By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

John Crews’ bid to make the 2017 Bassmaster Classic evaporated over the final four Elite Series tournaments in 2016.

With three finishes of 85th or worse over that span, he fell from 23rd in points to 62nd at season’s end, snapping his streak of six straight Classics.

In 2017, he made sure the stretch drive didn’t trip him up. He had back-to-back finishes in the 60s at Lake Dardanelle and the St. Lawrence River before carding a 29th at Lake Champlain and a 35th at Lake St. Clair to qualify for the Angler of the Year Championship, where he finished 47th at Mille Lacs Lake.

The end result was a 34th-place finish in points and another trip to the Classic.

“Last year, I was doing fine until the last two events,” Crews said, reflecting on the ’16 season. “I was on pace for having a normal year somewhat and had too many bombs. This year, I didn’t have any true bombs, but I didn’t have any top-12s either.”

And that still irritates Crews, who cashed six checks this season, including the Angler of the Year championship.

“It pisses me off that I didn’t have any top-12s,” he said. “I thought I might at St. Clair. In practice, it was as good as I’ve been on a bite, but it changed during the tournament and I didn’t change my approach.”

Satisfied, Yet Frustrated

While Crews was stewing about the lack of premium finishes this year, he took comfort in getting back to the consistent ways that have come to define his career. He’s averaged 1.5 top-12 finishes per year since the Elite Series originated in 2006.

“I feel like it’s a progression,” he said. “You need to be consistent and you need to try to put yourself in a position to make a top 12 and once you do that, you try to put yourself in position and around the fish to win. If you’re not putting yourself in positon to make a top 12, then you’re not in contention to win.

“I felt like I did a good job of adapting and being versatile throughout the year. Some of not making the top 12 was not recognizing the emerging dominant pattern quick enough. Some of the bombs I had in ‘16 were a result of not adapting during the tournament.”

The 2017 schedule offered up a majority of fisheries Crews was familiar with. He’d competed at all but two of the venues so there was a built-in comfort level. It’s worth noting he cashed checks at both lakes he’d not competed at before – Cherokee and Ross Barnett.

“Guys like (Edwin) Evers and (Jason) Christie, they’re just as good fishing smallmouth as they are largemouth,” he said. “Same with (Todd) Faircloth and (Brandon) Palaniuk. I don’t feel like I’m at a disadvantage or have an advantage going north or south, but there are definitely guys who are at a disadvantage when we go to clear water. I feel like wherever we go, I’m just as comfortable.”

But that didn’t happen overnight. It’s been a process over the course of his career, picking up on seasonal patterns in different parts of the country and understanding how and when to adapt when conditions change.

“I’ve worked at that, too,” he said. “In college, I’d sign up as a co-angler in a BFL up north just so I had experience. I wanted to learn how to fish those places. The stuff I learned and the comfort level I got back then helped tremendously.”

Big O: Take 2

Okeechobee was another venue where Crews had a comfort level. He’d spent a lot of time there when he was younger and feels comfortable knowing what to look for. It hasn’t shown in his tournament results there, though. His best career finish there was a 53rd back in 2002 in his first FLW Tour event.

He had a chance this year to surpass that, but mistakes he said were preventable saw him settle for 67th.

“I had some bad luck and made some idiot mistakes at Okeechobee,” he said. “I fished pretty clean the rest of the year.”

Still, he’d like another shot at Okeechobee at some point.

“I had the bites to do well; I just jacked them up,” he added. “It was stuff that was preventable in my mind, but most people would say it was bad luck. I could’ve prevented every issue I had. I could’ve fixed it.”

Notable

> Crews’ offseason is going to wind down fairly soon. A quick review of his January calendar revealed he has, at most, eight open days due to outdoor shows and travel. With the Elite Series season opener slated for the second week of February, the push to tie up all of the loose ends related to boat rigging and sponsorships is amplified now.

“That makes it where I’ve got to do a lot of prep before Jan. 1 to be as ready as I can,” he said.