Classic pressure? You'll have to pardon Terry Scroggins if he's entirely unfamiliar with the concept.
Next week's Bassmaster Classic will take place at Lake Toho in his home state of Florida, and he's on a serious roll in tournaments held in Gator Country. If the Las Vegas sportsbooks were to set odds for the event, he'd be a favorite right up there with Kevin VanDam, the 2005 champion who's No. 1 in the BassFan World Rankings.
He's a masterful flipper and a darn good sight-fisherman, and one of those patterns will likely dominate. Most anglers in his situation would at least acknowledge the burden that comes with high expectations for success. Not him.
"None of that stuff really bothers me at all," he said. "I'll be fishing against 50 of the best fishermen in the world and anyone can win. All you can do is go out and do the best that you can, and in the end you hope that it's enough."
Supreme Confidence
It may seem as if Scroggins is oblivious to the magnitude of the event or the opportunity it presents to an angler with his particular set of skills, but that's not the case. He knows he has an excellent chance to do what no angler has done before – win the Classic in his home state.
His casual attitude about the expectations that others have for him stems from an unwillingness to allow his performance to be affected by outside factors. Those Toho 4-pounders don't give a rip about his reputation and couldn't care less whether he lives up to his pre-tournament billing.
"If you start worrying about too much stuff, your mind starts wandering and it won't be right," he said. "All I plan to do is keep my head down and fish."
As for his confidence, it's at an all-time high. He won the Toho Bassmaster Southern Open last November and was 5th at the 2005 Toho Bassmaster. He was also 2nd at the Okeechobee Bassmaster Southern Tour last month.
"I'm really fishing good right now, and I think it's because I'm staying focused on what I'm doing," he said. "When you're in the zone, things just fall into place, and when you're not, you can't make things work no matter what you try.
"Right now, everything is working for me, and I hope it lasts one more tournament, anyway."
Good and Bad Memories
Scroggins' memories of Toho stretch all the way back to when he was 10 years old. "Other than my home water (the St. John's River), I know this place better than anywhere else in the country," he said.
Scroggins said right now, everything's working for him – he just hopes that lasts one more tournament.
He recalled a day when he and his father "probably caught a hundred" in Goblitt's Cove and remembered a 2-day tournament he fished with Glenn Browne in which they weighed in 10 fish for 48 pounds over 2 days.
You'd think his 5th-place finish at the Toho Bassmaster would also fall into the "good" pile, but what he remembers most about that tournament is all the fish he lost.
"I had the fish on to win that one and I didn't put them in the boat," he said. "I just didn't execute. They were biting real funny and I was having a hard time getting them out of the cover. I lost about 16 or 17 pounds on the second day, and I lost quite a few on the last day as well.
"In that particular tournament I just wasn't fishing well, and there had been some other tournaments (that came) through there and I think the fish were a little bit spooked."
No Fear of Crowds
Since Scroggins is a "hometown boy," he's sure to attract a fleet of spectator boats. He's about as concerned with that as he is with the expectations of others – not at all. "There were a lot of spectators at last year's Classic and I'm sure there'll be a lot here, but I don't have a problem with that," he said. "I'll probably know some of them – I know a lot of people in Florida."
He's not even worried about some of those "fans" hanging around and fishing his area after the tournament day is concluded. "I hope that doesn't happen, but you never know. If it did, I'd just pick up and go somewhere else. I know more spots on this lake than the average guy who's coming down here."
The Colder, the Better
Scroggins' biggest concern about the Classic is the weather. Because of his flipping prowess, he's hoping for a cold front that will make the fish stick tight to the vegetation.
"That'd be fine with me," he said. "That's what I excel at. But I'll have to wait and let the weather dictate how I'm going to fish. If it's warm, then it'll probably be a sight-fishing thing."
Because he's been on such a hot streak, he doesn't expect to be tricked by funny-biting fish like he was at the Toho Bassmaster last year.
"They tend to do that in cold-front situations," he said. "They're not near as aggressive as when they're feeding good. But when you're flipping an ounce-and-a-half of weight, there's not a whole lot you can do when you get a bite but set the hook. You just swing and hope you get one."
When pressed, he admitted there might be a few subtle technique adjustments that can be made to boat the softer biters.
"Oh, I do some things, but I'm not going to tell you about them right now. I might tell you in a couple of weeks."
Notable
> Scroggins said he had a good first day of pre-fish on Tuesday. "I probably had 25 bites."
> This will be his third appearance in the Classic. He was 13th last year and 16th in 2002.
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