AOY Not Omori's Top Goal, He Favors Wins

Takahiro Omori has by no means faded from pro fishing's limelight – he's just a little more to the side of it than usual.

Think back to few seasons to when he won three BASS events in a little over a year – the 2004 Bassmaster Classic, the 2005 Toho Bassmaster, and the 2005 Norfork

Bassmaster Central Open.

His success pushed him within the Top 5 in the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten – a stat he takes quite seriously. The bad news was he missed the 2006 Classic at Toho.

Wait a second. He fished the 2005 Classic at Pittsburgh. Didn't that mean he also got to fish the 2006 Classic at Toho, because that was the year it moved to February and everyone double-qualified? Nope. He went to the Pittsburgh Classic as defending champion – a berth that didn't carry over to Toho.

That's important because Omori's points position hasn't been especially strong the past few years, despite his aggressive string of wins. He finished 33rd in the 2005 BASS points, then 35th the next year.

But BassFans who know Omori understand that points aren't as important to him as wins, which is why he's fine with points finishes in the 30s, so long as that's good enough for a Classic or FLW championship berth.

Summer Slump

"Last year, I was pretty consistent," Omori said. "I only had bad summer tournaments. I was fishing great in the spring, but May, June and July – those 3 months – I had a bad slump. Other than that, I was pretty consistent."

His finishes bare that out. Through the end of April, in Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour events, he recorded three Top 10s (Sam Rayburn, Beaver Lake, Guntersville), plus a 30th and a 22nd.

After the May flowers bloomed, he nosedived, with three finishes near or worse than 100th, plus a string 50-somethings and other forgettables. There was a bright spot in July – his 5th at the Potomac River – but it wasn't until Table Rock in September that things turned around.

He finished 20th at Table Rock, then rode out with a 21st and 15th in two FLW Series events – the only FLW Series events he fished.

That helped bring his World Rank up from the low 30s to finish the year 22nd in the world.

"Summer – that was just because of the schedule," he said. "We had springtime tournaments the last 5 or 6 years, and I was not ready for the summer tournaments. But I learned a lot.

"I also want to say about last year that I shouldn't say I had a bad year, because my finishes were pretty good. But I didn't have any Top 5 finishes.

"In 2003, 2004 and 2005, I had my best years over all of my career. I was fishing better than I fish normally. In 2006, I wish I could have kept it going. But I fished 23 tournaments and won $175,000 – not a bad year. So like I said, I had a pretty good year."

League Differences

He won't fish the FLW Tour this year, but will fish the Eastern FLW Series. He also hopes to qualify for the PAA event this spring in Texas, so when you add it all up, he'll still fish about 20 tournaments in 2007 – not much different than his 2006 schedule.

One interesting dichotomy last year was his varied performance in the three different leagues. He finished 35th in the BASS points and 90th in the FLW points. His points were insignificant in the FLW Series, since he only fished two events, but remember that both of those finishes were strong.

The problem with his FLW finishes was practice. And it was practice – or rather, the lack of it – that arguably cost him an appearance in last year's FLW championship.

"I was in the Top 48 (in the FLW Tour points) until Champlain. But it was right after (the) Kentucky Lake (Elite Series), so I drove all the way to Champlain, and only had 1 day of practice. That hurts. I was 197th.

"I was surprised myself, to end up that bad. That was definitely a tight schedule that cost me for a championship."

2007 Goals

BassFan asked Omori what his primary goals were for the 2007 season, and one goal – one big one – was conspicuously absent.

"This is my 16th season fishing the U.S., so I have a lot of experience in the past," he said. "I feel like the last 4 years was my peak, emotionally and physically. I can't fish good for my whole career.

"I don't know what (will) happen in 2007. I'm sure I'll give 100% to be successful. My goal is going to be making the Classic again, and hopefully I can win one tournament."

What about Angler of the Year (AOY)? Not a goal?

"Yes, I would like to win AOY. But I feel more that I like to take chances to win a tournament, instead of worry about points. The way I like to play this game, is I like to win the tournament, instead of finishing 20th place in every single tournament.

"I won't worry about (AOY) until the end of the season, if I still have chance to win AOY. When the season starts, I want to be wide-open until I win one.

"I think winning is most important to me," he added. "Winning the tournament keeps me going."

Notable

> Omori will again run a Yamaha wrap this year. "I have great sponsors," he said. "I really appreciate not having to worry about money, and being able to have a good attitude for the 2007 season."

> He will again camp in his Chinook trailer while on tour.

> He spent 12 days at Lay Lake, site of the upcoming Classic, before it went off-limits. "I'm going to fish largemouths in the shallows," he said. "I'll fish with a spinnerbait, and some with a crankbait, the way I like to fish. That's my gameplan. I'll leave those spotted bass for Aaron Martens and Kevin Wirth. Those guys like to fish that offshore stuff."