The final regular-season event of the 2007 FLW Tour begins this Thursday at the Detroit River in Michigan. As with every end-of-season event, the stakes vary wildly from one angler to the next.
The Angler of the Year (AOY) title will be decided, which is a close contest between Jay Yelas, Shinichi Fukae, and Mark Davis, plus David Dudley and Andy Morgan. Yelas told BassFans last week that he'll play things somewhat safe, since he only needs to finish 26th or better to clinch the title.
Yelas still needs to catch 'em, but he's not about to run 40 miles out into Lake Erie to do it. He'll fish close if he can.
But the AOY race isn't the only game at Detroit, because 40 Forrest Wood Cup berths
are on the line. That's where things get a little more sticky.
The Cup is the new FLW Outdoors championship, and is patterned after the Bassmaster Classic – meaning, anglers qualify for the Cup through trails other than just the FLW Tour. It takes place in August at Lake Ouachita in Arkansas.
In particular, the Top 30 from the 2006 FLW Series points have already qualified for the Cup, and many of those pros are also fishing this week at Detroit.
With Cup berths in minds, here's a closer look at some of the subplots to watch as the event draws near.
Worry Free
The Top 40 in the FLW Tour points will qualify for the Cup. Right now, 12 anglers inside the Top 40 have already qualified for the Cup through the 2006 Series. They are:
Jay Yelas
Shinichi Fukae
Mark Davis
David Dudley
Andy Morgan
Jacob Powroznik
Luke Clausen
Darrel Robertson
Dave Lefebre
Koby Kreiger
Rob Kilby
Matt Herren
Aside from the aforementioned Yelas, Fukae, Davis, Dudley and Morgan, who're locked inside an AOY battle, the other seven anglers fish pressure-free this week, as do the rest of the Series Top 30 from last year.
"I'm gun-slinging big-time – bigger than ever," Lefebre said, who's a longtime Erie ace. "I don't know exactly what I'll do yet, but I've covered every ounce of water over half of Lake Erie. I'm getting geared up for a crazy run. I'm real excited about the possibilities, and it's nice to not have anything to lose. If it's flat-dead calm, and I can go where I want to go, it's over."
Anthony Gagliardi, like Lefebre, already has his Cup berth. But unlike Lefebre, he's not jazzed on a mega victory run across the big lake.
"I haven't really made up my mind what I'll do yet," Gagliardi said. "I found some fish I think I can catch in bad weather, so I feel pretty good from that standpoint. I took (yesterday) off from practice, and I want to spend the rest of practice on Erie. It's nice not having to worry about where I have to finish. My goal right now, weather permitting, is to make the cut."
Double Up, Work Down
Due to inevitable double-qualifications, anglers who finish this week below 40th in the Tour points might still make the Cup. FLW Outdoors hasn't publicly stated that it'll work down the points list in the case of double qualifications, and an earlier request by BassFan for clarification went unanswered, but several pros have said that'll be the case.
The list of double-qualifiers right now is at 12, as noted above. That'll likely change as the Detroit River event concludes, but clearly, there's a major points focus on 30th through 70th place in the points race right now. And here are those points standings as they sit right now:
30. Brett Hite
31. Ott Defoe (already Cup qualified)
32. Rob Kilby (already Cup qualified)
33. Keith Monson
34. John Devere
35. Greg Pugh
36. Glenn Browne
37. Matt Herren (already Cup qualified)
38. Tim Carroll
39. David Fritts
40. Jim Moynagh
41. Craig Powers
42. Bud Pruitt
43. Jack Wade (already Cup qualified)
44. Anthony Gagliardi (already Cup qualified)
45. Vic Vatalaro
46. Kevin Vida
47. Clark Wendlandt (already Cup qualified)
48. Marcel Veenstra
49. George Jeane, Jr.
50. Woo Daves
51. Bobby Curtis
52. Chip Harrison
53. George Cochran (already Cup qualified)
54. Tommy Martin (already Cup qualified)
55. Scott Martin
56. David Walker
57. Michael Murphy (currently last angler in due to double-qualifiers)
58. Chris Elliott (already Cup qualified)
59. John Tanner
60. Jeremiah Kindy
61. Dwayne Horton
62. Art Ferguson III
63. Tim Johnson (already Cup qualified)
64. Mike Hawkes
65. Jason Abram
66. Todd Auten (already Cup qualified)
67. Craig Dowling
68. Jim Tutt
69. Clifford Pirch
70. Dan Morehead
George Jeane, Jr. (at 49th) is already in the Cup as the points sit right now, due to double-qualifications, but he's darn near the cutoff. It would be nice, he said, to move up in the points, but his main goal is to avoid moving down.
Dave Lefebre, who won the FLW Series points last year, plans to fish big – he's got nothing to lose.
"I'm going to play it a little safe and try to stay where I'm at or move up a place or two," he said. "I'm just shooting for 14 pounds a day right now and to be in the Top 50. I've got some fish I can fish (that are) out of the wind."
Art Ferguson III faces a somewhat different task. The Lake St. Clair stud's currently at 62nd in the points, and clearly needs to move up. But he's not ready to throw caution to the winds.
"It's a tough call, and weather's going to be a factor," he said. "I'm primarily a St. Clair fisherman – I've had several Top 10s here on my home water – but what I do is going to depend on the weather. Realistically, though, my strategy is that I'm going to try to get myself in the Top 30 or 40. I have to be able to fish somewhat conservatively.
"If I wasn't in this position, I'd just be going for it, but I'll have to have five (fish) before any of that stuff starts going on. It's an odd deal. Here it is, my home water, but I'll be fishing a little conservative – at least until I get a respectable limit."
And even Ron Shuffield, who seems relatively safe at 21st in the points, will go easy this week. He doesn't want anything to come between him and a Cup that'll take place in his home state.
"I'm just fishing for points," Shuffield said. "I'd like to have a good tournament – you always fish for a good tournament – but realistically, I want an opportunity to be on Lake Ouachita, so I won't do anything stupid.
"I have an area pretty close to where we're launching where I can catch maybe 14 or 15 pounds of largemouths," he added. "And if the wind doesn't blow, I think I can catch 14 or 15 pounds of smallmouths. But for me, it's all about Ouachita."
Notable
> Scott Suggs is another Arkansan who appears to be safe within the Cup window at 28th in the points.
> David Fritts, at 29th in the points, is in strong position to make his first championship since 2002.
> Vic Vatalaro (Ohio) and Kevin Vida (Michigan) are two northern sticks currently in the Cup at 45th and 46th respectively, but need to hold their relative positions.
> Woo Daves, like Fritts, hasn't fished a championship since 2002. He's 50th in the points right now.
> A number of anglers are fishing the event who've fished no other Tour event this year. That number may be as high as 20 or 30 new or part-time entrants. They obviously won't be a factor in the points race, but their presence in the event does mean fewer full-time Tour anglers are entered. The general feeling among the pros is that situation hurts those who need to make up ground, and favors those who need to hold their positions, because each new entrant who finishes high effectively takes points off the table.
