By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Ott DeFoe missed just one 50-cut in his first 2 seasons on the Bassmaster Elite Series, and that by only a pound at the Arkansas River in 2011. This year he's missed three in five outings and has some work to do in order to qualify for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic.

"I don't like this feeling," said the 27-year-old Tennessean, who finished 4th and 2nd in the Angler of the Year race in his first 2 Elite campaigns. "I'm putting a little bit of pressure on myself, but one Top 12 would put me right where I need to be for the Classic, and then I'd just need two 25ths.

"The last couple years I've ended with a Top 12 (a Top 5, actually, as he was 5th at Oneida last year and at Wheeler in 2011), so I know I'm capable of it. I wouldn't say it would be a crusher to miss the Classic, but it would sting, no doubt.

"I don't even think about it because it's not going to happen, but it would hurt."

A Day Late

At 43rd in this year's AOY battle, DeFoe needs to move up 8 or 10 places in order to compete at Guntersville next February. The Top 28 on the final points list are guaranteed Classic berths, but several double-qualifiers will extend that cutoff into the 30s.

He said the primary reason for his unusually low placement on the points list is that he's been a day late in figuring things out at several tournaments.

He was beset by that issue even when he logged his best finish of the year – a 16th at Falcon. He was 50th after day 2, and thus was the last angler to make the cut.

The previous event at the Alabama River, which he describes as "a severe disappointment," provides the starkest example of his tardiness in developing a strong game plan. He plopped 17 1/2 pounds of spotted bass on the scale on day 2, but it wasn't enough to overcome his sack of 1-pounders from the previous day and he ended up 62nd.

He uncovered a sizzling swimbait bite in heavy current on day 2. The keys were point-like structures that protruded from the river bank, and it took some work to figure out the precise cast at each stop.

Once that was achieved, the fat spots were easy pickings.

"The way I found it, I was coming back down from Wetumpka and I was maybe a few hundred yards from where I fished in the All-Star event (in 2011, which he won). I was throwing a swimbait off the right side of the boat, and it was like Jesus himself tapped me on the shoulder and told me to throw off the other side.

"I caught a 3-pounder on my first cast and I caught seven fish off that one place in 10 minutes. Then I went downriver and probably caught 20 or 25 more off that place, and hardly any of them were under 2 pounds.

"I was talking to my marshal about how fun that was, but also how it hurt. All I could think about was how good it could've been."

Nothing to Fear

Next up is the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis., a venue at which DeFoe turned in a solid showing last year (27th). Then it'll be more than a month and a half before the season-concluding events at the St. Lawrence River and Lake St. Clair.

He has no experience on the St. Lawrence and he didn't fare particularly well on the Detroit River (which includes St. Clair) during his FLW days. That was long ago, however, and he'll carry no lingering bad memories with him when he goes.

"I'm looking forward to all of them," he said. "La Crosse has largemouths, so that's not a problem. I used to have a phobia about going north (to smallmouth-dominated lakes) – places like Champlain and Erie were always fun, but I never did well. Last year I did well, so now I'm really looking forward to it."

The region was indeed kind to him last year, as he added a 5th at Lake Michigan (the "mystery" event) to go along with his identical finish at Oneida. He's expects to improve his position up there again this year.

"I'm heading north to head north (in the standings)," he concluded. "I just can't have any more bad ones – that's what's killed me."

Notable

> DeFoe's 79th at the Sabine River to start the season was easily the worst showing of his Elite Series tenure. "That was a disaster from the get-go. I caught one keeper a day every day I was there until the second day of the tournament, when I caught. I wasn't in one of the areas where people did really good, and it was such an area-based deal."