(Editor's note: Former B.A.S.S. emcee Keith Alan lived and breathed the tour for a half-decade. This year, his Alan Report will break down each B.A.S.S. tour-level stop to help BassFans get the inside scoop.)
After a recent bout with food poisoning, I went to bed and woke up dripping in sweat. It reminded me of the Westerns I used to watch as a kid. I remember that anytime somebody was sick, they were always diagnosed with “the fever," and when the fever broke they would be all better – as good as new.
It worked in the Westerns and it worked for my 24-hour bug, so it must be true. If you apply that logic to a bad season on the Bassmaster Elite Series, then perhaps two weekends in Alabama at the peak of summer for the Toyota Trucks All-Star Series is just what the doctor ordered for those looking to shake the "winless fever" that plagued the stars of the Elite Series.
Case in point: Skeet Reese. There is no delicate way to put it – the guy who dominated the regular season in 2009 and 2010 had the worst season of his Elite career in 2011. Ending up 54th in the Angler-of-the-Year (AOY) points put him well out of Classic contention, and mentally in a place he doesn’t want to stay. Like a victim of a car crash, this week he returns to the scene of the wreck – the place where Kevin VanDam stole his points lead, pending AOY title and mojo, not once … but twice.
It’s safe to say that the first one hurt, but Skeet rebounded by stringing together an incredible 2010 season full of Top-5 finishes. The second one still stings. Let’s face it, a year ago nobody would have predicted that Skeet would falter like he did in 2011, and we all wanted to see him rebound when it counted.
Now that B.A.S.S. has changed the format to take all of the real signficance out of this event, it will probably be Skeet’s time to shine. With nothing on the line but his own confidence, this could be the week he gets his mojo back.
The decision to bring this event back to Alabama in July was not popular with the anglers for a few reasons. Temperatures will be staggering, fish care will be critical, only the winner earns a paycheck, and after fishing these two bodies of water year after year, there are no more secrets. Everybody knows where the sweet spots are and everybody knows that the bite is activated by water flow.
Now for the good parts.
Lake Jordan can be a really fun place to fish. The Alabama spotted bass in this lake are as fierce as they come. Just ask Russ Lane, who had his rod and reel snatched out of his hands last year when he was cranking in front of the lower dam, or Aaron Martens, who loaded his livewell with 17 pounds from one spot with a dropshot in the first 90 minutes of the day.
Jordan has a fantastic largemouth population, too. Frogs, swimjigs and swimbaits produce well around the grass, and crankbaits and Carolina rigs tend to work well on the humps. All of the above bode well for Terry Scroggins, and I expect Mike Iaconelli will be junk-fishing and working the boat docks for everything he can.
The Alabama River is a completely different beast. There is a lot of water to cover, but it fishes pretty small, especially when the water starts to flow.
So in a winner-take-all event with no significance in the peak of summer, what motivates these anglers is the same thing that fuels their efforts during the regular season. It's an unwavering competitive drive and will to win.
After the season he had, Reese is certainly hungry for a win, but he's not alone. Remember, Edwin Evers has also finished 2nd behind KVD in the past 2 seasons, so he’s pretty hungry for it, too.
Only problem for those two – and the rest of the field – is that VanDam has yet to taste victory since his Classic win in February. We spoke this week and I reminded him of that, which was my not-so-subtle way of poking bass fishing’s 800-pound gorilla.
When I suggested that since there was nothing at stake, this would be the year Skeet won. He replied, “I’m going to do everything I can to keep that from happening.”
Keith Alan spent the better part of the last decade traveling, working and fishing with the pros. His company, Ultimate Fishing Experience, offers on-the-water fishing clinics and trip-of-a-lifetime experiences with the biggest names in fishing.
