Lucas On 2017: ‘It Was A Good Learning Year’

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

The momentum Justin Lucas had built since joining the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2014 was impressive.

He posted top-12s in his first two tournaments to start the ’14 season, then added a victory at the Sacramento River (California Delta) in 2015 and another win at the Potomac River in 2016. He was a check-cashing machine, too, missing just five cuts in his first 34 full-field Elite Series derbies prior to the 2017 season, an 85-percent success rate. He established himself as one of the top young anglers in the sport, let alone on the Elite Series. He couldn’t have envisioned a better transition from the FLW Tour, where he’d competed as a co-angler for two years before moving to the pro side for the 2010-13 seasons.

Lucas had no reason to think the 2017 campaign would go any differently. He started out with a 4th-place finish at the Harris Chain Southern Open, but then stumbled out of the gate in the first two Elite Series events. A 100th-place finish at Cherokee Lake followed by an 85th at Lake Okeechobee had him in 102nd in Angler of the Year (AOY) points. His previous worst finish in an Elite Series derby was a 79th at Toledo Bend in 2014.

After finishing 24th at the Bassmaster Classic, he missed two more cuts before finishing in the money four straight times prior to the season finale at Lake St. Clair, where he was 66th. If there was a silver lining to his struggles, it was this: Lucas battled back and managed to finish 64th in AOY points and therefore, he wasn’t subject to the requalification criteria that is applied to Elite Series anglers who finish outside the top 70 in points. Still, he missed out on the AOY championship and the ’18 Classic.

“It was a good learning year,” he said when asked to reflect on what was, by far, his poorest Elite Series season yet. “If those first two were normal bad finishes, I might’ve made it. Those were my two worst finishes in a row on the Elites. I got bites in practice, but not in the tournament. I don’t know why.

“Those first four … were a good learning experience. It pissed me off, but I looked at it as a challenge to come back from 99th in points. I lost fish this year that I normally don’t. It was a lot of stupid, unexplainable stuff. Nothing changed tackle-wise. It was just unexplainable.”

As much as he struggled in Elite Series events, Lucas was a force in the Southern Opens, collecting top-12 finishes in all three tournaments and capturing the division’s AOY title.

“I know fishing is fishing, but the last few years, not to say I made it look easy, but things were rolling,” Lucas said. “All the decisions I made were right. All the decisions I made this year in the Opens were right. It just didn’t transfer to the Elites. It did for a while because I had four checks in a row.”

Chasing Consistency

Lucas had an average finish of 7th in AOY points over his first three Elite Series seasons – you’ve probably already forgotten he finished 2nd behind Aaron Martens during Martens’ record-setting run to the 2015 AOY crown – but he was aware of the challenges of maintaining such lofty standards.

“I still say it’s just fishing,” he said. “When you try to talk consistency in fishing versus other sports, it’s the most difficult thing to do. We’re chasing an animal based on what they’re doing. It has nothing to do with muscle memory or stuff like that, but over the course of nine or 10 tournaments and growing up where I did and becoming the fisherman I became, I’m not saying I should be up there, but I always want to have a chance to make the Classic going into the last tournament.”

He said he wasn’t a fan of this year’s Classic being scheduled in between the second and third Elite Series tournaments. Maybe it changed how he geared himself up for the whole season, he said.

Still, when he started to gather some positive momentum later in the season, it was still an uphill battle. Despite cashing a check with a 43rd-place showing in July at the St. Lawrence River, one of his favorite destinations, it still left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I did well at Dardanelle (27th), then I had the disappointing day of my whole season at the St. Lawrence on day 3,” he said. “I had a chance to be leading after day 2. It was another learning experience. I made wrong decisions and didn’t have enough different patterns going on. I know for next time that I learned some stuff that will help. I had a chance to make the top 12 and blew it. That 40 points would’ve made a huge difference.”

Baby Fever

With one of his worst years as a pro behind him, Lucas is anxious to turn the page toward next season.

“I looked at this year as this is as bad as I could do and that gets me the excited for the next few years,” he said. “They say working the Expo at the Classic gets you fired up. I don’t know about that because I have not had to do it. I’ll let you know after March, I guess.”

Before then, however, he and wife Bree will see their household add a third member with the arrival of their first child in the next few weeks (it’s a boy and they’ve already chosen Cooper as his name). Lucas said the pregnancy has gone smoothly and he’s looking forward to the changes life has in store.

“It has not been crazy,” he said. “I have a great wife and I feel really lucky to have her in my life. She’s got a good head on her shoulders and is a great person. She makes my life easier where I can focus on fishing and work.

“I’m 31 years old and it’s always been just me or me and Bree. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be a really good thing for me.”