By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


Ever wonder how the two-time defending FLW Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) gets himself into tournament fishing mode two days before the start of the practice session for the season opener?

He sighted in a new bow, of course.

That’s what Andy Morgan was busy with Friday afternoon, a day after his neck of the woods in east Tennessee got socked with seven inches of snow.

“That’s all melted now,” he said. “I worked on some fishing tackle for a while, but I got tired of that. I’m just sighting in a new bow now and taking some shots from about 105 yards.”

He shoved off from Dayton, Tenn., early Saturday morning en route to the Lake Toho FLW Tour season opener.

“I’m excited about it actually,” he said. “I hunted enough in the fall and winter and I’m actually ready to get back to tournament fishing. I’m looking forward to it. I’m all smiles about it. I actually pulled my boat out of storage and put it in my garage to work on because it’s been so dang cold. I put all of my Florida tackle in there so I’m ready to go.”

Same Old, Same Old

Morgan enters the 2015 season with a shot at history. Only four other anglers, B.A.S.S. or FLW, have won back-to-back AOY titles – Roland Martin, Guido Hibdon, Kevin VanDam and David Dudley – and just two (VanDam and Martin) have won three in a row, with VanDam claiming four straight B.A.S.S. AOY crowns between 2008-11.

Morgan’s well aware of what’s in front of him, but he’s never been one to overanalyze much of anything when it comes to fishing. Too much thinking bogs him down, he says.

“I’m going to go into it with the same mentality that I’ll try to catch a bass every little while and see what you have at the end of the day,” he said. “I have no grand expectations. I’m just going to go fish some tournaments.”

His success over the last two years has not been a product of a sudden affinity for intense map study or multiple scouting trips to each lake. In fact, he loathes the preparation aspect of tournament fishing. He’s been able to rack up 11 top-20 finishes, including five top-10s, over the past two years, by doing more reading and reacting than studying and analyzing.

“That’s one thing that’s I’ve always dreaded about tournaments – the prep has driven me crazy,” he said. “I don’t need that much stuff ready. I have the main ingredients and the stuff I like to do. I’ll have it all ready, but all of that maybe crap, I’ll just pass on that.”

As the new season approaches, his preferred tackle choices and tactics will remain unchanged.

“Everything has always been simple to me like that,” he said. “People think I have a zillion pieces of tackle. I really don’t. I have a bunch of Livingston top waters and crankbaits, some War Eagle spinnerbaits and Zoom plastics, and some hooks and sinkers. I just don’t carry that much, but I have plenty of what I like.”

While some may snicker at his simplistic mindset, there’s no denying the results that come with it. He says he’s still the most confident angler on the water.

“It solidifies that my approach does work,” he said. “As far as confidence, I’m still really not. It’s a see saw for and can go either way with how I fish. I’m not all that surprised if it goes one way or another. I still go about it the same way I did 10 years ago. I’ve just learned how to fight the battle smarter than we did back then. I still fight just as hard, but I’ve learned not to panic.

“I’ve had some terrible practices the last couple years, but people think I lie about that. I know what wasn’t working for me and I had to change areas and tactics. I’ve just been lucky enough that something has clued me in on what it takes to catch a good stringer of fish at that fishery.”

Good Start A Key

Like many in the field this week, Morgan was very much looking forward to the warmer climate in Florida. Taking advantage of it and posting a good finish to start the season is what he’s after most of all, though. He’s had a fair bit of success at Lake Okeechobee, which served as the traditional kick-off site for the Tour, but Toho can be a much different animal. He was 4th at Toho in 2008.

“I’m ready for the Florida weather,” he said. “It should be good. A few years ago at Okeechobee when (Brandon) McMillan and (Randall) Tharp caught like 100 pounds, I was 6th with like 90 pounds. It was like this – cold, cold, cold then it warmed up. It could be really good this week with the warmer weather coming.

“It’s Florida, though, and I’ve learned to not be surprised by anything. It could be horrible bad or mythical, but I’m looking on the bright side.”

With six events on the schedule, even the slightest stumble can put a damper on an angler’s Forrest Wood Cup hopes or AOY aspirations, which is why Morgan knows he needs to be on his game this week.

“This first event really does set the pace,” he said. “Florida is so much different from the other five tournaments we fish. It can make or break your year. If a guy finishes 90th, he’s probably out of the AOY race. If he has another bad one, he’s probably not going to make the Cup.

“This is the one everyone wants to come out of the gate strong at and get some money in their pocket and get a start. It’s really a nerve-wracking tournament, but I’ve been at it long enough that I’m like, ‘Well, whatever happens happens.’”