One of the more noteworthy stories this year was David Dudley's deep triumph at the Ft. Loudoun–Tellico FLW Tour. In Dudley's own words, he used to hate deep-cranking. But he forced himself to learn it, and after 2 years of study, it paid off.
And now another Virginia FLW Tour pro, Jacob Powroznik, has the same sort of goal in mind. It's no coincidence – he's good friends with Dudley, and sees him as somewhat of a mentor.
A Better Year
Powroznik was one of those names that circled just outside greatness this year.
He recorded a promising rookie season in 2004 with a 40th-place points finish, but missed the next two FLW championships. After he got used to the small stick, though, he finished 11th in the FLW Tour points last year, then a whopping 3rd this year.
He finished the season ranked 11th in the world, and one of the reasons for his big upswing was three Tour finishes in the low-teens this year – 13th at Lewis Smith, 12th at Norman, and 12th at the Detroit River.
"This year was a little bit different in that we finally went to a couple places where it suited my style of fishing," he said. "The fish were real shallow and I had the chance to get the spinning rod out of my hand. That's what really sums up the whole thing.
"We'd been going to some places where the fishing was real tough, and I had to fish in a way I didn't want to fish. This year was the first in a while where I could fish with what I call a 'stick' in my hands."
At Lewis Smith, the fish were up spawning and he could flip. At Norman the fish were still shallow too, and he flipped boat docks. Detroit wasn't a power-bite, of course, but "me and those smallmouths seem to get along for some reason," he said.
Bank Withdrawal
Despite the success, Powroznik was never able to convert a threat into a Top 10 cut. He made a Tour cut last year, and logged two FLW Series cuts the year before.
But you can't win if you're not in. So he plans to reinvent his practice a little bit next year to bring more offshore fish (read: cut-fish) into play.
"My goal (next) year is to win, and hopefully I'll win," he said. "There's no doubt in my mind I can win, but everything has to fall into place. You just have to be doing something (that can win).
"I think if you look back on probably the last 12 tournaments we've had, they've all been won off the bank. That's what I have to do – fish some places that are out where people aren't fishing as much."
Although the FLW Tour will only field 150 boats next year, vs. the 200 boats of the past several years, shallow waters can still get cramped and beat. And next year's schedule looks like offshore potential all the way: Guntersville in February, Table Rock in March, plus Norman, Beaver, Kentucky/Barkley and Champlain.
While there'll be a shallow bite at each venue, certainly, there'll be a winning-potential deep bite too.
"David (Dudley's) a real good friend, and I've learned a lot from him," Powroznik said. "I owe him a lot of credit for this, because he's helped me a lot and taught me a lot about fishing out from the bank – deep-cranking and stuff. I'm going to try things a little bit different next year.
"Usually in the first couple of (practice) days I find out what I'm going to do in the tournament. I think my strategy the following 2 days will be to spend time out there (offshore) doing the things that I think is the way to win."
Notable
> Powroznik formerly fished for Bounty through an FLW team deal. He fished this year without a deal, but hopes one will materialize this fall.
> He's spending some time this week sinking brush in Kerr for the upcoming Stren. The lake's also been his deep training ground. "That's what's got me fired up – knowing what lives (deep) in this lake and that I can duplicate it on other lakes," he said.
> He finished 59th at the recent Forrest Wood Cup, which he said was a disappointment. "But I really wasn't on anything. The way I was fishing, I was only getting five or six bites a day. I just had one of those tournaments where it didn't work out. Things just didn't fall into place. You can't win them all."
> He doesn't have a full-time day job, but helps out at his father's construction business – David's Footing Service in Prince George, Va. – when he can.
