Preston Henson has just one more hurdle to clear to make a 3-year, cross-country odyssey pay off. He'll confront that hurdle this week.

The 28-year-old Californian is one of 37 anglers who'll compete in the Bassmaster Elite WildCard Thursday through Saturday at Florida's Lake Okeechobee. The Top 10 finishers will gain berths on the 2008 Elite Series.

He'd never seen Okeechobee before the official 3-day practice period got under way on Monday. Nonetheless, he likes his chances.

"I'm very confident," he said. "It's probably going to be a really tough bite, which is the way I like it.



"Anytime I've got a spinning rod in my hand, I'm really happy.

The Big Move

Henson hails from the Northern California city of Vacaville, which sits just outside the San Francisco Bay Area and is a short drive from Clear Lake and the California Delta. He and partner Josh Storrs were a formidable duo on regional team circuits a few years back – particularly on Folsom Lake, where they notched about half a dozen victories.

Like a lot of young anglers who've tasted success at lower echelons, he wondered if he had the potential to go up against the best in the world. But he knew that if he continued to fish only in the Golden State, he wouldn't develop the full repertoire he'd need to be competitive on a national level.

So in 2004, he packed up and moved to Gainesville, Fla. with his fiancée, a University of Florida student whom he'd met while she was doing an internship in California. He got a job at a Hobbytown USA store and fished as much as he could, trying to learn the intricacies of pulling bass from shallow cover.

"(Fishing professionally) had been a dream of mine, and I thought long and hard about it and I knew I had to try it," he said. "I was at the right age to do it."

He never enlisted the help of any Florida guides or pro anglers, but did get some flipping lessons from an aspiring pro who lived in his neighborhood. As payback, he taught the Floridian to use a dropshot rig.

"He'd never seen one of those before. But from what I hear, he's doing a lot of that now."

By the time 2007 rolled around, Henson figured he was ready to try the Bassmaster Southern Opens. He finished no worse than 28th in any of the three events, including an 8th at the opener at Florida's Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. His 7th-place standing on the final points list gained him his berth in the WildCard.

A Valuable Education

After he arrived in Florida, Henson quickly learned that fishing in the Southeast was considerably different than fishing in the West.

"I went out every day I could, just trying to improve my skills," he said. "I spent a lot of time learning to flip big weights.

"Light-line stuff was the main thing where I grew up, but I've learned to love punching mats. And I tried real hard to get the swimbait thing going (in Florida), but it just didn't pan out for me."

Perhaps the most important thing he discovered was he needed to go into a tournament day with a different mindset than the one he usually employed in California.

"The fishing is a lot tougher, and it really taught me how to fish for five or six bites a day vs. a place like Clear Lake, where you go out expecting to catch 20 3-pounders. It made me a lot more patient, and I also learned how to conserve fish over the course of 3 days."

Back Home Again

Henson moved back to California at the end of last summer, when his fiancée got a job in the Bay Area. He made another cross-country round trip for the final Southern Open (he finished 25th at Alabama's Lake Wheeler), but is glad to be back where he grew up.

"I really missed Clear Lake while I was gone," he said.

If he doesn't qualify for the '08 Elite Series, it won't be the worst thing in the world.

"This is just another step in the process – I was really glad to make it this far in my first year of trying. If I don't make it, I haven't fully decided what I'll do next year. I might fish the FLW Series (Western Division), or I might go back and do the Opens again.

"Just to get to this point, I'm really excited."

Notable

> Henson is sponsored by Black Dog Baits (makers of the Shellcracker swimbait), Bassaholics apparel and Powell rods.

> His family is in the mobile-home park management business, and he works for them part time. He continued to do the company's accounting throughout his stay in Florida.

> The WildCard field will launch at 6:45 a.m. each day from C. Scott Driver Park (10100 W. Highway 78 in Okeechobee). Weigh-ins will start at 2:45 p.m. in the same location. For a list of competitors, click here.