By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
David Fritts won't exactly be riding a ton of momentum when he returns to Bassmaster's top circuit in 2017 after an 11-year absence. The former B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year, Classic Champion and Forrest Wood Cup winner is coming off the worst season of his long career.
In six 2016 FLW Tour outings, he fared no better than 110th. He ended up 143rd in the points, and the short list of competitors he finished ahead of on that list was comprised primarily of anglers who didn't fish the full season.
The schedule didn't set up well for him.
"When you get five sight-fishing tournaments, that's sort of what's going to happen to me," he said. "It really doesn't get much worse than that."
This year's horrid results played a role in his acceptance of one of the two "Legends" slots created for the Elite Series for the upcoming season. Paul Elias, who's competed on the circuit for its entire 11-year existence but failed to re-qualify for 2017 under performance criteria, will occupy the other.
"I'm ready for a change," Fritts said. "I want to look at some different water and see if I've got anything left. It's already got the (offseason) thought train changed a little bit, and that's a bonus. I feel a little more energized than I have in recent years.
"I've fished both circuits and won quite a bit on both, but every time I go to a Classic these days (to work for sponsors at the Expo), I find myself wishing I was fishing B.A.S.S. again. I've said for awhile that if I ever got the opportunity to get back in, I would, and it really wasn't a hard decision. Everybody can benefit from a change once in a while."
Star of a Previous Era
Fritts, who'll celebrate his 60th birthday next week, won five times on the Bassmaster trail in the '90s, with the last of those coming at a Top 100 event at Lake Minnetonka in 1996. He copped his Classic title at Logan Martin Lake in '93 and captured the AOY a year later.
He also prevailed five times on the FLW Tour, including the '97 Cup at Lake Ferguson in Mississippi. His last Tour win came in '09 at Lake Guntersville and he won an Eastern FLW Series derby over a tour-caliber field at Clarks Hill the year before that.
He was one of several veterans to opt for FLW-only status in the fall of '05, when B.A.S.S. announced the formation of the Elite Series and its 12-event schedule with unprecedented entry fees.
"Ranger had preferred (that he go that direction) at one time because FLW had the Forrest Wood Cup, but that wasn't the only factor," he said. "I wanted a change back then, too."
He'll return to B.A.S.S. at the beginning of the fourth year of a 10-year sponsorship contract with Berkley. Designing crankbaits (his primary area of expertise) is at the core of the deal and he's got a new series set to launch that he says will trump anything he created during his tenures with Poe's and Rapala.
The Dredger lineup, which will launch at the Classic in March (or perhaps a week or two earlier), consists of five models correlating to diving depth (10.5, 14.5, 17.5, 20.5 and 25.5). They're smaller than other baits in their respective classes and will reportedly take advantage of hydrodynamic principles to reach those depths more quickly – while also putting less strain on the angler.
"It's the best thing I've ever been involved with," he said. "We've got small baits that'll do what it's always taken a big bait to do, and the main thing is they're fun baits to throw and fun to catch fish on.
"Instead of putting on a bigger lip, we've made it to let the water fish it down – the better it cuts the water, the deeper it's going to run. For baits that'll sell for $8.95, they're tremendous. Every one has a custom paint job and they're dialed in perfectly. I thought I'd made some good baits before, but I've never made anything like these."
More Favorable Outlook
Fritts is almost certain that next year's Elite Series schedule will align better for him than this year's FLW Tour slate did. It opens on Tennessee's Lake Cherokee, where he won an event many years ago, and will take him to other places he's quite fond of.
"I love Toledo Bend and Rayburn," he said. "I've always liked fishing in Texas, but I haven't gotten to do a lot of that lately. I'm not thrilled about all the stuff way up north, but we can make do with that."
One venue he won't miss is Beaver Lake, an annual stop on the FLW Tour.
"Even though I had a Top 10 there one time, I think it's the worst lake in the world. Most every other time I've been there, I've done bad. You can't find any fish on that lake that somebody else doesn't know about."
His primary goal, of course, will be to qualify for the 2018 Classic. He'd like to get off to a hot start, but won't be too downcast if it takes him a few events to get his feet underneath him.
"I might be a little bit rusty and it might take me a little time to get caught up, but I feel good about it. I think back to how much time I used to spend on the water and I sort of got away from that, but I'm not going to allow it to get away anymore – I'm going back to what I used to do."
