Veteran pro anglers talk a lot about paying dues – that you have to slave and starve and get beat down until you nearly give up. Only then can you become a true competitor in the sport.
There's even some resentment among veterans who see newcomers exploit tools they never had – especially the new and deadly combination
of side-scanners and the Navionics chip.
If such a fraternity does exist – the dues-paid "I nearly gave it all up" pro's club – Kevin Hawk should certainly be invited.
As soon as the Ramona, Calif. pro qualified for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Lanier, he moved himself across the country and took up residence next to the lake in a friend's pool house. He fished the FLW Tour as a co-angler and fished Lanier every other spare moment.
But the well was dry. The Forrest Wood Cup was to be it – his last-ditch effort to make it as a pro. A simple check and he'd give up his dream. A healthy check and maybe he'd fish the FLW Series again. A win? It would guarantee the start of a tour career.
The dream came true for Hawk when he hammered a 14-13 bag (after an 8-ounce penalty) on the final day of competition and hoisted the $600,000 check, and then the Forrest Wood Cup itself, high above his head.
Hawk's mastery of Lanier was nothing more than the result of months and months of hard work. In a sport that's increasingly defined more by labor and networking than raw skill and instinct, he worked harder than anyone else, then threw in skill and instinct to close the deal.
Others in the field certainly made it easier for Hawk.
Brent Ehrler, who carried the lead this morning, only bagged three fish and fell to finish 4th.
Cody Meyer came the closest to shooting down Hawk, but ended where he began the day – in 2nd. Meyer came in with a little more than 10 pounds, but had his weight knocked back to 9-13 on a dead-fish penalty.
Also noteworthy was Meyer suffered an electronics malfunction and lost fishing time because of it. In the Forrest Wood Cup, pros fish from their own boats the first 3 days, then switch to FLW-supplied boats and equipment for day 4. It's impossible to assess whether the electronics malfunction cost Meyer the Cup, but it certainly had an influence on the outcome – especially because his bite was based exclusively on reading electronics and running GPS waypoints. Ironically, he fished from the official Lowrance boat today.
The 2nd-place finish marked Meyer's second Cup disappointment in as many years. He finished 3rd last year at Pittsburgh.
Veteran Larry Nixon suffered an ill omen this morning – he caught a big fish on his very first cast (an occurrence superstitious anglers try to avoid). That dispersed his school and he struggled the rest of the day. He even bailed on his main pattern and ran up the river to fish brush. He weighed four fish and remained in 3rd.
Troy Morrow's three-fish bag bumped him up a spot to finish 5th, while Ron Hobbs, Jr. blanked and finished 6th.
Young western pros have won the majority of Cups over the past half-decade. It started with Luke Clausen in 2004. Next came Brent Ehrler in 2006. Then there was Michael Bennett in 2008 and now Hawk in 2010.
That's partly a function of venue, partly a function of season. Western pros tend to excel anytime deep, clear water and lethargic, neutral fish present themselves.
Hawk Wants To Savor Moment
> Day 4: 5, 14-13 (20, 50-14)
Hawk wowed the crowd when he removed five solid fish from his sack.
Hawk, at 4th place, was a longshot this morning, but made up the 3-pound deficit on Ehrler and then some.
He was pumped when he won, but he's more of a Clausen-type – stoic and poker-faced as he achieved his dream.
"It feels incredible," Hawk said. "It's probably not set in yet, and realistically, it probably won't until the next few days. I just kind of want to savor the moment."
Hawk said he didn't go wild onstage because he didn't want to be someone he wasn't – but he was shaking inside and ready to burst.
When asked about his straight face and seeming lack of emotion, Hawk said: "I'm not going to try to be someone I'm not. I'm super-happy. I'm shaking inside and (I feel like) I'm just about to blow up right now."
He added: "I moved down here sometime in early November of 2009, and basically my whole goal was to fish the Tour as a co-angler and when I wasn't fishing the Tour events, I was basically on Lanier practicing."
He also noted Lanier's "very similar" to his home lakes in Southern California. So he felt "right at home" on Lanier "in terms of light-line finesse tactics."
He and Ehrler are good buddies – in fact, Hawk rooms and practices with Ehrler. The two are due to fish the Detroit River Bassmaster Open next week – although Ehrler was already ribbing Hawk about being a co-angler there.
Still, many young pros have let the thought of squaring off against top pros get into their heads. Hawk said he didn't think about who he was fishing against. "You'll wear yourself out. All you can do is focus on what you're doing and when you come in hopefully you did the right thing."
With his Lanier work done, Hawk plans to move his residency-in-progress to Guntersville.
He fished the dominant pattern of the event – dropshots and "scroungers" on and around deep brush. He said he didn't plant any brush – there's so much already in the lake, he just fished what was already down there.
His two baits were a 6" Roboworm in morning dawn and a Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin (albino) tipped with a white Zoom Super Fluke, Jr. (white).
The full details of his winning pattern, plus pattern information for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
Meyer Bummed
> Day 4: 5, 9-13 (20, 48-08)
"I'm definitely disappointed," said Meyer, who finished 2-3 in the two most recent Cups. "But you know, I'm happy and disappointed at the same time. Second is great, but of course you want to win. We'll find out if I qualify again in September. I'm in 2nd place for Angler of the Year in the Western (FLW Series) behind Brent. If I can at least make the Top 10, I'll be back for 2011."
Cody Meyer says a dead fish and a lost fish cost him the Cup today.
About his day, Meyer said: "The last couple of days have been so tough. I only caught six keepers today, and broke one off at the boat that was every bit of 3 pounds. I don't know what happened, to be honest. It came to the surface and there must have been a nick in the line. That and a dead fish cost me winning – I weighed in a pound-and-a-quarter fish today.
"I fished right to the end," he added. "I never gave up. I had two fish at 12:00, then I moved to the area where I was catching some big ones. I caught one 2 3/4-pounder and another shortly after that. I think I caught my fifth one at 2:00 and then culled one time."
His electronics went down early this morning when he caught his first fish, and he described that time after as trying "to find a needle in a haystack." But he thanked Cheryl from Lowrance who got him back going again.
3rd: Nixon Bummed Too
> Day 4: 4, 9-12 (19, 47-03)
Nixon needed one more 3 1/2-pound fish, or two 3-pound fish, to win.
"You know I'm disappointed," he said. "I'm not bent out of shape over it, I'm just disappointed that I had a chance and missed it. Two more of those good ones like today and I'd probably have owned the thing. It's just so hard to get five of those kinds of bites, and I was scared I was about out of fish.
"I even abandoned ship at about 2:00. The boat traffic was so bad I went up the river a ways. I did manage to catch one more off brush up there. I only had three when I left my main area."
As mentioned earlier, he caught a fish on his first cast, which is a taboo in the sport – akin to carrying a banana in the boat.
"I had four key areas that were really loaded with bass," he said. "I looked down this morning on one and it was loaded. I dropped down there and caught one of those big ones and (the fish) scattered like flies. I don't know where they went. I was looking and fishing and dragging around and I never caught another fish out of that spot.
"It's a bad omen to catch a bass on your very first cast."
4th: Ehrler Upset, But Happy For Hawk
> Day 4: 4, 7-05 (19, 46-08)
Ehrler's won a Cup, the FLW Tour Angler of the Year and he's been ranked No. 1 in the world. But he said he wanted this second Cup more than any title he's ever pursued before, and the ride in from the lake was tortuous – he knew he'd lost, and it ate him alive.
"I was extremely bummed coming to the weigh-in," he said. "I was really, really bummed. I can't even tell you – I can't describe how bummed I was. I was very disappointed because I knew I didn't win. And I was very disappointed with how the day went. I just couldn't catch them.
Brent Ehrler had a sickening feeling that he'd lost the Cup.
"I knew at about 10:00 it wasn't going to happen. I'd been catching a couple key fish by about 9:30 each day, and when I didn't have one at 10:00, I knew it wasn't going to be my time. I wanted this one more than anything I've ever accomplished. I mean, I was sick when I got off the water."
But when he saw his buddy Hawk pull five quality fish out the bag, Ehrler's emotions changed.
"When I saw Kevin weigh in those fish, I got so excited for him. Kevin's a good buddy of mine. I wasn't as excited as I'd been if I'd have won, but I was so happy for him. That made the feeling better. And it's an awesome story – how he qualified through the West, moved out here. He's an awesome fisherman. We fished together on the Tour this year – he and Brandon Hunter and I all roomed together this year."
5th: Morrow Fine With it
> Day 4: 3, 6-12 (18, 41-13)
Morrow, who aims to turn pro, made his tour-level debut this week, and all told, he'll take 5th place and be happy.
"I'm not disappointed – it's a pretty good finish," he said. "I actually thought I was going to finish 6th, so it surprised me. It's another $5,000.
"I should have realized earlier that the dropshot wasn't working for me. I should have been throwing that crankbait and staying with it all day. I caught my three fish today on my last four stops.
"On my last stop, my cameraman asked if I had time (to fish it). I said no. I made one cast and caught (the) biggest fish (in my bag). I threw it in the box, strapped everything down and made it in on time."
6th: Hobbs Got His Ride
> Day 4: 0, 0-00 (15, 35-03)
Hobbs ran out of his shallow fish, but achieved his goal: He got to ride in a helicopter today on the way back to weigh-in.
"I'm disappointed I didn't get to weigh any fish, but that's it, I'm not disappointed (otherwise)," he said. "I got my copter ride and that was great."
He did have an opportunity today, but had trouble with the FLW-supplied boat. He doesn't fish a Ranger, and couldn't get used to the trolling-motor pedal being above deck. He saw three shallow fish and thought he could catch all three, but when he went to work the foot pedal, he slammed the motor into high and they spooked.
"My fish just ran out," he noted. "I never looked at a map until the third day of the tournament. I found fish in two areas and milked them for all they're worth.
"I work 40 hours a week, just like everybody in the audience," he added. "It's a privilege for me to fish against Larry and Brent and everybody else who does this for a living. Everybody else could be up here too. If you have a dream, go for it."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 6 anglers, two limits, 2 fours, 1 three, 1 zero.
> Irwin Jacobs announced immediately prior to weigh-in that tycoon T. Boone Pickens had joined him as an equity partner in FLW Outdoors. For more on that announcement, click here.
> Hawk runs a 2005 Ranger, so he wasn't eligible for the $100,000 Ranger bonus. However, when the Pickens announcement was made, Pickens added $100,000 to the purse. Thus Hawk cashed in for $600,000.
> Country rocker Justin Moore gave a kickin' concert to start off the weigh-in. Among many numbers, the Arkansan performed his hit Small Town USA, which received a rousing cheer from the crowd.
> The Gwinnett Center arena was standing-room-only today. FLW Outdoors said a total 58,286 people attended the Cup over the 4 days.
> When weigh-in ended, a member of the audience gave Nixon his card. Nixon opened his wallet, smiled and said he already had one. That audience-member was Atlanta Braves baseball great Phil Niekro. Looked like the two were planning a fishing trip.
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Kevin Hawk -- Ramona, CA -- 5, 14-12 -- 5, 10-03 -- 5, 11-02 -- 5, 14-13 -- 20, 50-14 -- $600,000 + $5,000
2. Cody Meyer -- Grass Valley, CA -- 5, 14-03 -- 5, 13-03 -- 5, 11-05 -- 5, 9-13 -- 20, 48-08 -- $100,000
3. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, AR -- 5, 12-10 -- 5, 13-08 -- 5, 11-05 -- 4, 9-12 -- 19, 47-03 -- $85,000
4. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, CA -- 5, 12-09 -- 5, 11-12 -- 5, 14-14 -- 4, 7-05 -- 19, 46-08 -- $60,000
5. Troy Morrow -- Toccoa, GA -- 5, 10-14 -- 5, 11-08 -- 5, 12-11 -- 3, 6-12 -- 18, 41-13 -- $50,000
6. Ronald Hobbs, Jr. -- Orting, WA -- 5, 10-14 -- 5, 13-05 -- 5, 11-00 -- 0, 0-00 -- 15, 35-03 -- $45,000
