Wendlandt Says 2003 Wasn't Great For Him

This season was Clark Wendlandt's first one-tour season in 7 years. He fished only the FLW Tour, along with the Central EverStarts, and wasn't at a BASS blast-off for the first time in over a decade.

In other words, it was a different year for him. But on paper it didn't seem like it.

He finished 3rd in the FLW points, one place better than last year. He also had one Top 10 finish in the seven events he fished, meaning he landed in the Top 10 about 14 percent of the time. In Top 20s, it was even better: Three of his seven finishes were Top 20s, for a 43 percent average.

That compares two Top 10s out of 13 events fished (15 percent) and four Top 20s (31 percent) in the 2001-02 season. The year before that it was better on the Top 10 side – 4 out of 14 for 29 percent – and he had five Top 20s for 36 percent.

So statistically, a case could be made that this year was about average for Wendlandt, meaning it was good. But he said: "As far as my performance goes, I finished 3rd overall in the FLW points but I didn't do anything great. I didn't win a tournament, and only had one Top 10 on the year. So from that standpoint, I'm a little bit disappointed I didn't do better.

"I don't want to that to sound bad, but truthfully I expect more out of myself next year.

"Looking back after every tournament, I just barely missed (the Top 10)," he said. "And with the quality of fishermen out there these days, if you miss what pattern is going on in that particular event, generally speaking you won't do as well.

"I still made a check in every tournament – I didn't have a bad year by any means. I'm just a little disappointed I didn't make more Top 10s."

He noted that he "didn't do anything differently" this year. "I just think you see decisions made in fishing as being fairly cyclical. Guys will have good streaks, and then have streaks of making decisions that aren't as good. I don't think my decisions this year were bad, but they didn't work out to making a lot of Top 10s.

"Again, I'm not trying to beat myself up. I'm just saying that I expect more out of myself next year."

One Tour

Wendlandt is known as one of the best fishermen on tour, and seemed to do well on a two-tour schedule. So how was it fishing only one tour this year?

He said: "I had more time to prepare than I've had in the past, and for me – and I really think for almost everybody – the more time you spend practicing, generally speaking the worse you'll do.

"I agree with the Kevin VanDam school of thought that less practice is better, for me. He practices 3 days, and I really like about 5 days."

But Wendlandt noted that when you're not racing from event to event, 5 days might not seem like enough. "What happens is that if you have the time, you start thinking to yourself that you should be there: 'If I'm there, maybe I'll be helping myself.' But fish move a lot, especially in the spring, and (with too much practice) you start getting ideas about areas that really aren't right.

"Maybe the fish move into an area you thought was bad, or the fish change in an area you thought was good. I just think you're better off practicing just before the tournament – or at least I'm better off."

This FLW Tour season he figured he practiced an average of 5 days, but for some he practiced 7 days. For those, he said: "I felt like I practiced a little bit more than I wish I would have."

Next year he'll try to practice "no more than 5 days. It's hard to discipline yourself to do that, but I think it's probably the best thing to do. I'll try to do it."

Didn't Miss the Grind

Asked if he missed fishing two tours, he said no. "I really didn't miss it. I didn't miss the grind it would've taken to fish all of those events, and I felt like I needed the time to prepare better for each event.

"I fished the Central EverStarts, so I still fished 10 tournaments between January and June," he noted. "But to fish (both tours), the problem is that you (fish) about 10 straight weeks in a row. That's the thing. I think I can do well going (directly) from one tournament to another, but if my practice time goes down to just a couple of days, I feel like I need a little more time to prepare than that.

"It's a lot more of a grind when you have to fish so many events in a row. They're just packed in there too tightly (for him) to do that. The (two-tour pros) who cherry-pick a few events next year I think will do fine. But I'll be real surprised if more than two of the guys who try to fish every one of them (in 2004) will make both championships."

He added: "I fished BASS my whole career until this year, so part of me wishes I was able to fish them. But if it's going to work out where there are so many events in the spring, I feel like I'm in the right place."

If It Ain't Broke...

Last but not least is his fishing style. Has he changed it? Does he feel the need to change it?

"I really just fish the best way I know how to do well in an event," Wendlandt said. "I put a lot of focus – a lot of thought – into every tournament.

"Everybody's style may change or evolve over time, particularly if they find something that works for them that they hadn't found before. That (evolution) is probably happening to everybody, and if I don't do that somehow, I'll probably just get stagnant and not continue to do well. What's worked for me is fishing hard. I feel like I can out-work everyone out there at a tournament. That's what I've done, and that's what I hope to continue to do.

"I'll approach (next season) like I always have," he said. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm ready for the year to start right now. But it's not, so I'm just trying to keep myself on the back burner right now."

He added that he doesn't feel the need to change anything about his fishing style. "A few bites different and I would've made a few Top 10s and would've felt like I had a great year. But I finished 3rd so I shouldn't be disappointed in it. I just wish I'd been a contender (more often). But that's the way it goes."

Notable

> On the Central EverStarts, Wendlandt had one Top 10, finished 11th in the points and will be fishing the EverStart Championship at the end of this month.

> "I really feel like I've gotten more publicity this year (from non-FLW media) probably than I ever have in the past," he said. "So as far as sponsors go and keeping them happy, I feel like (this one-tour year) was my best year ever."

> He started the season at 7th in the State Farm-BassFan World Rankings, and ended in 15th. That doesn't reflect his performance as much as it does fewer events fished: since he was one of a relatively small number of two-tour pros who did well on both tours, by fishing one tour he basically has fewer chances to do well (and thus move up in the rankings) than his peers.

> His sponsors are: Kellogg's, Ranger Boats, Yamaha outboards, Falcon rods, Pflueger reels, Owner hooks, Gambler baits, Rugged Shark (boating/fishing shoes – a new sponsor for him) and Columbia Sportswear.