Warrior Run, Pa.'s Dave Wolak (WOE-lak) stormed into the 2005 Bassmaster Tour posting finishes that most tournament veterans would take year in and year out. And he was just a rookie. Who is this guy? How did he do it? Read on.
Wolak has fished the Bassmaster Northern Opens since 2002. His best finish that first year was 29th. In 2003, he graduated to a12th-place finish at the Hudson River.
Then, in the 2004 Opens, he improved his best to a 4th-place finish at the Hudson River. That bumped him to 9th in that division's points and secured his invitation to the Bassmaster Tour.
From there, here's how he did on the Tour:
1/2005 -- Lake Toho -- 24
2/2005 -- Harris Chain -- 82
2/2005 -- Lake Guntersville -- 39
3/2005 -- Strom Thurmond Reservoir (Clarks Hill) -- 13
3/2005 -- Lake Norman -- 12
3/2005 -- Table Rock Lake -- 10
Three finishes in the Top 15 and only one finish below 39th place put him 4th in the year-end Bassmaster Tour points. Thanks to the changes in the Bassmaster Tour schedule for next year, that high finish got him into the 2005 and 2006 Bassmaster Classics. He also won the Bassmaster rookie of the year award, which got him into this year's Elite 50s.
Not bad for never fishing half of the bodies of water in this year's schedule, and being a rookie.
Cold Weather, Little Worm Helped…
So how does a 28-year-old rookie from Pennsylvania drop bombs like that his first year on tour? Two words: cold water.
That's where he feels comfortable, and that's mostly the way it worked out on this year's "spring-loaded" Bassmaster Tour schedule.
"Coming into the year, I knew I had to survive the two Florida events," he said. Even though he was confident he could compete in heavy-weight catch fests if need be, he was looking forward to colder-water pre-spawn events where finesse fishing would play a major role.
"I pretty much 'northern-fished' every event," he said. "I have no shame admitting that I used a spinning rod a majority of the season.
"My philosophy was simple: catch a limit every time out and the rest would take care of itself. When the weather got brutally cold, I would lock on a 4-inch worm and go to work. That's my confidence bait.
"I fished the same way down South as I have up North my whole life."
…And So Did Short Practice
Many people have said that the Bassmaster Tour's off-limits and short practice hurts rookies relative to long-time pros who have been fishing Tour lakes for years. But Wolak feels differently. He thinks the short practice periods helped him out.
"I don't have the finances to go and practice for a month, and even if I did, I wouldn't do it," he said. "I try to figure out a couple little ways to catch them in practice, and expand on them during the tournament."
He did go to Guntersville, Clarks Hill and Table Rock before the practice cutoff, but not to fish, he said. Rather, it was because he'd never been to those bodies of water prior to the Tour season.
"Half of the battle is just knowing where you can run and where you can't," he noted. The navigation days "really let me focus on fishing during the official practice."
What's Next
Okay, he kicked some tails and took some names this year. But speaking of finances, what about next year's 11 Bassmaster Tour events with higher entry fees?
"I have thought about the heavy financial demand of fishing the Tour with 11 events, but have I focused on it? No," he said. "I'm focused on the E50s and the Classic, and then I'll worry about what comes after that.
"My wife works while I'm on the road, which takes a lot of the financial strain off of me," he noted. "It lets me focus on fishing."
That's good, but the name of the game in staying in the sport over the long haul – especially on the BASS side – is sponsors. When asked if he had any sponsor deals in the works, Wolak said he's talking to some companies, but nothing's solid yet.
"For now, my wife is my only sponsor. She bought me my New York Yankees hat that I wear on stage. I figure I better wear it if she bought it – you know what I mean?"
He runs a Ranger, which begs the question: Will he ever fish the FLW Tour? "BASS was the first tour I qualified for, so that's what I fished. If I would've qualified for the FLW first, I would have probably signed up for that. I ended up in 14th place in the Northern EverStarts and just missed qualifying.
"I'd like to fish both. I just want to fish tournaments. I don't care who runs them."
He added: "The whole sponsor thing is new to me, and I just want to concentrate on fishing right now." That means the E50s.
"I'm really pumped for the E50s to begin," he said. "Having no entry fee and huge purses will be awesome. And since I've already qualified for the next two Bassmaster Classics, I'll take more chances. I've fished safely all season, but now I'll take a shot for the fences."
Notable
> How much does he like cold weather? "When it started snowing at Lake Norman I was smiling from ear to ear."
> This Years Bassmaster Classic is in Wolak's home state of Pennsylvania, on the Ohio River in Pittsburgh. He said: "This may sound strange, but I've never fished (that area) before. I think I'll like it because I love fishing rivers."
> This year his goal was to be in the Top 25 in the Tour points, and that will remain his goal for 2006. Granted, a lot of the pressure has been taken off by qualifying for two Classics. He feels he is at an advantage being the first rookie to have ever done that. "I'll probably be a little nervous at the first one, but what's cool is knowing that I've already qualified for the next one. I'm using the first one as an experience."
>In the BassFan Rookie of the Year Race, Wolak just took over the lead from FLW Tour rookie Bobby Lane.
> Pennsylvania isn't exactly known for producing great tour-level bass anglers. The best-known angler from that state right now is Dave Lefebre, formerly a two-tour pro who is only fishing the FLW Tour this year. Jack Bell also fishes that tour. On the Bassmaster side, Wolak and third-year pro Randy Yarnall are the only Pennsylvanians. Randall Romig, who last fished the Bassmaster Tour in 2004, also is a semi-well-known Pennsylvanian.
