By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Todd Castledine has been down this road before and each time, he’s taken the off-ramp away from bass fishing’s top competitive circuits. In 2018, though, he’s curious to see what he’s been missing.
After collecting his third Angler of the Year title in the Southwestern Division of the FLW Series this year, the 38-year-old from Nacogdoches, Texas, is preparing to join the FLW Tour next season.
While he will be considered a rookie in 2018, Castledine is about as decorated an angler who's out there currently without tour-level experience. Aside from the trio of FLW Series AOY titles, he has 11 top-10 finishes in Series competition, including two victories. He’s competed in the BFL All-American and qualified for the Elite Series through the Central Opens in 2009. On the local and regional circuits in eastern Texas, he and team partner Russell Cecil are constant threats to win.
He’s had multiple opportunities to step up to the next level in previous years, but he’s taken a rain check each time. Either the timing was bad or the financial side of it wasn’t right, he said. Bottom line, he’s been calculated and disciplined in plotting his path as a pro angler. He sees the Tour as the next step.
“I’ve qualified for the Tour and Elites, but I’m that rogue guy,” Castledine said from behind the steering wheel of his boat as the daylight began to fade around Table Rock Lake a couple weeks ago. “I don’t do things like everyone else. The doors haven’t opened at the right time for me. I have watched others try it and fail. This sport can be rough on people. I never had a dream to fish the Elites or the Tour. I had a dream to fish for a living and this is just another step – it’s another way to fish for a living.
“I didn’t do it on my time. I did it on God’s time and his time is now. I was 50-50 on it. I’m not as excited as others have been and I’ve been up front about that. Every door that’s closed before is now open. I still debated about it, but I followed His lead and now I’m doing it.”
’Stay Relevant’
Castledine is best known for his tournament prowess at places like Sam Rayburn Reservoir and Toledo Bend. Soon, he’ll have to get accustomed to figuring out a new lake in the span of 3 days of practice.
He likes pattern lakes, such as Table Rock, where he and Cecil finished 2nd in the recent Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament on little to no practice.
“Fishing is never an issue for me because I fish differently than most and sometimes that gets me in trouble, but sometimes it’s the best thing in the world,” he said. “There’s no blueprint for what I’m doing. A lot of times I have to figure it out my way because no one else has done it on that lake.
“I’m not a guy who goes down the bank with a spinnerbait or goes flipping. I run from that. It scares me to death.”
He almost seems surprised at himself that he’s made the decision to move up to the Tour.
“Up until a couple years ago, I was fishing in the oldest boat in the events,” he said. “Every single guy on the service crew knew me. I was always fishing on a shoestring budget. I was never going to do something based on a dream or because I wanted to. I want to be fishing 20 years from now where others might not be fishing in 10 years and go bankrupt.”
He said he learned quickly to put his ego aside and do what he needed in order to stay relevant. He’s helped Strike King with product development and has taken advantage of virtually every contingency program available to tournament anglers, even helping some non-endemic companies develop their own programs geared toward anglers.
“I wanted to make sure I was in the business,” he said. “I always tell kids that I speak to to be relevant. ‘Be in the business and good things will happen.’”
’I’ll Have Something to Prove’
When asked to elaborate on any goals he’ll set for himself in 2018, Castledine was predictably blunt.
“I have none,” he said. “I never try to win AOY. I’ve tried to win every tournament. I try to catch them as big as I can at every tournament, but I’ve never laid up once and never will. My goal is to do well, but I have zero expectations. I hope to cash some checks, but I’d much rather make three top-10s than qualify for the Cup. Over time, if I can make three top-10s and minimize the bad tournaments, I think my chances of winning will increase.”
He won’t be in awe of those around him or the gravity of competing on the Tour. If he does get tripped up by anything, it may be his lack of experience at some venues, like the Harris Chain of Lakes and Lake Okeechobee in Florida, two fisheries he’s never seen before. He also likes to be familiar with logistics (boat ramp locations, lodging, etc.) before getting to a new venue.
“I’m sure people think I have something to prove,” he said. “I’ve led Costas at Dardanelle and Grand. I did okay at Wilson and Kentucky Lake. I’ve caught them at other places (outside Texas). I’ll have something to prove regardless. I still feel like I have something to prove every time at Rayburn.
“I know I can fish, but knowing how to fish doesn’t equal success on the tour. That’s what Russell and I talk about more than anything. If we pull up to a lake we know nothing about and we go to the left and all the top 10s all to the right, how are we supposed to know that? We all have bad years, but we don’t want to have a bad year the first year.”
Castledine said his move to the Tour will be eased by the presence of Cecil, who also is gearing up for his rookie season in 2018. The two have fished together for several years in Texas and become a formidable duo.
“I’m nervous about it not because of the competition, but I like having success,” Castledine said. “I’m realistic. This is going to be hard and different, but fishing it with Russell … he and I have that familiarity of rooming together and sharing information. It’s different than most. We give good info on little things, but we’ve been doing it long enough where we know how to talk where it’s beneficial for both of us.”
“We want instant success because we don’t have 5 years to have growing pains.”
