With the FLW Series East/West Fishoff in the books, most FLW Tour pros are looking forward to Lake Toho, the sight of the first Tour event of the 2008 season. Some of the pros are no doubt entrenched in a play-it-safe mentality - plotting how they'll boat a limit every day or make the Top 50 cut - but the pros who managed to win their one-on-one battles last week
will probably be thinking a little differently than the rest of the field.
Several Tour pros logged bracket victories and secured spots in the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, an accomplishment that at least partly eases the pressure that comes along with earning a berth the hard way through a Top 40 Tour campaign.
In this story, a few of the top pros who bested their bracket counterparts at Amistad discuss how cinching a Cup spot early on will impact their approach throughout the season.
Hibdon Plans to Help Dad
Missouri pro Dion Hibdon knocked off top-ranked Western angler Randy McAbee Jr. to clinch his spot in the Cup. He confirmed that notching a championship spot early will let him "fish loose" throughout the season, but as far as fishing for wins, he said he's been programmed by his dad, Guido, to do that from day 1.
"That's one thing you can count on about the Hibdon boys - when we fish, we're fishing for number one," he said. "When my dad started fishing, if you didn't win the tournament, then you didn't take home any money. He instilled that same kind of mindset in me.
"So yeah, it's nice to have that monkey off your back, but will it change my approach? No. I'm going to fish to win, just like I always do."
With a guaranteed Cup spot waiting on him, he said part of his focus will shift to his dad and doing everything he can to make sure both Hibdons get a shot at the biggest chunk of change in professional bass fishing. They each have Classic trophies on the shelf and Dion won the FLW Tour Championship in 2000. Now he wants his dad to have a shot at taking both titles.
"That would be the icing on the cake," he said. "I think that would be really special for us both to have won both major championships. I think my dad still has one in him before he retires.
"I'll be doing what I can to help him get in (to the Cup). It won't be the same without him there."
Dave Lefebre developed a newfound affinity for swimbaits at the Amistad Fishoff. He says he's fishing for wins this year and thinks the swimbait will be a factor in that mentality.
Lefebre Looking for Wins
Dave Lefebre checked in a solid 64-12, 3-day total at Amistad to ensure he'll be taking another stroll across the Cup stage later this summer.
"Knowing that you don't absolutely have to perform every single day of every single tournament does help a little," he said. "While I don't like to make mistakes, if you've already qualified (for the championships) it does give you the luxury of having a bad day and living to tell about it.
"That's the thing in this sport. When you're trying to make a championship or just make a check, you can't afford to make mistakes. You almost have to do everything perfect. Sometimes that pressure can get to you."
A good portion of his Fishoff bites came throwing a swimbait, something he's admittedly not highly proficient at yet. But with the pressure of qualifying being a non-factor for him this year, he has plans to go big and said the swimbait could play a key role in that approach.
"Jay Yelas proved last year that our tournaments can be won on swimbaits," he noted. "I bought $700 worth of swimbaits last week, so you might say I'm invested now. The swimbait goes right along with the idea of swinging a little harder this year. I'll be fishing for wins, I always do, and I think the swimbait could definitely play a role in putting some bigger fish in the boat.
"I'm a new man after Amistad," he added. "It was definitely an experience. I'm still learning the finer points of swimbaits and I'm just figuring everything out on my own, but it's fun. I'm excited about it."
Dudley Aware of Danger
Want to get David Dudley all worked up? Just ask him this simple question: "Now that you've got a Cup berth in hand, will you swing for the fences during the regular season?"
David Dudley knows the danger of making the championship early, so he's focused on maintaining his intensity through each event.
His feelings on that cliché are near legendary. He admitted this time that maybe if you go out and throw "a 12-inch swimbait all day on certain lakes" you'd be swinging for the fences, but other than that, he thinks the phrase is nothing more than a "sorry excuse" for guys who didn't catch them.
"I fish to win no matter where I go," he added. "I'm going for the win on day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4 – I'm not going to wait until the third day to use that sorry excuse. Look back at any tournament and show me somebody who's been on nothing, then got onstage and said they'll swing for the fences and came in with a monster bag the next day. Nobody does, so that just eats at my craw. The more times you set the hook, the better your chances of catching a big bag. That's all there is to it."
So yes, he's happy to have a Cup berth in hand – "It feels good," he said – but it won't change the way he fishes this year. In fact, his goal the rest of the season is to make sure it doesn't change things.
"With making the championship early, the problem that can happen is you can let your guard down," he said. "Everybody strives to make the championship. That's the goal. But here we are at the beginning of the season and I've already made the championship.
"My ultimate goal is to win every tournament, so (making the championship) can almost be a negative if I allow myself to relax and I don't fish with the same intensity. It could show in my performance. On the drive home (from the Fishoff) I was already pounding it into my head: 'Don't let your guard down. Congratulations, but don't let it mess you up.'
"So I'm happy, but that's what's lingering in my mind the most."
Consistency has always been the calling card of Brent Ehrler, and he says his early-season Cup qualification won't change that.
Ehrler Striving for Consistency
You might say California's Brent Ehrler is a fan of bracket-style tournaments. He cashed the biggest paycheck of his career after winning the 2006 FLW Tour Championship through the bracket format, and his 59-8 total at the Fishoff was exactly 21 pounds over his bracket partner Art Ferguson III.
He's stoked to be making another trip to the Cup, but he said the early qualification won't play much of a role in how he approaches the 2008 Tour schedule.
"I've never been one of those guys that goes for broke," he said. "My approach has always been to look for solid numbers, and then hope that I can get a couple of quality bites to add to it. I might do some things a little different this year, but it's hard to pass up a check for ten grand.
"I do put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed, and I hope that maybe I can relax a little more this year," he added. "But that's just an internal thing I've always done. Even when I fish well, I just put more pressure on myself to do better. I'd like to think that I'll relax some more this year, but it probably won't happen."
Notable
> Hibdon said he's been "boogered up" the past few years with problems in both shoulders. He had his left shoulder operated on in 2006 and just went through the same thing on his right shoulder last October. He said it's still a little tender, but he feels better overall and is looking forward to a pain-free season.
> About his preparations for the August championship at Lake Murray, Lefebre said: "I plan on being a local at Murray this year. You're talking about a million dollars. Oh yeah, I'm going to be spending some time on Murray over the next few months. That's an understatement."
