Ott DeFoe has been to a bunch of Bassmaster Classics. From the time he was about 9 years old, his family's annual summer vacation revolved around bass fishing's premier event.
"I think we went to nine of them in a row," he said. "We'd get autographs from everybody and if it was somewhere close, like the ones in Alabama, we'd take our boat and watch them on the water. Then when it was time for the weigh-in, we'd be right there at the front of the line to get a good seat."
His best memory from those events occurred prior to one of the many Classics held in Alabama. He approached Jay Yelas as the future Classic champion was coming off the water following a practice session.
"He was just getting out of his boat and I went up to him and asked if I could look at one of the rods he was fishing with. He handed it to me and let me pitch with it there around the docks.
"That was the coolest thing ever."
Time to Take his Shot
Although he's only 25, DeFoe has already logged 4 seasons on the FLW Tour, and he qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup during each. His lowest finish on the points list was 40th, and that happened this year.
He also competed in the 2010 Bassmaster Southern Opens and ended up 6th on the points list, which gained him an invitation to fish next year's Elite Series. He's not about to pass that up.
"When I was growing up, everything was always about the Bassmasters," he said. "That was all that I saw back then and now that I've got this chance, I thought I should take it."
It makes sense for him for more reasons than just nostalgia. His primary sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, is heavily involved with BASS. And after fishing the PAA Tournament Series with the person in the back of his boat serving only as an observer, he's anxious to go through a full tour season in that mode.
"I found out how comfortable it is to fish when you don't have to worry about what the guy in the back of the boat is doing."
Details Suit him Fine
DeFoe said he likes the look of next year's Elite Series schedule and prefers a format that reduces the field by roughly half after the first 2 days. But logistical details notwithstanding, he knows he'll need to make better decisions on tournament days than he did this season to reach his goals of making the Classic and contending for the Rookie of the Year.
"I don't want to be too negative, but I'm really glad this season's over," he said. "It was a trying year – I'd usually have a really good first day and then fall apart on the second day. It was the opposite of other years – I used to struggle on the first day and then come back strong on day 2.
"Decision-making was the biggest thing. I can look back at my worst tournaments and see that even in practice I didn't make good decisions about where or how to fish, and those bad practices led to bad tournaments. And there were times when I fished my practice too hard after things had changed instead of just going fishing in the tournament.
"I felt like they were the best decisions at the time, but looking back they obviously weren't," he continued. "I need to keep my head down and make sure I do the right things on tournament days."
Limited Advance Scouting
DeFoe won't do a lot of pre-practicing for the Elite Series this off-season, although he may make a trip to Florida to scout the first two venues on the schedule – the Harris Chain and the St. Johns River. He's comfortable enough with his knowledge of the rest of the stops.
If there's one event he's most looking forward to, it's West Point Lake in Georgia in early May. He competed in a Stren there once and says it fishes a lot like Cherokee or Pickwick – two lakes near his home that he has vast experience on.
"It's not a deep highland reservoir, but it's not flat and shallow like Guntersville, either," he said. "As long as the water's up in the buckbrush and the willow trees, it should be a shallow-or-deep kind of thing.
"And anything on the Chattahoochee River is usually a pretty good fishery – it's like the Tennessee River, but with more color."
The stop he's initially the least enthusiastic about is Murray, with its abundance of blueback herring that serve as the main forage for the bass.
"If it's a blueback lake and the (bass) aren't on the beds, I'm pretty well lost. I'll usually just go to the other end of the lake and try to do something totally different."
Notable
> DeFoe will start his initial Elite Series season at No. 82 in the BassFan World Rankings. He began the 2010 campaign at 48th.
