What's Behind The Velvick Revival?

California Bassmaster Elite Series pro Byron Velvick is in the midst of a comeback. Until recently, his name wasn't mentioned often unless the discussion turned to all-time weight records. He holds the BASS 3-day tournament record of 83-05 set at Clear Lake, Calif. in April of 2000.

But suddenly, Velvick's in the spotlight and near the top of the leaderboard more often than not.

After six tournaments in the 11-event Bassmaster Elite Series season, he's 35th in the Elite Series points and in position to qualify for his first-ever Bassmaster Classic.

His last three finishes were 15th at Lake Toho, 87th at Clarks Hill and 28th at Murray. He's 150th in the BassFan World Rankings, up from 228th where he started the year.

What's behind the wake-up call? And can he keep it going?

Distractions Gone

Velvick got off to a terrible start last year when an accident at the ramp on the final practice day at Lake Amistad pinned him between his boat and truck.

"I was in horrible pain," he said. "I wasn't able to stand on my leg. I was in the hospital. They put an observer with me on the first day of the tournament, instead of a co-angler, due to the medications I was on. They didn't really want me to fish.

"I had to crawl to get up on the front deck, and use a chair to fish. Then I spent the first three tournaments of the year trying to get better and just avoid injuries. I was also obligated to doing a lot of TV stuff, and there were a lot of outside distractions, and they really got the best of me. I'm not making any excuses, but it made it hard to focus on fishing."

He finished 107th in the 2007 Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) points – all but last place. He started his comeback two months after that when he won the Elite Series Wildcard Qualifier last fall (and thereby requalified for the tour). The momentum apparently carried over into the 2008 season.

"I'm making good decisions, and just fishing better," he noted. "It's cool when you can see yourself putting together what each lake is giving you, and making the most of it. I'm fishing more relaxed, I'm not hurt, and I'm able to focus better.

"Another thing is that there are four of us rooming together and helping each other," he added. "Ish (Monroe), Ike (Mike Iaconelli) and (John) Crews and I are working together. We talk a lot and keep in touch during practice and the tournament.

"We all go out and do our own thing, but we're all being versatile and we check in with each other to see how we're all doing. We're honest and straight with each other. We fish our own deals but learn from what the other guys are doing too. We don't share spots or stare at maps together, but we trade information on patterns, baits, or conditions – just generalities and things like what banks, depths, and things like that."

The concept of "team fishing" – where pros band together into sets and share information – has been somewhat infectious. It now dominates tour-level walleye fishing. According to Velvick, "a lot" of bass guys are doing it too, and this is the first year he's done it. "We haven't all four made a cut together yet, but at least one of us has at every event," he said.

And about the quartet, he noted he's most intrigued by how Ike processes and feeds back information during their evening pow-wows. "His follow-up questions always impress me," Velvick said. "I'll say something about what I'm doing and he'll ask two or three better questions that really get down to the details of what he needs to know about what you're trying to tell him.

"Then he'll go out and try it the next day, and come back and say, 'Hey, that's money, that really worked,' and that really reinforces your pattern and tells you that it's repeatable or reproducible."

The conversations often help Velvick expand on what he's doing. "It gives you another bait or a way to change if the conditions change. And none of us are going to miss anything that way."

Classic Quest

Some pros fish their whole careers and never make the Bassmaster Classic. So far, put Velvick in that unhappy camp. He's been to the Classic many times, but never as a competitor.

"I've worked that thing for 3 or 4 years for ESPN, as a host," he said. "Now I really want to be fishing in front of the camera instead of talking in front of it. It's a great gig, but it's tough to be interviewing your buddies who are fishing it, and you're not. It's a bittersweet deal.

"It'd be a really nice change to make it this year," he added." Every year you shoot for that. When you have years like this when you're off to a good start, and follow up with some more good tournaments, you hope this is the time you make it.

"A lot of really good anglers don't make it. All it takes is one or two bad tournaments and that'll do you in. It may not even be any fault of your own – you're just not getting the breaks or getting on the fish. You really have to have it all line up for you to make it."

Although he's 35th in the AOY points going into Wheeler, he's just one spot above the 36th-place Classic cutoff. So he has to at least hold the line through the remainder of the season.

Unlike many in the field, he's never fished Wheeler before, and his first day of practice wasn't anything to smile about.

"I caught lots of fish but not the right size," he noted. "I had maybe an 8-pound limit. But from what I hear, everybody will have a 7- to 9-pound limit. I need to find 12 pounds and up.

"I didn't have a great practice the first day at Wheeler, but it won't bother me like it might have (before). I'm not going to let it get to me."

Notable

> Velvick's known as an expert sight-fisherman and loves to throw a big swimbait.

> His Bassmaster Elite Series finishes so far this year are: 75th at Harris Chain, 15th at Toho, 3rd at Falcon, 61st at Amistad, 87th at Clark's Hill, and 28th at Lake Murray. He was as high as 17th in the Bassmaster AOY points after Falcon.