Duckett's '07 Magic Has Been Missing This Year

Boyd Duckett has cashed only two checks in six Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments in 2008, and his best finish to date is the 19th he logged recently at Murray. What's his problem this year?

Well, the biggest thing is it's not last year anymore.

"One of the things that seems different this year compared to last year is some of the key moments," the 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion said. "I was just talking to Gerald Swindle the other day about how important those moments are in the fishing business.

"A single bite can change the outcome of a tournament, and it can change the course of a season and a career. And it seems this year in three or four events, the key moments haven't gone my way. I don't know why that happens, and if I did know, I'd make sure it didn't."

Room to Improve

Duckett, the highly successful Alabama businessman who burst onto the national fishing scene with his '07 Classic triumph at Lay Lake, followed up that landmark victory with a strong Elite Series campaign. He won the Legends Major at Dardanelle and notched four finishes of 8th or better in regular-season events en route to a 17th-place showing in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race.

But what BassFans might have forgotten is that none of those single-digit finishes (the Classic notwithstanding, of course) occurred before last year's calendar turned to June. Therefore, it's highly likely he'll move up from 48th (his current points position) during the course of the five remaining tournaments.

"I like summer and fall fishing because it's more target-oriented and you can trust the fish more, and if you know there's a couple of fish in a brushpile, you can pretty much count on them being there," he said. "But that doesn't have much to do with why I didn't catch them in the first half of the season.

"In all honesty, those tournaments I finished in the 50s or below, I was just never on the fish. I finished 33rd at Falcon, but that was actually my worst performance of the year because I was on them there in practice, and I just didn't catch them in the tournament."

He pointed to day 3 of the Murray event as an example of a turning point that sent him in the wrong direction. He made a similar move to the one that resulted in him catching a 6 1/2-pounder to secure his Classic win, but this one didn't work out as well.

"I had a mediocre practice, not great, and I really had to milk my areas and catch everything that bit. Then on the third day, I weighed four fish.

"Well, I had a key area where I felt I could get a big bite, and I ran all the way up there to a secondary point for one big fish. And at 2:00, I hooked a 4-pounder on a swimbait and I'm thinking, Man, what a genius. And then I got it to the boat and it came off."

That one lost fish cost him 14 places in the standings and forced him to settle for just a solid finish instead of a Sunday berth with a shot at victory.

"I realize that everybody loses fish and it's just a part of the game, but I wasn't just fishing down the bank at the time. I'd left where I was and made that big run for just that one bite. Last year, that fish would've made it into the boat."

A Tough Way to Start

Another factor that contributed to Duckett's sluggish start this year was the fact that the season opened with back-to-back events in Florida. His struggles in the Sunshine State date back more than a quarter of a century.

"I've never caught them good in Florida, and it might be a psychological thing now," he said. "Back in 1982, I had a great season on the Jerry Rhyne circuit and I was leading the points going into the (final tournament) at Okeechobee. I wanted to win that points title so bad I couldn't stand it.

"I bombed so bad there that I ended up 8th in the points. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and it's been that way down there ever since."

He's one of the most cerebral anglers in the game, but he's been unable to figure out a way to shake the Florida jinx. His finishes there this year were 62nd and 73rd.

"I tried to approach both of those events with an open mind and to sit on the fish and let the school come to me rather than trying to force something to happen. At Toho, I picked three lily-pad fields that I felt had enough fish for 2 days. My co-angler on the first day weighed 22 pounds, and I caught 9 1/2.

"The guy did everything he could to stay out of my way. I was fan-casting and fishing that place to death, and then I plowed right through the pads with the boat for about 50 yards. He threw straight behind the boat, right into the wake, and caught an 8-pounder. I just said, 'Welcome back to Florida, Duckett.'''

Time to Climb

Duckett won the first Classic he ever participated in (or even attended, for that matter), and had a free pass into this year's edition as the defending champion even if he hadn't fared well on the '07 Elite Series. But he has to earn his way to Louisiana's Red River next February, and that means he has to move up a dozen or so places in the standings before the season concludes.

He's confident that he can manage that.

"I expect to get within the Classic cutoff, which is what all of us who aren't having a great season are shooting for at this time of year," he said. "My long-term goal for the rest of the season is to get down into the 20s, or at worst the lower 30s (in the standings), and you may see me fish a little more conservatively trying to lock up that Classic berth.

"It's so good for your sponsors, and you certainly can't win it if you aren't there."

Notable

> Duckett started fishing the Jerry Rhyne circuit when he was just 17. "In the '80s, we had Denny Brauer and David Fritts and all the big names. At the time, those events paid more than the BASS Invitationals."

> He likes the way the remainder of the Elite Series schedule shapes up. "Wheeler isn't my favorite lake, but I at least have some experience there. I won the Ultimate Match Fishing on Kentucky Lake last year and I had a good finish in a (Bassmaster) Northern Tour event on the Mississippi River a couple years ago. At Erie, I don't think I've ever been out of the Top 15 in three or four events. And I've only fished at Oneida once, and I don't dislike it."