By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

(Editor's note: Brian Clark and Randy Allen are former Bassmaster Elite Series anglers and current team-tournament partners in the Texas-Louisiana region. Both finished among the Top 5 on this year's Central Opens points list and will take their second crack at the Elites in 2015. Today's feature focuses on Clark, with a profile of Allen to follow on Friday.)

Brian Clark had a typically rough rookie season on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2008, but turned in a considerably better overall showing the following year.

By the end of the '09 campaign, though, the country's economy had bottomed out and the former professional bull rider knew that his second career in a non-mainstream sport was about to be interrupted due to a lack of funding. At least he went out on a high note – his 24th-place finish at Oneida Lake garnered him his fourth paycheck of the season after he'd failed to cash even once the previous year.

"I'd finished almost dead-last at Oneida the year before, but I'd learned a lot," he said. "I remember sitting there on the second day in '09 and thinking that if something didn't break loose, that was going to be my last Elite even or awhile.

"The first year I'd had about three-quarters of my entry fees paid through sponsorships, but not even one of them was paid in '09. With the four checks I came close to breaking even, but the economy was horrible and with a newborn son and another one who was 4, it was one of those deals where I knew I couldn't come up with the money to do it again."

In no way, shape or form did he believe he was done for good, however.

"I just told myself I was going to regroup and keep on fishing as much as I could, and maybe 3 or 4 years later I could get back after it."

Second Chance Arrives

It took slightly longer than he'd hoped, but Clark's second opportunity to compete at the sport's top level has arrived. He ended up 4th in the Central Open points after finishes of 17th at Lake Amistad, 37th at the Red River and 13th at the Arkansas River.

He's eager to see if he can make the lessons he learned in his first Elite Series stint pay off.

"I think I'll be more prepared – that's probably the best way to put it," he said. "The more prepared you are, the more confidence you have and the luckier you get, it seems.

"My first year on the Elites I had to have everything line up almost perfectly just to get a check. Then the second year I made four checks out of eight events (three fewer opportunities than the previous year due to a schedule reduction also brought on by the economy) and I just missed another one at the Mississippi River when I knocked off my lower unit and had to weigh in at mid-day. I did a lot better mostly because I just knew what to expect."

Fast Ascent

Clark's initial rise to the Elite level occurred rather rapidly – maybe it was too quick. He'd fished since he was a young boy, but focused intently on rodeo during his teens and early 20s because the age window for success in that sport is open for only a short time.

In his first year fishing the Opens, he won at Texoma and finished 4th at the Red River.

"I feel like I've improved by leaps and bounds since then," said Clark, who operates a ceramic tile installation business when he's not fishing. "My goal was always to do good and win, but the first thing on my mind was trying to get a check. Now the check doesn't even cross my mind – I'm shooting to get into the Top 12 and then move on from there. It's just a different mindset.

"Now when I get around guys who are at that point in their career, I never say anything, but I see myself back then in them. They're saying things like, 'If I can just catch 10 pounds a day I can get a check,' and those were the same things I was saying in '08. What I'm thinking about now is what I need to do to make the Top 12 and maybe win the deal."

Those derbies, though, are vastly different from the Elite Series events he was a part of half a decade ago – and soon will be again.

"After fishing at that level, with the setup and the weigh-ins and everything, other tournaments are naturally a letdown. That's the main reason I strived so hard to get back – it's just a completely different experience.

"When I was riding bulls, even when I felt like I was on top of my game I could look back a year later or even 3 months later and say I wish I could go back to that time because I felt like I'd learned so much and was such a better rider. It's the same thing with fishing and that's exciting right now. I want to go back and compete knowing what I know now."