Nobody could've blamed Terry Butcher if he'd given up on pro fishing several years ago. He endured one of the most miserable stretches imaginable during the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series season – an epic slump that might've caused a man with less fortitude to not only abandon the profession, but sell his boat and all his equipment and get out of the sport altogether.
No one could've predicted back then that the unassuming Oklahoman would become one of the most consistent competitors in the game, nearly on a par with his more-celebrated brother-in-law, Edwin "Steady Eddie" Evers. But that's just what's transpired.
How'd he pull off the transition from reliable entry-fee donor to regular money-raker? He can't say for sure, but persistence and a willingness to put aside what he wanted to do in favor of what the fish might prefer played big roles.
"Experience was definitely one thing – just learning to adapt to the different places we go across the country," he said. "And I learned to fish with a lot more of an open mind.
"I've become a lot more confident. Basically all I used to do was flip or throw a spinnerbait, but I've gotten a lot better at cranking and doing all kinds of other stuff."
Occasional Bright Spots
As Butcher prepares to compete in his second straight Bassmaster Classic following a 5th-place showing in the 2010 Angler-of-the-Year race, that gloomy spring of 2007 seems to be far behind him. He hasn't forgotten what it felt like to struggle so mightily, though.
"Oh yeah, it shook me up really bad," he said. "I just about gave up on the whole thing."
His nightmarish streak started with a 97th at Amistad, and things only got worse from there. He was 108th (dead last) at the California Delta, 100th at Clear Lake and 106th at Clarks Hill.
He broke that hard-to-fathom run of futility in a big way – by finishing 3rd at Guntersville. Then came another trio of stinkers (77th, 86th and 92nd), followed by a 4th at Lake Erie.
Those two single-digit showings kept him out of the bottom 20 on the final points list. They also did something less tangible, but far more significant to his career: They allowed him to retain a smidgen of hope that he belonged out there.
"They were just enough to keep me thinking that I could compete, but I knew I had to be more consistent. It forced me to learn other styles of fishing instead of just being one-dimensional."
He ended up 87th in the points race that year, then improved to 59th the following year. He earned his first Classic slot with a 35th in '09, and then last year he catapulted all the way up to 5th and joined the likes of Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese, Tommy Biffle and his brother-in-law in the 12-man post-season.
He missed a check in the 2010 opener at the California Delta, but then logged seven straight money finishes, including three Top 10s. He's ascended all the way to No. 11 in the BassFan World Rankings after beginning the year at No. 87.
"He's become a lot more versatile, and that's probably the biggest thing," said Evers, whose wife, Tuesday, is Butcher's sister. "Now he's comfortable doing just about anything."
Now What?
Now that he's tasted some success, Butcher's immediate goals are to keep qualifying for Classics and to win an Elite event. If that initial win turned out to be this year's Classic at the Louisiana Delta, so much the better.
"I'd never been there before, but I spent 5 days there before the cutoff and it looks great," he said. "It's going to fit my style of fishing, but it's so big and vast. I just hope I can get myself in the right area to have a chance."
He hasn't come to a conclusion about whether he likes the look of this year's Elite schedule, but he's not going to waste time worrying about that.
"Just looking at it, it's not going to be a bunch of slugfests like we've been having, but they're hard to judge. Last year I didn't like the schedule on paper, but I ended up having the best year I've ever had. Other years the schedule's looked awesome, but I didn't do so good.
"I'll just take it one tournament at a time, do my homework on all the lakes and go out and do the best I can."
Notable
> Butcher said that he and Evers share a considerable amount of practice information, but don't spend a lot of time together at tournaments. "His wife and kids travel with him, so he doesn't camp much anymore," he said. "I like to camp so I don't have to mess with the traffic and all the hustle and bustle, and I'm usually right there at the ramp and I don't have to worry about things getting stolen. I can stay focused and I can be on the water from daylight to dark."
