Three Elite Pros Pin Final Hopes On Santee

Any way you slice it, this is one of the worst years for a pro to miss the Bassmaster Classic. Sponsor dollars are tight, entry fees are high and the cost of doing business hasn't let up.

Pros often have bonuses built into their contracts for making the Classic, but even those who don't need the exposure and credibility such a berth lends.

The final Bassmaster Northern Open of the season began yesterday at Sandusky, Ohio, where several current and former Elite pros hope to make the Classic, including Frank Scalish, Kota Kiriyama, J. Todd Tucker and others.

The Central Opens wrap up Nov. 5 at the Atchafalaya Basin where Bradley Hallman and Edwin Evers (among others) are in the mix for a Classic berth.

Prior to that, though, the Southern Opens conclude with a third and final event at Santee Cooper, and three Elite Series pros are 1-2-3 in the points standings – Terry Scroggins, Greg Vinson and Peter Thliveros, respectively.

Scroggins finished an uncharacteristic 50th in the Elite Series points this season. Vinson turned in a 56th-place points finish in his Elite Series debut (he fished the FLW Tour the year before). And Peter T. finished a forgettable 78th in the points.

Each has a chance for redemption at Santee Cooper a month from now, but only the Top 2 in the points make the Classic.

The three pros said absolutely, they're taking this Santee event as seriously as they've taken any tournament in their career.

Single Purpose

"I'm one of those guys where they expect you to be there (at the Classic)," Scroggins said. "Everybody sets out the first of the year with the goal of making it, then when you make it you have the goal of winning it. I'll do everything I have to do to be there. This is the last chance I have to get to the Classic, but I know (Santee) fairly well – it fishes a lot like the lakes and rivers around where I live (in Florida), so I feel comfortable."

Scroggins won a spring version of the event there in 2007, boasts of several other Top 10s on the waterbody, and is generally a monster in the Opens, so his confidence doesn't seem misplaced.

Vinson, an Alabama pro who's much newer to the scene than Scroggins, fished the Forrest Wood Cup at Murray last year, then switched over to the Elites. He's been close to a Classic berth through the Opens before, but aims to close this time around.

"I've had plenty of time to think about it since Oneida," Vinson said. "It's my last chance to get to my first Classic. To say it's a big tournament for me would be an understatement. I almost made it through the Opens last year but came up a little short. I'm really hungry to make it.

"This Classic's close to home – Lay Lake's only an hour and a half from my home in Wetumpka – so I'm familiar with the lake and I'd like my chances. To get to fish my first Classic in my home state would be awesome. But I have to get through this Open and beat guys like Terry and Peter T. and so many other good fishermen."

Thliveros, who fished the three most recent Classics, is taking the Santee event with such seriousness that he'll practice for a period of up to 10 days. He's fished Santee plenty throughout the years, but it's been over a decade since he visited in the fall.

"It's the only chance I get to make the Classic so I have to take it pretty seriously," he said. "I'll spend 7 to 10 days there practicing, which is more than I've spent on any tournament in years. Those won't be full practice days – I'm going to hunt in the afternoons – but I'm as serious as I can get.

"I was feeling pressure," he added. "But I finally came to the realization that whether I feel pressure or not, it won't make any difference in the outcome. So why worry about it?"

Scroggins noted that he's staying loose in the month runup to the event by fishing around the house. He equated fishing to playing golf. "If you don't play, it won't work the same way when you take off (or tee off)." So he's been spending a lot of time on Rodman Reservoir and the St. Johns River.

Likewise for Vinson, who's fishing what he can around Wetumpka. But Vinson's given some extra thought to what he faces. "It's fall and I'll be treating Santee like a new body of water, instead of fishing the same things I did in the past. It'll be tough, and I feel like I need a Top 10 or Top 15 to have a shot, so I think I need to find a pattern that'll be consistent. In a way I'll be fishing for points in this one vs. gambling for the win."

Notable

> Of the three, Thliveros was the only one who fished last week's Clarks Hill Eastern FLW Series. He finished 25th and cashed a check. "I was really pleased with that," he said. "It beats sitting home and not getting paid."

> Vinson's least-favorite lake in the country is Clarks Hill.

> Scroggins has won four Opens, including back-to-back events at Toho and Santee in 2007.