tour points). I made the (Bassmaster) Classic 3 years in a row before last year.

"The pain was bad. You have to respect guys like Mark Davis and Larry Nixon, who fished with that kind of stuff for so long. It's so bad, it makes you want to stop fishing."

Wants To Return

Right now, Wilks is definitely out of the Rayburn Elite Series, and might miss the Santee Cooper event too (March 30 – April 2).

"I've probably got some pretty bad tears, and the tendon's maybe disconnected from the bone," he said. "My doctor said I can't really hurt myself long-term if I try to come back, but he said not to push it. I want to see what the injection does this week, and try to make Santee if I'm feeling better."

If the injection doesn't work, surgery's another option. "(The doctor) said he's had some really good success with the surgery. They basically detach the tendon from the bone and attach it in another spot. This doctor, Dr. Poehling, is the same doctor who did my surgery in the fall, and he's one of the best in the world.

"I'll do some praying and hopefully get back out there and recoup some of this money."

Elite Fees

Most of "this money" is his 2006 Elite Series entry fees, which total $55,000. He can't get the money back for Rayburn, but he noted relief that, if he were to miss the rest of the season, he wouldn't owe the balance on the $55,000 total.

BASS Elite Series Rule 1 (iii) states: "Entry fees for the Elite Series are paid for the entire series, not on an event-by-event basis. While a competitor may miss an Elite Series event in case of a dire emergency, fees for the Elite Series have to be paid on schedule in full and there will be no refund for a missed event."

Much was made of the rule this before the season began, and the breakdown is pretty straightforward: An angler pays for the entire Series, and should he have to withdraw early, is still responsible for any balance owed on the $55,000.

Of course, the rule makes exceptions for a "dire emergency." Wilks said BASS is "going to work with (him)" on missing this event and possibly Santee Cooper.

"If I was injured and could not fish anymore, they (BASS) were not going to make me pay," he said. "They've been very reasonable in that respect."

Overall, though, he does have issues with the rule. "The thing is, if a guy missed three or four tournaments, he still has to pay for those three or four that he missed. It's one big entry fee for the year.

"At the same time, I kind of think (BASS) could break it up. I know BASS is doing it to protect themselves against (situations like when) a guy has a cold and just decides he doesn't feel like fishing. But there has to be some kind of concession. It's a tough policy – very, very tough – and I would like to see them change some of it."

Notable

> Last year, Wilks was a Triton/Yamaha pro, but was released by Yamaha after Brunswick Corp. (parent company of Mercury Marine) purchased Triton. He eventually signed a deal with Skeeter, and re-signed with Yamaha. As of this afternoon, he'd traded messages with Skeeter about the injury, but hadn't yet discussed it with Skeeter officials.

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