That Scott Rook is in the thick of things in the Angler of the Year race comes as no surprise to his peers.
The 2005 Bassmaster Tour season is still young, but Scott Rook is already crafting a reputation as the Comeback Kid.
As he begins his ninth BASS season, the 43-year-old Arkansas pro finds himself in the middle of the Bassmaster Angler of the Year race for the first time. He's put himself in third place (behind David Walker and Takahiro Omori) in dramatic fashion.
Rook followed the same trend in each of the first two Tour events (both in Florida). He started off with a slow first day and then came roaring back with a big second-round catch.
"It's a pretty exciting way to go about it, I guess," he said, "but I'd rather be able to put together two solid days instead of having to come from so far behind each time."
In the season-opener on Lake Tohopekaliga, Rook found himself mired in 70th place with nine pounds, 15 ounces. A second-round catch of 17-12 skyrocketed him into sixth place and a spot in the top-12 semifinals. A week later on the Harris Chain, Rook started off in 102nd place after weighing in just 4-1. He followed that up with a whopping 22-8 to finish 17th and cash a nice check.
"In both tournaments, I made myself settle down and fish slow the second day," he said. "You've got to slow down this time of year to catch these big fish.
"I'm proud that I was able to come back in each tournament, but I don't really want to get into this kind of pattern."
That Rook is in the thick of things in the Angler of the Year race comes as no surprise to his peers. Although he's never won a BASS event, the personable pro has become known for his consistency, which includes a pair of second-place finishes and five thirds. He's cashed a check in 43 of 74 BASS events.
Timely save
Veteran Louisiana pro Homer Humphreys is being credited with saving the life of a Florida woman during the recent Tour event on the Harris Chain of Lakes.
Humphreys was fishing in the Dora-Apopka Canal near the end of the final practice day when he noticed that several dogs were causing a commotion along a dock. Investigating it more closely, he noticed a "little old lady's head popped out of the water."
The woman apparently was attempting to rescue a small dog from a moored paddleboat when she fell into the lake. The cold water soon sapped her strength and made her disoriented. "The dock was too high, the bulkhead was too high and the water was too deep for her to get out,'' Humphreys said. "She was in a fix."
Despite having one of her small dogs biting on his ankle, Humphreys managed to pull a chair off of her dock and into the 6-foot-deep water. The lady was then able to stand on the chair and roll herself into the paddleboat.
"I don't have any idea who she was; I'm just happy I came along,'' he said. "She was pretty close to hypothermia, and I'm not sure if she could've lasted much longer. She was so weak, she couldn't do it by herself."
Velvick's new gig
It's been a season of change for television reality star and Bassmaster Tour pro Byron Velvick. First, he joined the Triton Boats pro staff. Now he'll be taking his talents to the Berkley pro team.
"Byron's strong west coast popularity has spread nationwide, and he'll be a strong asset to our marketing programs," said Eric Naig, Berkley Field Services Manager.
Velvick's profile in the industry has also received a shot in the arm due to his position as the analyst on BassCenter. He teams with anchorman John Kernan and field reporter Trey Reid to cover all the news on the BASS and FLW trails. It can mean some long days for Velvick.
After failing to qualify for the semifinal round of 12 anglers at either the Toho or Harris Chain BASS Tour events, Velvick had to hop a plane for Charlotte, N.C., to film BassCenter in time for the 7:00 and 11:00 a.m. ET airings on ESPN2.
Greatest Angler Debate
Four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn is one of the 10 finalists for the ESPN Outdoors' Greatest Angler Debate. Inside BASS asked him whom he would vote for as the best of the best:
"I'd vote for myself, mainly because I've won tournaments in every region of the country," Clunn said. "I've won more majors than anybody. I've won two U.S. Opens. I won the Red Man All-American - only Shaw Grigsby of our group has done that. I've won tournaments out West. I've won at Thousand Islands (New York). I've won them in the east - like at Lake Toho. I've won them in the Midwest.
"If it wasn't me, I'd probably have to vote for Roland Martin. Roland's problem is that he's never won any majors - but that's assuming that people know all that. Most people don't know all of that. Bill Dance could win it because of his notoriety on TV. He's one of my favorite anglers, but I wouldn't rate him in the top 15.
"I've worked hard at it. I really feel like I've fished as well as anybody over a long period of time. That's what I judge any athlete by in any sport - excelling over a long period of time. One-year wonders - even five-year wonders - don't impress me. I look for the Jack Nicklauses and Joe Montanas and the people who achieve a high level of excellence over their career and maintain it.
"I've done that and certainly Roland has done that, too. If Roland had any credentials outside of those 19 wins, he'd be a no-brainer. The top four, in my opinion - and I wouldn't be disappointed if any of them won it - would be Roland, myself, Denny Brauer and Larry Nixon. Then there's a big gap from there down to Gary Klein because of his wins outside of the (BASS) circuit. Then you've got Kevin VanDam and George Cochran and Shaw Grigsby. Then there's a big gap down to the next one."
It should be noted that Roland Martin has won nine BASS Angler of the Year titles.
From now through March, fishing fans will have the opportunity to cast their votes for the top angler on Bassmaster.com/vote. In April, Greatest Angler Debate programming will begin on ESPN2 as part of BASS Saturday. The programming will feature biographical shows on the top 10 anglers as well as debate programs featuring fans, the media and professional anglers. Fans will find stats and stories in the pages of Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times, Bassmaster.com and on the weekly ESPN Outdoors radio show. In June and July, the debate will heat up again as the fans choose between the top two anglers during a second round of voting on Bassmaster.com.
The debate will conclude in Pittsburgh - at the 2005 Bassmaster Classic - when two champions are crowned. One will be given the Classic trophy and the other will be hailed as the greatest angler of all time.
Weirdest catch
"The weirdest thing I've caught over the years would probably be a pair of panties," Oklahoma pro Ken Cook said. "I was working a crankbait, and it got heavy and soggy, and it brought in a pair of pink panties. They belonged to a big girl."
Did you know?
Peter Thliveros was the big winner at the Harris Chain, but the Florida pro is also atop a dubious list - Classic futility. Thliveros has competed in 10 Classics, but never fared better than 11th.
Pro birthdays
Missouri pro Stacey King will be 56 on Feb. 22. Florida's Charlie Younger turns 53 three days later.
If I hadn't become a BASS pro,
Oklahoma pro O.T. Fears would likely still be working as U.S. Fish & Wildlife biologist.
They said it
"I hate pre-fishing. If we just showed up to a tournament with no practice and let it rip, that would be my game. I really don't like to put time into pre-fishing. I just try to get a basic idea of what I'm going to do and where I might go, and that's really about all I get into. A lot of guys call me a sandbagger, but I usually don't have much going on in practice. I just usually kind of capitalize on it during the tournament," - California pro Skeet Reese made the top-12 semifinals during the Tour stop at the Harris Chain.