By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
(Editor's note: BassFan will observe Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, so a new First Cast story will not appear until Tuesday.)
Alvin Shaw has spent the last 5 years on the sidelines of tour-level bass fishing. Now, he’s ready to get back in the game.
The two-time FLW Tour winner and 10-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier will come out of “semi-retirement” at the FLW Tour season opener at Lake Toho in early March.
“I miss it, basically,” the 59-year-old Shaw told BassFan this week. “It’s going to be good to get back out there.”
Not that he’s had his gear stored in mothballs since finishing the 2009 Tour season. He competed in 11 B.A.S.S. Opens since 2010 and had a couple of Top-10 finishes. He said he’s also fished some charity events near his Roaring Gap, N.C., home.
Shaw stepped away from the Tour after Kellogg’s – he repped Cheez-Itz – (and Walmart, among other sponsors) opted to pull out of FLW for the 2010 season. It was late in the calendar year and he found himself in a similar predicament that some Tour pros did this offseason after several major FLW sponsors opted to not return for the 2015 campaign.
“I’d lost my major sponsor there and just felt maybe it was time I needed to do some stuff around the house,” he said.
He got back into the residential construction business in the meantime, but always kept an eye on the tournament scene. When he saw the 2015 Tour schedule, he figured it was time to dip his toes back in the water.
“I felt like if I had a couple of good years left, I’d best get back at it,” he said.
He never considered himself retired from the sport at any point since he continued to compete in the Opens.
“I never really announced it and the reason I didn’t was because I felt like I’d get right back in it,” he said. “Because of the timing of some things at home, it never materialized, so I guess you could say I was semi-retired.”
Things Have Changed
Five years in the bass fishing world can almost seem like a generation with the rate at which new technology and equipment is introduced. That hasn’t been lost on Shaw, who’s done his best to keep up with the latest developments in the sport.
“Just looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, it seems like there’s more knowledge out there,” he said. “Everybody has a lot more knowledge about more things. When I first started, it was about exploring the new technology and you felt like you could get an advantage by using what was available.
“Now, the young kids have read all about what we’ve done and know how to use the equipment. Everybody seems to be more schooled on it all.”
Shaw was able to continue his affiliation with Johnson Outdoors (Minn Kota/Humminbird) during his time away from the Tour, so he’s been able to stay up to date on the latest gadgets and tools.
“You have to stay on top of that and from working with Humminbird, I feel like I’ve done that,” he said. “There’s so much new stuff coming out, it’s like you have to be out there every day and working with it and learning it. It’s a big deal, especially with different kinds of fishing like being offshore. It’s one thing to know how to use it, but it’s another to know how to read it and what it can tell you.”
Motivation A Key
As Shaw discussed his return to Tour competition, he mentioned at several points that he feels he’s at his best when he’s motivated and locked in. He said fishing local tournaments around home didn’t get his competitive juices going the way a major national event does and he’s anxious to feel that adrenaline rush again soon.
“As many years as I’ve been at it, it’s kind of hard to get motivated for a pick-up game, so to speak, or a local tournament,” he said. “I still feel like I have good years left and can compete.”
He hasn’t outlined any goals in particular that he’d like to achieve in his first year back. He says that should take care of itself if he feels like he’s on his game.
“I haven’t really set any goals for myself other than get out there and get pumped up and motivated,” he said. “When I get motivated, that’s when I seem to do my best. When I do that, the wins and high finishes hopefully will come.
“That’s the part of the game that not everybody realizes is such a big part. Motivation can win or lose it for you. You have to get in a good zone or frame of mind and not burn yourself out before the competition begins.”
Shaw said he plans to travel with fellow North Carolinian Tracy Adams, who also returns to the FLW Tour after a 1-year turn on the Elite Series.
“I hope to make a good showing,” he said. “I’m feeling real good health-wise. I’m getting up in age a little bit, but I feel good about it. I need to shed a few pounds over the next few weeks, but I’m feeling good.”
