Grooms Going All-In For Second Elite Season

Wade Grooms doesn't know whether his sophomore season on the Bassmaster Elite Series will be any more successful than his up-and-down rookie campaign. But because of a decision he made late in the summer, it should be less stressful, anyway.

The South Carolinian opted to leave a comfortable, secure job as a civil engineer for the Department of the Navy. His old office has relocated to Jacksonville, Fla., but he's chosen to remain near his family and find out whether he has what it takes to fish for a living.

"I'm going to give it a shot and go all-in," said the 40-year-old, who competed in the Southern Opens in '07 and qualified for the '08 Elites through the now-defunct Bassmaster Wild Card last December. "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and it isn't like it's a job I can never go back to.

"But at least I'll know that I gave it my all, which is something I couldn't do last year. I honestly didn't make this decision until 2 months ago, and knowing I was going to have to make it in August was on my mind through the whole Elite Series.

"And with the financial commitment and the talent level that's out there," he added, "just trying to compete is stressful enough by itself."

Experience Needed

Despite his relatively advanced age for a rookie, Grooms came to the Elite Series with less seasoning than the average first-year competitor. He grew up on Santee Cooper, but was primarily a striper angler and never fished a bass tournament prior to 2001.

The 2007 Opens marked just his second full triple-A season on the boater side. When he got to the Elites this year, he encountered a lot of things he'd never experienced before.

He was able to use Ray Sedgwick, a veteran from his home state, as a sounding board for a lot of issues. But otherwise, he was basically on his own.

"I wasn't really prepared for that," he said. "There are a lot of guys out here who help each other out – I'm not saying they share exact (fishing) locations, but if you're struggling, it's nice to have a good friend or roommate you can talk to. It's possible that you shouldn't be doing something you're doing, or that you should be doing something they're doing.

"I met a lot of guys this year and next year, if things align, maybe we can get together. If not, I'll go it on my own again and make do. It really wasn't that bad."

A Tough Beginning

Grooms' tour career couldn't have gotten off to a much worse start than it did – he finished 106th in the opener at Florida's Harris Chain. It would've been easy to think he was in over his head, but he showed some serious fortitude the very next week by bouncing back with a 13th at Toho.

He made a second straight Top-50 cut in the record-setting event at Texas' Falcon Lake and cited day 1 there as the highlight of his season. He caught a 31 1/2-pound sack – by far the biggest of his career.

"Even though it was just that one day, it was exciting because it was something I'd never done before," he said. "The size of all those fish was just amazing to me.

"Then for (winner) Paul Elias to do that 4 days in a row – I can't imagine that record (132-08) every being broken."

From a monetary standpoint, his season would've been considerably better had he finished one place higher in back-to-back events at Clarks Hill and Murray at midseason (he was 51st in both – just one place out of the cash). But his best showing of the year (7th at Kentucky Lake) made up for some of that disappointment.

He limped through the last three events, finishing no higher than 81st. He won't blame his impending career decision for those bombs, but the fact that it loomed certainly didn't help matters.

"It'll be nice to go out next year with a clear mind and not have any work obligations. I can devote 100% to it and still know that I have a career to fall back on.

"And with the experience I gained this year, I'm hoping things will run a lot more smoothly."

Sponsorship Quest

Grooms' peace of mind would be further enhanced if he could acquire a primary sponsor to defray some of the costs of fishing the Elite Series. His boat wrap this year consisted of an American flag design along with one of his favorite Bible passages (Proverbs 3:5-6).

"I had a one-year promotional deal with Ranger and Mercury, but I've bought basically everything I have," he said. "In the next few months I need to try to get a boat deal with somebody and a big sponsor to wrap it.

"In this economy, that will be very difficult. You're going to see people losing sponsors and more anglers competing for fewer sponsorships. But I keep praying that I'll meet the right person or I'll send a resumé to the right company and it'll fall into the right hands."

Fishing-wise, he hopes to cash in at least seven events next year.

"It'll be an uphill battle, but I look at it as a great opportunity," he said. "We'll be going to some places I've never been to and some other places the timing won't be the same, but I'm going to try to let things come to me and not press so hard."

Notable

> Grooms is a lifelong bachelor. "I've just never met the right woman," he said. "I love children, though, and I have three nephews who live right down the road who are almost like my own."

> He finished 76th in the Elite Series Angler of the Year (AOY) race – eight spots ahead of the requalification cutoff.