By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
(Editor's note: In observance of the President's Day holiday on Monday, Feb. 15, a new First Cast story will not appear until Tuesday.)
James Elam can sense a storm is brewing on the horizon and it has nothing to do with the weather in Tulsa, Okla.
Elam knows that in about 2 weeks, his world is going to start spinning at a little faster clip than it is currently. He’ll be asked to be here or there, do this or that. His time will be spread pretty thin.
Welcome to your first Bassmaster Classic, James. Oh, and by the way, it’s going to be in your hometown.
To prepare, Elam has been “going nonstop” since November, lining up new sponsors, ordering a new boat with all the trappings, designing a wrap, jerseys and generally tending to all of the loose ends that come with the offseason. With the Classic bearing down on him, he put more pressure on himself to get things done ahead of schedule.
“I wanted to make sure everything was ready before the Classic,” Elam said. “I know there’s a storm coming that I can’t do anything about. I wanted to control what I can when I can so I’m well rested and ready for what’s coming.
“There are so many things and you always run into bumps along the way. It’s a lot of work that people don’t realize needs to get done. These are all good problems to have. There have been more positive things happening that I’m really happy about. I’ve been waiting on this and I’m embracing it.”
Points of Pride
Elam punched his Classic ticket last September when he won the Fort Gibson Lake Central Open, his first B.A.S.S. victory. It came in the midst of a dazzling end to his season that saw him sandwich 10th-place finishes at the Lake St. Clair Elite Series and Angler of the Year Championship around the Open triumph.
He concluded his third year on the Elite Series a career-best 26th in points, making the 29-year-old a double qualifier for his first Classic. He cashed as many checks last year (five) as he did in his first two seasons combined. As thrilling as the Open win was, he said he’s proudest of making it based on his performance across the Elite Series season.
“Just because it’s so hard to do,” he said. “Sometimes that Open win overshadows that and I get to thinking that it’s so hard to win a B.A.S.S. tournament, so I’m pretty proud of that, too.
“I know someday a few years from now, if I haven’t won another, I’ll miss it. You can’t take it for granted because you have to be dialed in mentally and physically for things to go your way. It’s just crazy how I did both in the same year.”
Not surprisingly, his confidence level shot up with his continued success and he hopes to see some carryover effect to start this year.
“I don’t know what happened to me at the end of year,” he said. “I need to figure out what that was and duplicate that. During my first couple years, there was so much pressure with so much going on and last year I just had the mental mindset of not caring. If I didn’t do well, I’d be like, ‘Oh well. I’ll just go to the next one and I’m going to work as hard as I can.’”
Refresher Course
In between off-the-water business during the winter, Elam was able to spend a considerable amount of time at Grand Lake before the flooding that occurred in mid and late December spoiled many qualifiers' scouting trips.
“It was pretty stable,” he said. “I hadn’t fished the lake in 4 years probably. I used to fish it every weekend. A lot of things came back to me. It’s such a big lake and there are so many places to win. It all depends on what areas will be good that week.”
He used the time on the water not only to get reacquainted with the lake, but also to duplicate scenarios that will likely occur during the Classic, like fishing with gloves on. He plans to visit the lake between now and the Classic to walk the bank and get a feel for water clarity in the shallow areas.
“It was neat after being everywhere for the last 3 years to come back and see things differently,” he said. “I was able to break it down better and see why it was good.”
While fellow Oklahomans Edwin Evers and Jason Christie will probably get appreciably more attention in the lead-up to the event, Elam only has to look to last year’s Classic to know that a local can, in fact, prevail at the sport’s biggest spectacle.
“It’s good to look at other guys and their mental approach and their personality,” he said. “Everybody is different in their own way, but it’s neat to look at guys and understand that. I don’t know (Casey Ashley) real well, but he’s cool and calm and doesn’t get rattled. He’s also a heck of a fisherman and he has it naturally and mentally.
“There’s something to be learned there. That helped him out a lot. If he would’ve gotten rattled that’s where it would’ve happened. He had that focus you need when things like this happen. For me in this tournament, that’s the type of mindset I’m going to need. It helps when you figure them out in practice, too. I still have to get it done.”
