With the Bassmaster Classic coming to Grand Lake in his home state in 2013, Oklahoma's Kevin Ledoux would love to qualify for that event via his performance as a Bassmaster Elite Series rookie next year. He considers that objective a little too steep to keep in the forefront of his thinking, though, as he prepares for his first tour-level campaign.
"That'd be kind of a lofty goal to set," he said. "It'll be in the back of my mind and it would absolutely be a dream come true if I could make that happen, and I'm going to fish all three Central Opens on the outside chance I could win one of those."
Grand is about a 3-hour drive from his home in Choctaw.
"That's kind of where it all got started for me. About 6 or 8 years ago a friend and I started fishing a pro-am circuit as co-anglers, and it was all Grand and Eufaula. I probably get up there for about four tournaments a year."
Narrowed Focus was Critical
Ledoux earned his Elite invitation via a 5th-place finish in this year's Central Open points. It was the third time he'd fished the circuit since 2008 (he missed out in '09 because he didn't complete his registration on time), and by far the best that he's fared.
"The first year I was like 56th in the points, then I totally bombed last year, to about 170th or something," he said. "This year I got a good break here and a good break there, and just slowing down was a big deal.
"I always tried to cover too much water in practice – like the whole lake – and I tried to cover too much in the tournaments, too. This year I'd just pick a section of the lake and say, 'Okay, this is where I'm going to do it.'''
He started the circuit with a 5th-place showing at Lewisville, then followed that up with a 23rd at the Arkansas River to put himself in position for a Top-5 finish in the points (the criteria for an automatic Elite berth the following year). The 6 weeks between the conclusion of the Ark event and the start of the rescheduled finale at Table Rock were an edgy period.
"I was sitting there in 4th place and it was extremely stressful. I kept doing the numbers, trying to figure out where I needed to finish to have a shot. Then the first day at Table Rock I caught two fish for less than 4 pounds and I thought I'd blown it – there was going to be no way.
"Then I got to the weigh-in and found out everybody had struggled, and that re-motivated me. I decided to just duck my head and grind it out on Friday."
His four-fish, 7 1/2-pound sack moved him up 40 places to 25th and allowed him to secure the final guaranteed Elite slot.
Won't Quit his Day Job
The 32-year-old Ledoux works a full-time gig as an electrician at an oil and gas facility in Shawnee, Okla. and will continue to perform that job next year when he's not on the road for tournaments. He's married (he said his wife his "100% behind me" in his quest to become a successful tour pro), but has no children yet.
He admitted that this final upward step on the competitive ladder is a somewhat daunting one, but he's already gotten some counseling from a guy who knows all the ins and outs extremely well.
"Jeff Kriet has been helping me out for about a year now; we've just talked about what goes on," he said. "Like some other people, he told me I need to give this thing 3 years. Obviously finances are a huge part of it (he's currently in negotiations for a primary sponsorship deal) and hopefully I can afford to keep doing it after next year."
At least he'll have the peace of mind from knowing he possesses a more well-rounded game than he did a year ago, as this year's Open circuit forced him to expand his horizons.
"I like power-fishing and I love shallow-cranking and if I'm given the choice, that's what I'd rather do. Before Lewisville I'd never really spent a full tournament day with a spinning round and 8-pound line, and I did that for 3 days there, and Table Rock gave me a lot of confidence that I can do some finesse stuff and fish off my graph.
"Going out and fishing against those (Elite Series) guys eight times is a little intimidating, but it all boils down to just fishing. I'll go out and do what I can and see if I can survive."
