Hawk Had Miraculous Second Day At Wheeler

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Roy Hawk has had quite a few memorable days on the water over the past couple of decades. He could fish three derbies a week for the next 100 years, though, and he might never have one as thrilling as day 2 at last week's Rayovac Championship at Wheeler Lake.

"It was just unbelievable," the Western veteran said. "It was just so cool the way it all went down."

Buried deep in the standings after catching only two squeaker keepers on day 1, he rallied to sack a tournament best 19-05 on the second day. That massive sack not only put him in the money at 23rd place, but also earned him a berth in next year's Forrest Wood Cup as it rocketed him past all of the other competitors from the Western Division.

And that's only the half of it. Shortly before weighing in he watched his 23-year-old son claim a co-angler berth at the 2015 Cup with a 22nd-place showing. Sunny Hawk's ledger for the event was the polar opposite of his father's as he amassed a strong opening-day stringer and then endured a lackluster 2nd day.

The fact that the Hawks punched tickets to Arkansas' Lake Ouachita next summer despite such relatively low finishes doesn't speak well for the Western contingent's performance at the event. Nevertheless, they're not about to forfeit their berths.

"It's going to be something special to have the opportunity to travel back there and fish with him," the elder Hawk said. "This is literally a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

"Think about it – next year is the last year of having co-anglers (in the Cup). But even with co-anglers, the chances of doing it again wouldn't be that strong."

Down, then Up

The 44-year-old Hawk, the runner-up to Kyle Grover in this year's Western Rayovac points race, said his practice for the Championship was decent, but not spectacular.

"I'd say it was kind of a conservative practice," he said. "I had good feelings about the area I was in and I thought if things went right I could catch 10 to 12 pounds a day and that might be enough (to make the Cup). Then if I got a big bite, that 12 pounds could become 15."

He fished a 10-mile stretch on the lower part of the lake near the dam, not far from the takeoff in Florence, Ala., throwing a crankbait, a jig and a spinnerbait. That portion of the impoundment got relatively scant angling pressure.

Judging by Hawk's first-day haul, there was good reason for that.

"I caught a lot of fish that were just short (of being keepers) and a lot of drum, but the place just wasn't right for some reason. It just didn't happen.

"I was pretty disappointed when I went back to the cabin, but I had an overwhelming peace come over me that everything was going to be all right. I prayed about it and determined that I wasn't going to worry and I was going to go back out and do the same thing the next day and it would work out."

Indeed it did. He caught two run-of-the-mill keepers in the opening hour that equaled or exceeded his entire legal catch from day 1. At mid-day he switched to a deeper-diving Duo Realis crank and popped a 4-pounder that was suspended in a tree about 7 feet deep over 15 feet of water.

"When I caught that one, I thought maybe I could parlay (that pattern) into something," he said.

Another 4-pounder followed shortly thereafter, and then he caught the fish that put him in the Cup. It weighed more than 6 pounds and came from a small indentation in the bank on the back side of the current.

With 5 minutes left in the day, he attempted to make a long cast with the bait that had produced the majority of his weight. It separated from his line and just kept on flying.

"I just looked at my co-angler and said, 'All right, I guess we're done.

"What an exciting day, the way it all played out. I've won Rayovacs before and I've caught 30-pound bags, but there was something about the way this one went down and with my son being in almost the same situation. My heart was really with him first.

"We'd talked about both of us making the Cup at the start of the year and we figured it was possible, but you don't ever plan on it."

A Comfortable Venue

The site of next year's Cup is a long way from Hawk's home in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., but it'll nonetheless be a familiar place for him. He logged two 7th-place finishes there in 2010 – one in an FLW Tour event and the other in a Central Rayovac.

Before he competes in the Cup he plans to fish his first tour-level campaign since 2011. Financing the season is a concern, but as he was after day 1 at Wheeler, he's confident he'll discover a way to make it work.

"The way I fish these bigger tournaments, I'm literally all-in every time. I spent every cent I had (getting to Wheeler) and I literally had no way home. I would've figured out some way if I'd had to.

"I'm trying to hit up some companies (for sponsorship) and if I come up with the $6,000 I need for the deposit by the first of December, I'll be all-in again. If for some reason it doesn't pan out I'll just fish the Rayovacs again, but I'll find a way to do it."